Ephs Draw Against Cardinals

Williamstown, MA - The Williams College Ephs (5-3-2, 4-1-1 NESCAC) drew against the Wesleyan University Cardinals (4-4-2, 1-2-1 NESCAC) in a thrilling overtime contest.

By the Numbers
- The Ephs were 0/3 on the power play while the Cardinals were 1/5.
- Williams' Erin Pye totaled 40 saves while Wesleyan's Rei Halloran totaled 32 saves.
- Each team won 30 of the 60 face offs this game.

Game Recap
Trailing 2-1 to the Ephs early into the third period, the Cardinals capitalized on a power play opportunity. Despite being 2/26 on power plays heading into today, game, their special teams unit was able to find offensive success when forward Christina Tournas was able to find the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2, where it would remain for the rest of the match (3:53).

The Cardinals started the game clearly dominating, peppering sophomore goaltender Erin Pye with ample shots on goal. They found offensive success early, when forward Effie Tournas scored less than a minute into the game (00:56). While the Cardinals dominated the first half of the first period, the Ephs showed their grit as the period progressed and ensured the Cardinals' advantage would be short-lived.

The Ephs were firing on all cylinders as the second period began. Claire DeVries fired off a beautiful slap shot that found its way into the back of the net to cut the deficit to one (1:49). Leah Rubinshteyn quickly followed, scoring off a rebound exactly two minutes later (3:49). With both momentum and the lead now on the Ephs' side, they were able to hold strong during the second period and kill the two power play opportunities they conceded to Wesleyan during the twenty minutes.

Similarly to their offensive success early in the first period, the Cardinals scored early on to begin the third period. After Tournas's equalizer, both teams increased their intensity, and the game's physicality reached its climax. The Ephs received two power play chances during the prior, both of which were snuffed out by the Cardinals' penalty kill unit. As the clock winded down to 0:00, both teams began to prepare for a 5 minute overtime period.

Both teams opened the extra period with vigor, but for the away side, it may have been too much: defenseman Jenna Stevens picked up a tripping penalty, granting the Ephs a golden opportunity to clinch the game on the power play. However, the Cardinals' defense, anchored by goaltender Red Halloran, was a brick wall, and snuffed yet another Ephs power play. The rest of the period, while back-and-forth, was scoreless, and ultimately resulted in a draw.

Commenting on the outcome of the game, the Head Coach of the Ephs, Meghan Gillis, remarked, "You're always wanting to win, right, so a tie in the NESCAC is always better than a loss, obviously. You need points every weekend, as many as you can get—we have a lot of NESCAC games ahead of us so you'll settle for a tie." 

The Ephs' next game will be against the Nazareth Hockey Golden Flyers in Rochester, NY at 7PM.