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Williams College

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Sean Clarke; Ice Hockey
Brad Wakoff
4
Winner Middlebury MIDDLEBU 5-12-3, 4-11-2
1
Williams WILLIAMS 9-11-0, 9-8-0
Winner
Middlebury MIDDLEBU
5-12-3, 4-11-2
4
Final
1
Williams WILLIAMS
9-11-0, 9-8-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Middlebury MIDDLEBU 1 1 2 4
Williams WILLIAMS 0 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Ice Hockey |

Ephs' Slump goes to Three Straight against Middlebury

Williamstown, MA - The Middlebury Panthers (3-12-3, 2-11-2 NESCAC) took down the Williams College Ephs (9-10-0, 9-7-0 NESCAC) 4-1. 

Middlebury entered the day last in the NESCAC but punched above its weight class in Lansing Chapman Rink. 

5:51 into the game, Owen Stadheim snatched the puck from the neutral zone and took it himself for a one on one scoring chance against Middlebury's Jake Koroho. 

Middlebury controlled the puck for the middle stages of the period but couldn't net one past Evan Ruschil. Jack Oblak was called for holding with 7:53 to go in the period as the Panthers were caught wrong-footed on defense. 

Middlebury took the momentum as Faisal Alsaif attempted a risky pass from his own zone to Jonah Gold that didn't pay off, as Jin Lee skated to the net with a head of steam and found the opening on Ruschil's glove side, scoring the first goal of the game. Paddy Bogart recorded the assist, capitalizing on the Ephs' turnovers.

In the late stages of the first, Alsaif got a deep pass to connect after rebounding off of a Panther. Sean Clarke made a touch pass to Nick Altmann, but Bret Pastor dove in the passing lane to break up the play.




Opening the second, Niko Karamanis tried to find the 5-hole on Koroho but the goalie covered it up. The Panthers' Jin Lee was called for interference as he was involved in a bit of extracurricular activity with Tobin behind the net. 

The Ephs execution on the ensuing power play was all but flawless, as Alsaif zipped a shot to the net, drawing a rebound, allowing Forrest to flick it past Koroho. The game was knotted up at one as assists went to Alsaif and Karamanis on Forrest's fourth goal of the season.

Coach Bill Kangas said, "a real tough line change" led to the go-ahead goal. Midway through the period, Middlebury sent a slew of shots towards Ruschil, punctuated by Paddy Bogart's from the middle of the zone. The assist went to Nolan Moore as his shot deflected to the right place, right time for the Panthers. The Ephs only held the game even for a little more than 4 minutes. 

In the third, Ruschil made his best save of the game to stop a 2 on 1 from Lee and Zach Shapiro, shifting from his left to his right to cover the puck up. A penalty followed, as Bret Pastor spent 2 minutes in the box for holding. 

Emac Bentley and the rest of the Panther defense prevented quality opportunities during the power play. At the 10:09 mark, Tyler Cooligan's shot hit the post to the dismay of the crowd. 2 minutes later, a scrum developed after Alsaif's shot on goal, but Koroho made a couple of acrobatic saves to preserve the lead. Coach Kangas reflected, "they slowed our pace down… and made some plays when they had to."

Jin Lee put some distance between the Panthers and Ephs after scoring his second goal of the game. The score came on a breakaway chance, where Lee took a pass from Bret Pastor and found open ice in front of him, backhanding it past Ruschil. 

With 3:20 to go in the game, Jarin Sutton of Williams and Antoine Belise of Middlebury were called for roughing. Even with a man advantage because of the empty net, the Ephs could not break through Jake Koroho's barricade. Jin Lee scored his third goal of the afternoon with the net empty.

Koroho finished the game with 35 saves and a 97.2% save percentage. Ruschil made 23 saves for a save percentage of 88.5%.

Coach Kangas said, "I think we'll be better from this", emphasizing that the team will be sharper heading into the final week of the regular season.

Williams travels to Clinton, NY for its next game on Friday, February 18th, at 7 PM against the Hamilton Continentals.
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