Ephs Fall to #6 Adrian College Bulldogs 5-1

By the Numbers

• The Bulldogs outshot the Ephs 72-39, tallying 51 shots on goal to the Ephs' 18.

• Eph goaltender Erin Pye recorded 46 saves and .939% save percentage.

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

• The Ephs won the face off battle 28-21. 

North Charleston, SC - The Williams College Ephs (4-2-1, 3-1-0 NESCAC) fell to the #6 ranked Adrian College Bulldogs (10-2-0, 6-0-0 MIAA) by a score of 5-1, behind a third period offensive outburst by the Bulldogs. 

With the game deadlocked at 1-1 more than halfway into the third period, the Bulldogs found themselves on the power play after an Ephs slashing penalty. This penalty proved costly for the Ephs, as the Bulldogs' Kathryn Truban netted the go-ahead power play goal that spurred an offensive explosion for the home team during the final period (12:26). 

The Bulldogs dominated the first period on shots, recording 21 to the Ephs' 12. However, sophomore goaltender Erin Pye was sharp, recording 16 saves during the period. Offensively, Jill Parsons, Claire Murphy, Christina Halloran, Bella DeLuca, and Katherine Kang recorded shots, but Bulldogs' goaltender Annie Gilbert, similar to Pye, put forward an exceptional effort during the period, and the game was scoreless after the first 20 minutes of play. 

The Bulldogs opened the second period with a quick goal, scoring 18 seconds into the period (0:18). The Ephs were able to get great chances on a power play opportunity midway through the period, but the Bulldogs' defense remained stout, and successfully killed the Eph power play. As the period entered its final stretch, the Ephs finally broke through, as sophomore Leah Rubinshteyn netted a goal to tie the game 1-1 (16:19). 

The first half of the third period was characterized by a back-and-forth struggle between the two teams, both vying for the go-ahead goal. After Truban put the Bulldogs ahead, her squad captured the momentum and scored three more consecutive goals: after forward Une Bjelland's goal, the Ephs pulled Pye (16:40). Bjelland scored once again, on an empty net, (17:29) and Nicole Pietrucha followed by scoring an empty net goal of her own, to bring the final score to 5–1 (18:31). 

After the game, the Eph head coach Meghan Gillis commented, "I thought we played a great first period after a long break. To be tied with the 6th ranked team in the country showed the potential this group has. The 5-1 score with the two empty netters is not indicative of how close the game was." 

Tomorrow, the Ephs will face Hamline University at 2:45 PM.