Ephs Fall to #2 Nationally Ranked SUNY Geneseo 3-0

Williamstown, MA- In today's matchup against #2 nationally ranked SUNY Geneseo (15-1-1, SUNYAC 7-0-1), the Williams College Ephs (8-5-0, NESCAC 8-2-0) fell to the Knights 3-0. Geneseo Chris Perna's late second period goal, followed by two additional goals in the third period were what solidified the win for the Knights.
 
 The Ephs played a worthy opponent in today's matchup. The SUNY Geneseo Knights entered the competition with four consecutive wins in January. Only suffering one loss this season, the Knights are ranked second in the nation. The Ephs are fresh off their win from Tuesday against the Connecticut College Camels and are ranked number one in the NESCAC.
 
In the goal for the Ephs today was freshman Cal Sandquist, who sports a .899 save percentage. The Knights had junior Matt Petizian who has a .947 save percentage.
 
In the first period, the teams were even throughout—skating hard and bring equal amounts of offensive and defensive plays. At 15:34, the Ephs were given the upper hand when Knight Greg Koutsomitis was sent to the penalty box. While the Ephs were able to post three shots, they were unable get out of the defensive zone. After the first period, the game was at a stalemate with the Knights out shooting the Ephs 9 to 7.


 
After a quick pause, both teams were itching to post a goal. They went head-to-head and again, the Ephs were given an early opportunity to score. While the Ephs made good effort, Petizian and the Knights were unnerved, successfully killing off the penalty. Feeding off the momentum, Geneseo's Chris Perna, assisted by Tyson Gilmour and Matthew Doran, capitalized off a one-timer with less than 4 minutes in the period. Going into the third period, the Knights had out shot the Eph 8-6.
 
The third period proved to be crucial in today's game. Both teams skated hard and brought their best. Ultimately, the Knights extended their lead to two at 2:02 when Stefan Miklako capitalized off a teammate Greg Koutsomitis's deflected shot. A couple minutes later, the Knights received their first power play opportunity when Niko Karamanis was penalized. The Knights were quick to take the opportunity, scoring their third goal. Later in the period, the Ephs had their own power play advantage but like the first and second unable to get through the Knight's defense. After 60 minutes of play, the Knight would leave with yet another win in the books.
 
Regarding today's game, head coach Bill Kangas commented, "I thought the [Knights] played at a high pace. We did as well for a good stretch of time, but at times I felt that we tried to do a little too much. What made the difference in today's game was that they were able to capitalize on their scoring opportunities, while we did not. After making the first goal, they took that momentum and were quick to score the next".
 
"I see today's game as a great learning opportunity. There are always things to work on and today we have identified and tuned in on what to focus on going forward in coming weeks".
 
The Ephs will return to action Friday next week at 7:00 pm in Lansing Chapman Rink against Colby College in a NESCAC Contest.