Williamstown, MA – The Williams College Ephs (1-4-0, 1-2-0) opened their home account in the NESCAC, hosting the Tufts University Jumbos (1-4-1, 1-2-0). It was Senior Night for the Ephs who celebrated the ten in their graduating class:
Jamie Cates "C",
Henry Muller "C",
Ben Lawrick "A",
Ethan Prout "A",
Jack Simon, Faisal Alsaif,
Connor Tobin, Jake Monroe,
Jonah Gold, and
Sean Clarke. Unfortunately for those Ephs in attendance, the Ephs would drop the game by a final of 7-4.
The emotions were high in the Chap as the pre-game festivities kicked the Ephs into high gear. An early powerplay would be the perfect opportunity for Williams and they would make it count.
Connor Tobin and
Owen Stadheim would set up Faisal Alsaif who unleashed a howitzer from the point to make it 1-0 Ephs. It would not take long for the Jumbos to answer as they would profit off a 3v1 break to tie the game at 1-1. The scoring wouldn't stop there as Tufts would capitalize on a poor bounce off the Ephs defender to take the 2-1 lead heading into the locker room.
Williams would come out hot in the second, but it would be the Jumbos who struck first in the second frame on blown coverage in front of the net. The blunder would not stop the Ephs' roll as their momentum kept flowing late into the second period.
Jamie Cates would find Jake Monroe who fed
Ben Lawrick streaking to the net. The big senior defenseman would pick the top corner to pull the Ephs to within one heading into the final period.
The Jumbos would be the first to find the back of the net in the third, extending their lead to 4-2. Just 40 seconds later, however, a loose puck in front created by
Connor Tobin and
Sean Clarke would find the stick of
Henry Muller who buried it to cut the lead to 4-3. The Jumbos were quick to respond themselves after a fortuitous bounce found its way into the Ephs' goal, giving Tufts the 5-3 lead. Williams would find themselves on the penalty kill in the final minutes of the game, a position they did not draw up pre-game. That being said, they would come out more than OK after
Jonah Gold was fed a sweet pass back-post by Faisal Alsaif to cut the deficit to one. It would be too little too late, however, as the Jumbos would tack on two late goals to down the Ephs 7-4.
Coach Kangas said this after the game, "We are playing very fluid offensive hockey at the moment and it will pay off. We need to shore up some defensive lapses but the effort we are giving will help us as we move later in the year".
The Ephs will look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon as they host Connecticut College at 3pm.
