Williamstown, MA — On a sunny Saturday afternoon at "The Chap", the Williams College Ephs (7-12-1, 4-9-1) looked to leapfrog the Wesleyan University Cardinals (5-14-1, 3-10-1) in the NESCAC standings. With a final playoff spot on the line, the two teams fiercely competed down to the wire to claim the three points. The Ephs would enter the third period down 2-1, but a four goal third period rally flipped the game on its head as Williams skated to a huge 5-3 victory.
Today was essentially a must-win game for the Ephs, as they hunted down Wesleyan who occupied the spot above them in the standings. The Ephs replicated their hot start from last night as
Mel Mortarelli would set up
Jack Sabre to open the scoring just two minutes into the game. With momentum in their hands, the Ephs were determined to increase their advantage and find a second goal. Despite their efforts, the Ephs couldn't bury their second goal and found themselves on the defensive for a stretch of the period. Late in the frame, the Ephs would take another major, 5-minute, penalty for hitting to the head. Four minutes into the power play, Wesleyan would finally capitalize and level the game. The Ephs would skate out the clock and end the period level at 1-1.
The second period was a back-and-forth contest with both teams understanding the importance of the remaining two periods. Just seven minutes into the period, the Ephs would go down a man once again. Similar to the first period, the Cardinals would find the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead. The Ephs needed a quick response in order to get themselves back into the game, but their attempts would be fruitless as the period ended 2-1 Cardinals.
The two teams skated out in the third period aware of the playoff implications. The Ephs would deliver the first blow off a well-planned faceoff.
Mel Mortarelli would kick the puck to
Ben Lawrick streaking down the wall and the senior delivered a dart to
Trevor O'Brien who tipped it home to tie the game 2-2. Several minutes later,
Logan Valkama would find
Ben Lawrick at the point who fired the puck towards the goal.
Owen Stadheim would be the first to react in front of the net and he buried it home to take a 3-2 lead. Two minutes later,
Jared Lambright passed to
Sean Clarke in the slot. The senior would kick the puck to
Faisal Al-Saif who found the bottom corner of the Cardinals' net to extend the Ephs' lead to 4-2. Wesleyan would find a response to make it 4-3 and make the final minutes a tense affair. With a minute remaining,
Owen Stadheim would steal a puck at center ice and pass to
Logan Valkama who hit the empty net and seal the 5-3 victory for Williams.
Eph head coach
Bill Kangas spoke after the game saying, "After the way last night ended, winning like we did tonight means so much more. We knew how important this game was and we stuck to our game plan until the final buzzer. Our effort and relentlessness won the game for us tonight, we know we're going to have to bring that for the rest of the season."
Next up the Ephs hit the road to play the first game of the home-and-home with travel partner Middlebury College at 7 PM in Middlebuiry, Vermont. Middlebury will then travel to Williamstown on Saturday to play the Ephs in Lansing Chapman Rink at 7 PM.
