Williamstown, MA – After a full 60 minutes of hockey solved nothing, the Williams College Ephs (7-14-2, 5-10-2) and the Amherst College Mammoths (14-5-4, 12-3-2) battled through overtime with no winner to be found.
The Ephs started the game on the back foot, with goaltender
Cal Sandquist making some key saves early on. Five minutes into the contest, an Amherst forward would spin out of the corner and find a hole to put the Mammoths up early. The Ephs would not let this lead last for long, however, as
Jared Lambright found
Mac Carso streaking and the senior sniped the far corner to level the score. Back-and-forth hockey would consume the remainder of the period and the teams would exit the ice deadlocked.
Williams would correct its mistakes from the opening frame by coming out flying in the second. Chance after chance was fired at the Amherst goal until they finally broke through at the ten-minute mark.
Jacob Monroe would find
Ethan Prout open at the point who rifled it home on the far side. The Ephs would continue to control possession and momentum for the rest of the period, but they were unable to find a third tally.
The third period saw much of the same dominance from the Ephs as they managed the clock smartly. Following an icing late in the period, the Ephs were forced to call a timeout to rest tired legs. On the ensuing faceoff, the Mammoths would collect a loose puck in front to tie the game with five minutes on the clock. Neither team would find a go-ahead goal late so the rivals entered overtime.
The Ephs were unable to capitalize on a rare OT man advantage to open the frame which left the teams with four men apiece for much of the period. Each team remained poised on the puck and hesitant to take any risks, with an Ephs crossbar being the closest chance for either side. The bitter rivals took home a gentlemanly tie to end their season series. Coach Kangas had this to say about the result: "It was a hard-fought game today. We played well in both zones but unfortunately couldn't find a third goal."
It is "win-and-you're-in" tomorrow for the Ephs as they conclude the regular season at home against Hamilton tomorrow.
