Hartford, CT – The Williams College Ephs (2-9-0, 1-6-0) set off for their third game in six days as they faced off against a very strong #15 Trinity (9-2-0, 5-0-0) team. The Ephs trailed the game for most of the contest, but found themselves only down 2-1 after two periods. In the hunt for their first win against the Bantams in several years, a five goal firestorm from Trinity would sink the Ephs' hopes as they dropped the game 7-1.
The Ephs were looking for a better start in the league in 2024, only having one win under their belt. Trinity, on the other hand, came into the match undefeated and giving up less than two goals a game. The visitors had their hands full in the opening ten minutes, weathering a nasty Bantams storm on the back of some great saves from
Cal Sandquist. Halfway through the frame, the Ephs began to get their feet under them, finding some opportunities of their own in the Bantams half of the ice. As the period wound down, it looked as if the spoils would be shared going into the locker room. With just twenty seconds left in the first, Trinity would throw a puck at the net and find a lucky bounce to put them up 1-0 late.
The second period was slightly more balanced in possession, with the Ephs struggling to get a real hold of the momentum. Midway through the period, a scrum in front of the net would result in some 4-on-4 hockey. After a faceoff in the Ephs zone and a blown clear, the Bantams would extend their lead to two with a goal from right in front of the crease. The Ephs would not let the game slip away just yet, as they jumped on a loose puck and turned it up the ice.
Ben Lawrick would stretch a puck to
Trevor O'Brien who kicked it out wide to Ziv Deener-Chordirker; the sophomore would fire a puck at the far pad and find a hole to cut the deficit to one. The Ephs found some life after the goal, hitting two crossbars late in the second and grabbing hold of the momentum going into an all-important third period.
After a solid opening few minutes to the period, the Ephs found themselves hemmed in their zone. A backdoor pass was fired home by the Bantams to extend the lead to 3-1. Just 15 seconds later, another Trinity strike would make it 4-1. Their roll continued with a fifth goal coming just a minute later and a sixth a minute after that. A final nail in the coffin came at the 15:00 mark, making it five goals in nine minutes for the undefeated Bantams. The game would end 7-1.
Coach Kangas commented on the loss saying, "We played forty minutes of decent hockey, that doesn't cut it against opponents like Trinity. We took our foot off the gas in the third and paid the price for it. 3pm tomorrow is going to come quickly and we need to win if we want to give ourselves a chance later in the season".
The Ephs head to Wesleyan tomorrow at 3pm for a rematch of the first round of the 2022-23 NESCAC playoffs.
