Middlebury, VT — Tonight was the biggest game of the season for the Williams College Ephs (8-12-1, 5-9-1) as they had a chance to pull within two points of the Middlebury College Panthers (6-11-4, 4-8-3) who occupy the 7th spot in the NESCAC. A tight battle through and through, the two teams only combined for 26 shots through two periods. A late second period goal from
Connor Tobin and a 33-save shutout from
Cal Sandquist was enough to lift the Ephs over Middlebury 1-0.
The opening period would be one of solid defensive play and little risk-taking. Both teams were aware of the crucial points on the line and neither wanted to concede the all-important first goal. The puck possession was evenly split between the teams with the Ephs coming alive towards the back end of the period. After withstanding some early Panthers' chances, it would be the Ephs' turn to throw their best at the Middlebury net.
Owen Stadheim would have the lion's share of the Williams' looks, hitting one crossbar and nearly scoring on another occasion. Despite the few grade A chances, neither team would crack the code in the first.
In the second period, it appeared to be much the same in terms of the game flow. Middlebury dominated the early portion of the period but
Cal Sandquist was equal to the task as the junior registered 33 saves on the night. The Ephs would begin to take back some of the momentum as the period wore on, but they struggled to really sustain any pressure. With less than 5 minutes remaining,
Connor Tobin would take the puck around the net. In his first game returning from injury, the senior would snipe it over the shoulder of the Middlebury netminder to open the scoring. With a 1-0 lead, the Ephs entered defensive overdrive in order to see out the game.
The third period featured an all-out attack from the Panthers. In the last period alone, Middlebury registered 37 shot attempts compared to just 5 from the Ephs. Williams would not make it easy on themselves as they would take two penalties late in the game. The Panthers did their best to throw every puck towards Williams' goal, but the combination of Sandquist's glove and the Ephs shot-blocking attempts would stymie both chances. The game would ultimately be won by the Ephs' defensive prowess as their 25 blocks was a season-high. Game 1 of the home-and-home found the Ephs narrowly edging Middlebury 1-0.
Eph hed coach Bill Kangas spoke after the huge win saying, "We worked hard in the d-zone today. It was certainly not our best performance but it got the job done tonight. This weekend is a massive opportunity for us and it is made even more important by the fact that we play the same team twice in 24 hours."
The Ephs head home to host the Panthers tomorrow evening in Lansing Chapman Rink at 7pm for the second half of the home/home series with their travel partners.
