Williamstown, MA -- In the Ephs last regular season game, Williams (12-9/7-8-0 NESCAC) took down the Worcester State Lancers (13-7-2/6-0 EHCA) 7-1 with goals from seven different Eph skaters.
From the start it was clear that Williams came out ready to play.
Maddie Tix,
CC Wallin, and
Brynn Puppe rattled off a flurry of shots at the net, keeping the Lancers on their toes. Their pressure on offense paid off when
Gabi Montembeault centered a pass from the right corner.
Sophia Hoppe jumped on top of the puck and fired a shot onto Amber Lee's pads. She then recovered her own rebound and sent it home giving Williams the early 1-0 lead at 6:31 with her first collegiate goal.
"It just started with good D-zone coverage and getting low and slow." said Eph head coach
Meghan Gillis. "We had good support and good communication which translated into offensive chances."
However, the Lancers were first to get a man-up when
Brynn Puppe was sent to the box for a hooking call at 9:45. The Williams penalty kill played aggressively, fighting for missed passes and interrupting looks toward net.
Seconds after the Worcester State penalty expired, the Ephs found their first power play opportunity when Shelby Reaugh was called for elbowing at 11:59. Wallin and Puppe again created opportunities on net, but the Lancers were able to clear the puck out making it difficult to create more offensive pressure.
With two and a half minutes to go,
Amanda Lackmann made an important save to keep the Ephs in the lead. Kiersten Erickson fired a shot at point-blank range, but Lackmann turned it aside. "Tonight was a tough game for a goalie" said Gillis. "Having not that many shots and all of a sudden a point-blank chance" was key.
At 1:38 the Ephs struck again,
Avery Dunn whistled a puck up from deep in the offensive zone to
Maddie Zack who wristed a shot into the top left corner from the point putting Williams up 2-0 early in the second period. It was Zack's first college goal.
Less then a minute later,
Paige Galle made it 3-0 at 2:36. Galle received a feed from
Robin Kitazono in the corner. Galle made a move to catch Lee out of position and sent it to the back of the net.
Worcester State State's Kelly Robins took a tripping penalty at 12:30 giving the Ephs another chance on the power play. But at 11:44,
Delaney Szlezyngier received a tripping call of her own making it a 4-on-4. Another penalty was called on Gabi Petrisin, giving the Ephs a player advantage.
At 11:36, the Lancers got on the board. Katie Puumala raced down the right wing ripped a shot near side over Lackmann's shoulder
Immediately off the faceoff, Jill Parson went to the box for tripping.
Ellia Chiang hustled down the ice beating her defender for a shorthanded attempt. She rocketed a shot off the right post, but the Ephs could not find the rebound.
2:43 into the third period, Gabby Petrisin received a roughing penalty giving Williams another try at the power play. However, Worcester State did a good job of blocking up passing lanes and creating turn overs.
Back at even strength,
Avery Dunn charged in untouched from the left wing toward the slot and slipped the puck past Lee extending the Ephs lead to 4-1 lead and notching her 100
th career game.
Williams went up 5-1 when
Paige Galle looked for the breakout pass, sending the puck up to
Kelly McCarthy who snuck past her defender and beat Lee with crafty stickwork at 13:47.
Maddie Tix made it 6-1 at 15:02. Tix hustled for the puck toward the left of Lee. She pulled the puck across the crease and backhanded the puck home.
Williams found their final scoring opportunity with 1:17 to go.
Christina Halloran skated from the left side to the slot and shot it through Lee legs securing the 7-1 win.
Williams out shot the Lancers 57 to 10, Eph goalie
Amanda Lackmann turned away 9 attempts, while Amber Lee stopped 49 shots.
Gillis hopes tonight's win "helped to build cohesion and get everyone on the same page going into playoffs" this weekend.
Williams will play their first round playoff game on Saturday February 26
th against Hamilton at 3pm in Clinton, NY at Russell Sage Rink.
