Williamstown, MA — A cold night in Williamstown was warmed up by a fiery matchup between the Williams College Ephs (5-10-0, 2-7-0) and the Bowdoin College Polar Bears (10-4-2, 6-2-2). A hotly contested matchup, the game went back and forth for a majority of the 60 minutes. A stellar defensive performance from the Polar Bears would solidify a 1-0 win over the Ephs after a second period strike.
A hard-hitting game through and through, the tempo was high from the opening puck drop. Despite decent zone time for each team, not many chances would be created in the opening frame. Cal Sanquist stood tall in the Ephs' net when called upon while his defense tried to remain solid in front of him. Williams' best chance of the first period would come off the stick of
Mel Mortarelli who saw a great poke check squander the look. Hard work aside, the period would end 0-0.
In the second period play opened up a bit more. Several penalties were dished out to the Polar Bears, affording the Ephs the first man advantage of the game. Even with the extra man, Williams was not able to crack the code and open the scoring, allowing the momentum to flow into the hands of Bowdoin. Following their successful penalty kill, Bowdoin would break the deadlock with a snipe from the slot to make it 1-0 Polar Bears. The Ephs were hungry for a tying goal as the period wore on, but they were unsuccessful. The Ephs would pile on mounds of pressure but would ultimately be down 1-0 heading into the third.
The third period was all Ephs. Williams would take a few penalties that would cost them precious time, but the momentum remained solely in their possession. The Ephs fired puck after puck at the net, but the Bowdoin netminder would fight off each and every one (with the help of plenty of Polar Bears blocking shots). As the time ticked down, the Ephs had several power play opportunities to level the game.
Logan Valkama,
Owen Stadheim,
Jared Lambright, and
Connor Berg would all have looks during the various advantages but to no avail. In the final minutes, with the net empty, the Ephs poured it all on. A few tight scrambles in front would be cleared by the Polar Bears as the game ended 1-0 in favor of the visitors.
Eph head coach
Bill Kangas spoke after the loss saying, "We know what we need to do better and what worked. Our communication and team play improved as the game wore on, next time we just need to play that way all game. The best news we have is that we can turn it around tomorrow at 3pm".
The Ephs, in fact, can turn it around as they host Colby College tomorrow at 3pm.
