Biddeford, ME – The Williams College Ephs (2-8-0) hit the road once again as they faced off against No.13 University of New England (9-2-2). Despite some hard hitting back-and-forth hockey for the first half of the game, a strong UNE second period would be enough to lift the Nor'easters over the Ephs by a score of 4-1.
The Ephs traveled the four hours up to Maine in hopes of downing their first ranked opponent of the season. The play was up and down the ice for the first half of the opening period with neither team grasping full control. It would be the home team who would strike first, after sustaining solid offensive zone possession and tiring out the Eph defenders. It would not take Williams long to find a response, however, as
Nicholas Rashkovsky would shoot a puck at the UNE goaltender. After a funky hop, the puck would trickle past the goalie to tie the game up at one. Eph goalie
Cal Sandquist would be called upon to make some big saves in the remainder of the period, tallying 24 on the night.
In similar fashion to their last away game, the Ephs looked slightly flat in the second period. UNE provided much of the chances in the early going and were rewarded with a power play, which they capitalized on quickly. The Ephs fought to get back into the game after the goal, but could not sustain pressure for more than a few minutes. Late in the period, it would be the Nor'easters again finding the back of the net to extend their lead to 3-1. The period would end on a high note for Williams, however, as they found themselves with a two-man advantage for a full two minutes.
The penalty carried over into the third period, yet the Ephs could not generate any real chances and headed back to even strength looking for answers. The road team seemed to be second best in most battles as the game dragged on, but another Ephs' power play gave the team hope. After a few misplaced passes, it would be the Nor'easters who found the best chance of the man-advantage and squeaked a goal past Sandquist to make the game 4-1 late in the third period. The game wound down with no real Ephs' threats, though the away team gave it a go until the buzzer with game ending 4-1.
Eph head coach
Bill Kangas spoke after the loss saying, "We saw the gap between winning and losing today. For the opening 20 minutes we went toe-to-toe and could have had several more goals. As the game went on we just became second best in puck battles, which you can't do against a strong opponent like them."
The Ephs will head back to league play on the weekend, facing No. 15 Trinity on Friday night at 7:30pm in Hartford, Conn.
