Williamstown, MA -- Two goals early in the first period and four goals in the second period from five Williams skaters gave the Ephs (2-2/1-1 NESCAC) the 6-1 win over SUNY Cortland (4-3/2-2 NEWHL) this afternoon.
Right off the bat, the Ephs came out with energy. Just fourteen seconds into the first period,
Quinn Dawson took the puck down from the blue line and centered a pass in front of Cortland goaltender Molly Goergen. Leah Rubinshteysn came in flying through the scrum in front of the net to stick handle around Goergen and find the back of the net for her first career goal and Williams an early 1-0 lead.
At 4:16, the Ephs got a power play opportunity. Cortland's Meggan Cramer was sent to the box for checking. The Ephs capitalized on their player advantage.
Lucie Bond won the power play sending the puck out to the blue line where
Paige Galle setup Dawson who took a slapshot from the blue line putting the Ephs up 2-0 at 4:30 for her first goal.
Eph head coach
Meghan Gillis said, "Anytime you score the first goal it helps to set the tone of the game, but we are still a young team finding our identity. Cortland pushed back and had great attempts."
The Red Dragons came back with some offensive pressure. After a battle in the Ephs' defensive zone where Eph netminder
Sofia Da Silva faced shot after shot Cortland's Jayden Kelley found Grace Schnorr camped out on Da Silva's left side and Schnorr snuck it past Da Silva, closing the Ephs lead to 2-1.
After a slow start by Cortland, the Red Dragons picked up their offense, but Da Silva kept her cool. Cortland fired shots off from the point and tried to work the puck around in front of the net to find an opening. Da Silva held her positioning and didn't let the pressure phase her.
At 13:49, the Ephs were whistled for having too many players on ice, putting them down a skater and the Red Dragons on the power play. The Williams penalty kill hung tough defending their zone and blocking up Cortland's looks toward the net.
After back and forth play for the first few minutes of the second period.
Jill Parsons muscled the puck out of the defensive end bringing it into the Ephs offensive zone. Claire Devries wrapped behind the net and centered the puck to the slot where
Kelly McCarthy flew in and put the puck in the back of the net at 4:42 extending the Ephs lead to 3-1.
On the goal, there was a delayed checking penalty on Cortland that sent Gillian Zwolak to the box for an Ephs power play. The Ephs patiently worked the puck around the point, but couldn't find a good opportunity to score with numbers up.
The Ephs did not let up and rattled off three goals in four minutes. At 11:28, Szlezyngier and
Lucie Bond worked their way into a two on one opportunity. Szlezyngier charged down the left wing and sent a pass to Bond at the bottom of the right circle who slipped it by Goergen to send the Ephs up 4-1. Just three minutes later,
Robin Kitazono and
Christina Halloran worked the puck back and forth in the offensive zone. Kitazono sent the puck out in front of Goergen and
Chloe Noxon jumped on the opportunity to send it by Goergen's left pad upping the Eph lead to 5-1 and scoring her first collegiate goal.
The Ephs went on their third power play of the afternoon when Meghan Cramer was sent to the box for tripping. Dawson struck again at 15:35 lifting the Ephs to a five goal advantage, 6-1.
Paige Galle set up Dawson with a pass to the point where Dawson ripped a shot by Cortland's goalie Anna Hamid.
"
Quinn Dawson was on fire today on the power play," noted coach Gillis. "She scored her first two college goals. That was great for the team and great for her."
Cortland tried to claw back in the third period and sent a flurry of shots on Da Silva. At 3:30,
Lucie Bond took a tripping call giving the Red Dragons a power play opportunity. The Ephs penalty kill worked hard to minimize Cortland's scoring opportunities.
Kelly McCarthy made an important play stealing the puck away from Cortland at the point and sending the puck back into the Ephs offensive zone.
Rubinshteyn took a penalty for tripping, giving the Red Dragons a 5-4 advantage. Cortland's Molly McCabe raced down the left wing breaking away from her defender and shot bottom left corner, but Da Silva turned the puck away just seconds before the power play timed out.
The Ephs goals came from five different players today. "It shows we have depth," said Gillis. "It's a team effort and goals can come from anyone. That's why it's a great team sport to play. Everyone on the ice was making a difference."
On the night, Williams converted on more scoring attempts. The Ephs scored 6 times on their 30 shots, while Cortland scored 1 on their 37 shots. Williams netminder
Sofia Da Silva turned away 36 shots. For the Red Dragons, goaltenders Molly Goergen and Anna Hamid split time both saving 12 shots.
The Ephs will play next when they host Connecticut College on Friday, December 2 at 7pm in Lansing Chapman Rink.
