Williamstown, MA -- In the non-conference matchup, goals from
Kelly McCarthy and
Robin Kitazono gave the Ephs (3-4/1-3 NESCAC) an early 2-0 lead in the first period,
Delaney Szlezyngier followed up with a goal in the third period and
Maddie Zack sealed the win over #11 Nazareth (9-2/8-0 UCHC) with an empty netter.
The Ephs got an early power play opportunity when Ally Watrous went to the box for a tripping penalty only 53 seconds into the first period. Williams got a puck to the net with a shot from
Maddie Tix and created traffic in front forcing Nazareth netminder McKinley Hoff to find the puck bouncing around in front of the crease and cover it up.
At 7:00, Williams took a bench penalty for too many skaters on the ice. Nazareth worked the puck back and forth along the blue line and Ivey Lyden sent a riser toward Williams netminder
Erin Pye who covered the puck easily.
After continued pressure and getting pucks to the net,
Christina Halloran picked up the puck in the left circle and flipped the puck up to McCarthy coming across the crease who backhanded the puck past Hoff's left pad at 10:23 and giving the Ephs a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.
Williams found a second power play opportunity when Makenna Wiljanen went to the box for tripping. Delaney Schlezinger picked up the puck at the point and sent it down to Tix who took a shot into the right corner where
Robin Kitazono waited on the doorstep to deflect the puck in, extending the Ephs lead to 2-0.
Eph head coach
Meghan Gillis said "We started playing the systems better, executing the forecheck, which lends itself into being able to transition to the end zone offense. We were able to get the puck off the wall and into the house."
With only 1:41 to go in the first period, Kate Cascio caught on a checking penalty, giving Ephs numbers up for the rest of the period. Szlezyngier pinched in from the point and got the puck on net. The power play opportunity burned off 20 seconds into the second period. Back at even strength, the Golden Flyers worked into the Ephs territory and tested Pye putting skaters right on her pads and pressured the net. However, Pye proved up to the task and continued to make key saves.
The Ephs worked to cycle the puck, getting the puck deep and looking for rebounds. A shot from
Leah Rubinshteyn from out wide created an opportunity in front of the net for Schlezinger to follow up, but the puck went just wide.
Nazareth received their second power play opportunity of the night when
Paige Galle went to the box for roughing. The Golden Flyers sent off pucks from the point, but the Ephs kept up the pressure to kill off the power play.
The Ephs then swung the momentum back their way when they drew a power play from Abby Flanagan's slashing penalty. Williams got some good looks on the power play with
Claire Murphy generating offense with a slap shot from the top left circle through a screen.
Williams found themselves on the power play again just 2:59 into the third period. Galle skated the puck into the zone and got into a battle along the boards before sending it out to Rubinshteyn who took a strong slapshot. Then Ephs got a two-skater advantage for 45 seconds, when Ally Watrous was called for checking. Tix set Rubinshteyn up for a one-timer that was on target, but Nazareth was able to clear it out of the zone, killing off both penalties.
Watrous went back to the box for cross-checking giving the Ephs another 5-4 advantage. Rubinshteyn took a wrister from the left circle which made its way to Tix on the right post. Tix sent the puck into the slot where Szlezyngier charged in to send it home for her first goal of the year and boosting the Williams lead to 3-0 at 7:16.
"The power play did a really great job tonight" mentioned Gillis. "The player advantage should be a momentum swing in our favor. We kept pushing and putting pressure on them which forced them to take those penalties."
Gabriella DeMeo was whistled for interference giving Williams their 8th power play of the night. Williams continued to press on offense with shots from Galle and Murphy, but Hoff hung in tough, denying their attempts.
A pair of penalties created a 4-on-4 with penalties on Szlezyngier and Flanagan. Nazareth pulled Hoff to get a skater advantage with 5 minutes left. The Golden Flyers controlled the puck into the Ephs zone, but the Williams defense pressured out wide, tying the puck up and got it out of their defensive zone.
With the pyck coming out from behind the net and being sent into the slot where Nikolle Van Stralen found the rebound and was able to poke the puck behind Pye to close in on the Ephs 3-1 lead at 19:37. Just 8 seconds later, Maddy Zack took a shot from mid ice and secured the 4-1 win with an empty netter.
The Ephs created lots of scoring opportunities tonight outshooting the Golden Flyers 33 to 32. In net,
Erin Pye denied 31 Nazareth attempts getting her first career win, while McKinley Hoff turned away 29.
"Erin played amazing tonight," said Gillis. "There were some key moments throughout the game where she acted like a junior or senior in the net. She acted very calm and made some key saves. It was really great to see her win her first game."
Williams will go on the road to play William Smith on Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 pm in the Geneva Recreation Complex Skating Rink.
