Middletown, CT – After a tough loss last night in Hartford, Williams College (3-9-0, 2-6-0) headed down the road to face the Wesleyan University Cardinals (3-7-1, 2-3-1). Despite the Ephs registering 65 shots attempts in the game and dominating the flow of play, the game entered the third period at 1-1. Two separate Cardinals leads would be erased before
Conner Fitzpatrick scored two goals late as the Ephs came out victorious 5-3.
The Ephs were hungry for a bounce back game after the unfortunate ending to the Trinity game last night. That passion showed in the first as Williams was the dominant team for the opening frame. An aggressive Ephs' forecheck and solid defense proved to be difficult for the Cardinals to handle. Several chances would go unfinished from the Ephs but the momentum remained squarely in their hands. As the period wound to a close, the Ephs'
Logan Valkama would pass a puck to
Owen Stadheim who threw it in front of the net.
David Vieten would swipe a few times at the puck before burying it home to open the scoring.
The second period was much of the same for the Ephs who possessed the puck in the Cardinals' zone for minutes at a time. Midway through the period, however, Williams would take a penalty (the only of the game) and send Wesleyan on the man-advantage. The home team would take full advantage as they fired home a one-timer to beat the sliding
Cal Sandquist. The Cardinals seemed to be energized by the goal and Sandquist was required to make several big saves late in the second period to keep the game at 1-1.
The game broke open in the third period. Williams has struggled this season in the third, losing several close games late. Today seemed to be a similar scenario as Wesleyan would take a 2-1 lead just four minutes into the frame. Desperate not to repeat the narrative,
Nicholas Rashkovsky would find
Brady Welsch who sniped the far corner for his first collegiate goal. The game would not stay tied for long as Wesleyan answered back with a goal of their own to take a 3-2 lead. Just two minutes later,
Conner Fitzpatrick was slid a puck from
Sean Clarke and the sophomore finished the chance for his first collegiate goal. He was not content with just one, however, and fired home a second goal on his next shift with
Henry Muller and
Jared Lambright drawing the assists. Now up 4-3, the Ephs looked for an insurance goal that would settle the nerves and seal the game.
Logan Valkama would be that source of comfort, ripping a puck home off of a pass from
Connor Berg and
Ben Lawrick. The Ephs would finish out the game comfortably to get back in the win column with a 5-3 victory.
Eph head coach
Bill Kangas spoke after the win saying, "It always feels good to win a game like this. We've been struggling to score lately so it was great to see the guys find the back of the net. It is not easy to go down twice in the third period, especially on the road, but they found a way and that's all that matters".
The Ephs will head home for two out of conference games, beginning with a rematch against Albertus Magnus next Friday at 7pm.
