Ephs Top Trinity 9-8 in OT

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. - Both Williams and Trinity stood on edge after Trinity rallied back to tie the score in the fourth quarter and send the game to overtime. After nervous possessions from both sides that ended with unconvincing shots, it appeared the game was headed to a second overtime period. As the Williams offense maneuvered around the back of the net though, Zachary Romrell found a marked Cal Ewanich who craftily found his way around his defender before scoring to win the game for the Ephs.
 
The Williams College Ephs (4-0 / 4-0 NESCAC) defeated the Trinity College Bantams (3-1 / 1-1 NESCAC) 9 - 8 during today's game at Farley-Lamb Field.
 
Both teams came out of the gate with strong defenses causing turnover after turnover. Pearse Glavin got the first good opportunity of the game with eleven minutes remaining in the opening quarter, but his shot ricocheted off the post to keep the score tied at 0 - 0. A Williams penalty opened the door for Trinity to score, but a Harry Gahagan save and strong defense stifled out any opportunity the Bantams had as the penalty ran out. 
 
The trading of possession back and forth continued as neither team could put together a strong enough series to break through and score a goal. The few shots that slipped through were saved by Bantam Cooper Yaccino and Eph Harry Gahagan, who each recorded four saves in the quarter. The first quarter ended at the same score it began with, Ephs 0 - Bantams 0.
 
Trinity finally broke the deadlock at 12:55 of the second quarter; after Harry Gahagan sprawled out to make an incredible save, Reid McDonald managed to put a shot past Gahagan into the top of the net. Back to back Williams penalties gave the Bantams a two man-up opportunities which Tucker Sheehan took advantage of to double the Trinity lead to 2-0.
 
A Trinity penalty presented Williams with a similar chance and Cory Lund wasted no time scoring in his final regular season game as an Eph; Williams cut the lead to one. Harry Gahagan continued to be crafty, using his shoulder to block a shot with eight minutes left in the quarter, but Yaccino matched him by saving Zachary Harleston's shot in front of the Trinity net.
 
The Bantams scored another goal with 7:15 left in the quarter thanks to a shot by Harrison Ike. Trinity then called a timeout at the 6:20 mark.
 
While the Bantam offense came out with a strategy and found a look on net, Harry Gahagan saved their attempt. A fumble at midfield made the Williams clear unsuccessful though and the Bantams were given another chance. Reid McDonald fed Harrison Ike who capitalized on the opportunity.
 
A Trinity penalty on the face-off gave Williams a man-up opportunity and Pearse Glavin fed Cory Lund who again made quick work of the situation to get a goal back for the Ephs. As the quarter ran down, the Williams bench kept the energy at a high level. Jared Strauss fed off this energy as he ran right in front of the Trinity net and fired home an unassisted goal from ten yards out with 2:34 remaining in the half to cut the Trinity lead to one. A last minute timeout play by the Ephs for Cory Lund was not quite enough to get through the Bantams' defense. The fireworks of the second quarter gave a much different flavor than the defensive standoff in the first. The half ended Trinity 4 - Williams 3.
 
The Williams offense came out looking like a different beast. After a Trinity penalty, Pearse Glavin got his first goal of the afternoon and tied the game up off an assist from fellow freshmen Cal Ewanich. The Eph momentum kept coming after another Trinity penalty. Pearse Glavin turned around in midair and fired a shot home to give Williams their first lead of the game, 5-4. Harry Gahagan regained his first quarter form and continued to be a wall in front of the Williams net. The Ephs forced turnover after turnover including stripping Trinity attackers as soon as they passed the half line on almost every opportunity they got. 
 
The Bantams were finally able to set up an offensive possession with two minutes left in the quarter, but Harry Gahagan kept a low shot from sneaking past and Williams completed another successful clear. The Ephs passed the ball around in front of the Trinity net, looking for an opportunity, before Zachary Romrell turned and whipped the ball in the top corner as he came around from behind the goal to get his first tally in the game. A rejuvenated Eph offense and another shutout quarter on defense left the score: Williams 6 - Trinity 4.
 
Trinity came out of the gate wanting to gain back their lead. The Bantams forced the shot clock to run out before putting together a quick goal from Andrew Fearey with 11:57 left.
 
Harry Gahagan responded by going to his knees to stop a shot before taking the ball himself to the half line sand passing to Jacob Lazris who set up Pearse Glavin to complete his Glavin's hat trick at point blank range. Another Williams penalty seemed be about to run out as Gahagan sent Trinity's first shot flying in another direction, but as the penalty expired, William Puccio slid the ball between the Eph goalie's legs to again cut the Williams lead to one.
 
Penalties then plagued both teams, but despite all the offensive opportunities being created, both goalies managed to keep their teams in the game as the quarter waned. After a Williams penalty ran out, Zachary Romrell again found himself in front of the net and outsmarted the Trinity keeper before placing the ball neatly into the top corner for his second goal of the game.
 
David Demartino kept the Bantams in the game, cutting the Williams lead in half with 1:47 left in the game. Thirty seconds later, Andrew Bailey put another shot past Gahagan to tie the game for the first time since early in the third quarter. Despite Williams' best offensive efforts, they were unable to break through and regulation ended with both teams tied 8 - 8.
 
The overtime period started with Williams working the ball around in the Trinity half, but the Ephs could not put a shot on net and the possession finished fruitless. Harry Gahagan returned the favor by stopping the Bantam attackers dead in their tracks with a save of his own. With seconds left in overtime, Zachary Romrell played with the Trinity defense behind the net before finding Cal Ewanich sitting right in front of the goal; the Williams number 4 stepped left of a defender before rifling home the game-winner to keep the Williams season perfect.
 
Williams was led in scoring by Pearse Glavin, who scored three goals and had one assist. Trinity's Harrison Ike scored two goals. Williams used just one goalie, Harry Gahagan, who faced 25 shots and saved 17 for a .680 save percentage. Trinity also used one goalie, Cooper Yaccino, who saved 20 of the 29 shots he faced for a .690 save percentage.
 
The Bantams edged the Ephs in the faceoff battle going 11-21 led by an 11-19 performance from Dane Crowley, while Williams was led by Alex Kitt who went 8-18 on the day. Williams won out on the ground balls battle though with 29 to Trinity's 21. Four Williams players recorded 4 ground balls while two Bantams got five each.
 
After the game, Eph head coach George McCormack said, "The biggest thing about that game is both Williams and Trinity matched up really well and it reflected in the score of the game...both defenses were playing really well [and] it was a battle of who could make the least mistakes. At the end, I felt like we had some resolve...and had a lot of character, the defense stood on their head today." Speaking specifically about his seniors, who played in their final regular season game, McCormack added, "The Seniors have been unbelievably great leaders this whole year. [They always bring] a lot of positive energy and that's what we needed, positive energy. They always lead by example on the field and also in the locker room and off the field."
 
The Ephs play next weekend at Farley-Lamb Field as they seek to continue their perfect season and win the NESCAC title when they take on the NESCAC East champion.