Ephs Sweep Connecticut College Camels with 2-1 Win on the Road

New London, CT - The Williams College Ephs (3-1-0, 3-1-0 NESCAC) triumphed over the Connecticut College Camels (2-3-1, 1-3-0 NESCAC) by a score of 2-1 in their last NESCAC contest of 2023.
 

By the Numbers

• After being out shot by the Camels 30-19 in yesterday's game, the Ephs responded by outs hooting their opponents today by a margin of 26-24. 

• The Ephs were 1/2 on the power play, while the Camels were 0/1. 

• Ephs' goaltender Erin Pye turned away 23 of the Camels' 24 shots, posting an impressive .958 save percentage this game. 

• Junior defenseman Quinn Dawson tallied goals in both games against the Camels this weekend. 

Game Recap

Early into the 2nd period, the Ephs found themselves on their first power play of the game, and the team wasted no time capitalizing on the opportunity that a Camels' tripping penalty afforded them (4:14). First-year defenseman Katherine Kang's shot was turned away by the Camels' Devon Galizio, and fellow first-year defenseman Celine Mayer rebounded the puck on the left side of the ice. Mayer fired a pass off to Quinn Dawson, who was situated on the right side of the ice near the boards, and Dawson delivered her second power play goal of the weekend, giving the Ephs a 2-1 lead that the Camels could not overcome (5:01). 

While yesterday's game between these two teams saw a scoreless first period, today's contest couldn't have been more different, with both teams notching a goal. Opening up the scoring for this game was sophomore defenseman Claire Murphy. Murphy recovered a loose puck in the neutral zone, executed some dazzling stick skills to take the puck into the offensive zone, and beat a Camels' defenseman with another great move before firing a wrist shot off to give the Ephs a 1-0 lead midway through the period (10:10). As the period came to an end, Claire Sammons of the Camels responded and tipped a pass into the back of net to tie the game at 1-1 (18:08). 

After Dawson's goal, the second period was scoreless. The Camels had a power play opportunity that was snuffed out by a terrific Ephs penalty kill unit and the staunch goalkeeping of Pye, who recorded 7 saves during the period. 

As the third period began, the teams traded back-and forth opportunities, with the Camels playing more aggressively as the period progressed, seeking to tie the game. However, Pye remained strong in the cage, tallying 10 saves in the period. A slashing penalty on the Camels' Ashely Engle gave the Ephs their second power play opportunity of the day (6:58), but the Camels' penalty kill unit excelled during the two minutes, and ensured the deficit remained at one goal. With the Ephs still up 2-1 with under two minutes left in the contest, the Camels decided to pull their goaltender to provide some extra offensive firepower. However, the Ephs' defense stood strong, and the sound of the final buzzer prompted celebrations from the players in purple-and-gold as they had secured two back-to-back wins on the road.

Eph head coach Meghan Gillis was pleased with her team's performance, commenting, "Erin had a huge weekend and was a critical part of our success making key saves again today. The defense stepped up and both of our goal scorers and assists today, one even strength and one again on the PP was huge against a talented Connecticut College team. It's a great position to be in as we head into two non conference games before break."

The Ephs will open out of conference play next Saturday, December 9th, in Plymouth, NH when they take on the Plymouth State University Panthers at 3:00 PM.