Williamstown, MA – On Senior Night for the Ephs, Williams College (7-7, 5-4) faced off against the Wesleyan University Cardinals (10-4, 5-4) in the biggest game of the year so far, a matchup that not only saw two Little Three rivals, but two teams just one win apart in the standings before the game. The Ephs offense would shine bright as three separate players would complete hat tricks on the way to a 17-13 victory.
The Ephs would take full advantage of the high-stake circumstances, riding the early energy from not only the bench, but the crowd as well. It would not take long to capitalize as
Calvin Caputo would accept a feed from
Pearse Glavin and finish just 45 seconds into the game.
Jake Haase would set up
Nick Bates for the score just a few minutes later before Wesleyan would answer halfway through the quarter.
Williams would find another burst, as they responded quickly with Haase burying far side on the Wesleyan netminder.
Calvin Caputo would then tally two in the final minutes to complete his hat trick and give the Ephs a commanding lead heading into the second quarter. Coach McCormack spoke about the importance of the early momentum saying, "the key today was that the guys showed up motivated, they had a purpose to what they were doing and that reflected how we played today."
Wesleyan would not hesitate to create their own momentum, however, as they would score five goals in the opening six minutes of the second frame to level the game at six a piece.
Bjorn Davidson would put an end to this Cardinals run, putting the Ephs ahead on his unassisted goal. Caputo would then fire home his fourth, before
Tim Saffold would find the back of the net to extend the lead to three heading into the locker room.
The defense would stabilize after the early onslaught from the Cardinals, with goalie
Matt Freitas making many of his 19 saves in the second quarter alone to maintain the lead.
Despite an early Saffold goal just 30 seconds into the half, the Cardinals would battle back to take the lead on the back of a five-goal run. Williams would once again bounce back, with Glavin finishing his second, Saffold completing his hat trick, and Caputo burying his fifth, all in the closing minutes of the quarter.
With the lead now in the Ephs' hands, they looked to put the game away scoring early and often in the final frame.
Spencer Goodbar would open the scoring in the quarter, followed quickly by Saffold's fourth and Haase's third. The Cardinals would attempt a run of their own late, but
Jack Sercu would ice the game late, securing a huge Eph's victory.
The Ephs will look to end the regular season on a high note as they take on Middlebury on the road this Wednesday, intent on securing a home game in the opening round of playoffs.
