Williamstown, MA -- Two goals in the first period and a third in the second period gave the Ephs 7-2 (3-2 NESCAC)the edge over the Trinity Bantams 5-2-1 (1-1-0 NESCAC) in their first game of the weekend.
The Ephs and the Bantams started out the game well matched with pressure on both sides of the ice. Eph head coach
Meghan Gillis commented, "The game ebbed and flowed a lot. There were points where Trinity really put us on our heels and points where we did the same to them. Whoever was winning those little 50-50 battles was having control of the game at that time."
The Ephs won their first little battle when
Quinn Dawson recovered the puck on defense and skated to center ice to dump it into the offensive zone.
Avery Dunn found the puck and attempted a centering pass to get the puck to the slot.
When the puck found its way behind the net,
Meghan Halloran took a swipe at it from her knees behind the net to get it to
Ellia Chiang. Chiang camped out at the low right circle and knocked the puck into the right bottom corner giving the Ephs an early 1-0 advantage over the Bantams at 5:38.
On a call for cross-checking, Williams went down a player. Seven seconds into the power play at 10:02, Trinity's Cassidy McNeeley passed to Claire Kennedy who tipped it behind Eph goalie
Chloe Heiting, tying the game up 1-1.
Williams responded at 15:58 taking the 2-1 lead. After a scrum in front of the net freed up the puck to the right of the Trinity goal,
Meghan Halloran dove again, clipping the puck which slid underneath LeClair's glove.
"Something we talk about all the time is that this is a game of inches and that details deliver. Doing those little things right is how we can make a difference" said Gillis.
Starting off the second period, Williams controlled the puck taking several offensive attempts.
Avery Dunn had a shot, rocketing the puck from the point, but it bounced off the left post.
A penalty for tripping on the Bantams gave Williams a power play attempt. With 6:19 to go, the Ephs extended their lead 3-1. After a shot from Brynne Puppe rebounded off LeClair's pads,
Paige Galle setup
Meghan Halloran who wristed into the top right corner for her second goal of the night.
Trinity's got a goal back when Claudia Capone raced down behind Heiting's net and spun around with a shot on Heiting. The puck rebounded off her pads. Olive Scull jumped on the loose puck and chipped it over the shoulder of Heiting making it a 3-2 game.
With only 2:40 to go, the Ephs faced a Trinity power play with the Bantams looking to send the game into overtime. The Eph penalty kill unit worked to keep the Bantams down in the low corner and blocked up centering passes and shots, keeping the Bantams scoreless on the power play and securing the 3-2 victory.
Heiting remained the backbone of the Williams defensive unit. She held calm when pressured by Trinity players zipping the puck from the point and when a scrum piled up in front of her net creating a dangerous opportunity to tie the game up late in the third period.
On offense, Eph captain
Meghan Halloran reached the 100 point milestone tonight. Gillis noted, "She hadn't played in just under a month, and you could really tell how excited she was to be out there."
Despite the close score, Williams controlled the puck and created the majority of the offensive pressure. The Ephs outshot the Bantams 33 to 19. Williams goalie
Chloe Heiting turned away 17 shots and Bantam Hannah Leclair stopped 30 shots.
Williams and Trinity will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 3pm in Lansing Chapman Rink.
