Box Score Williamstown, MA- The Williams College men's hockey team suffered their first loss of the season today in their game against the SUNY Geneseo Knights at home in Lansing Chapman Rink. Geneseo senior forward David Ripple's goal two minutes into the third period proved to be the game winner in their 3-0 victory over the Ephs. Williams (2-1-0/2-0-0 NESCAC) will look to bounce back tomorrow in their game against Johnson and Wales while the Knights (5-1-2/2-1-2 Conference) will enjoy almost a full week of rest before lacing it up again to play Potsdam at home on Friday.
Geneseo put Williams under heavy pressure early with their quick pace of play, controlling the puck in the Ephs' defensive zone for much of the first period. Williams senior goal tender Noah Klag saved all eight shots he faced in the period, part of his 21 save effort. His counterpart for Geneseo, freshman Devin McDonald, was only forced to make four stops in the first period of his shutout performance, in which he recorded 23 saves and improved his record to 5-0-1. Geneseo succeeded in getting pucks to the front of the net, however either nobody was there to receive them or they found the active sticks of the Eph defensemen. Williams was able to find some rhythm as the period came to a close even after their flow was disrupted when junior Tyler Young committed a slashing penalty.
Williams made the proper adjustments during the first intermission, coming out firing at the start of the second period. Williams sophomore C.J. Shugart found himself in the middle of the action throughout the period. Shugart committed two penalties during the period, which were both effectively killed, each time springing out of the penalty box and back into the fray. The second time this happened, Shugart whirled around the Geneseo net and found junior James McNamara in the slot for a shot that was handled by McDonald. The Knights' best scoring chance of the period came when they were again able to work the puck to the front of the net. Geneseo junior Jack Ceglarski tried to jam the puck through Klag, who steadfastly rejected its admission into the Williams goal. Williams outshot the Knights 9-6 in the period, though both teams generated quality chances, leaving a sense that the first goal of the game was just around the corner.
That goal was provided by Ripple at the 1:13 mark in the third period when he drifted into the center of the Williams defensive zone and fired a wrist shot that sailed over the shoulder of Klag and into the back of the net. Nine minutes later, the Knights converted a power play opportunity when their quick puck movement led to a wide open shot from junior Stephen Collins, which put the visitors up 2-0. Williams had a glimmer of hope when Geneseo's Matty Lee was booked for hitting from behind, a five minute major penalty. A scrum in front of McDonald led to premature celebrations from the Ephs surrounding the net, with the referees coming in to say that the puck never crossed the line. A penalty from each side led to a 4-on-3 power play for the Ephs, which the Knights killed. After that, Geneseo added a third goal on an empty net to cap off their victory.
Williams head coach Bill Kangas noted the pace of Geneseo after the game, as well as the fact that the Knights are deeper into their season than Williams is. Kangas also said, "For any game we play, especially early on, we have to be careful of making mistakes. We made some mistakes in the offensive zone in turning the puck over and throwing the puck to the net. Our strength has been possessing the puck low, attacking space, and making smart plays with the puck and I thought we got away from that."
Kangas expects his team to respond well to this first adversity tomorrow when his team takes on Johnson and Wales at 3:00 PM at Lansing Chapman Rink.
