UTICA, N.Y. - After winning the first NESCAC Championship in program history and qualifying for the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2016, the 2025-26 Williams College men's ice hockey team saw its season come to an end Saturday evening during a 3-0 setback at No. 5 Utica in the first round of the national tournament from the Adirondack Bank Center.
"I am really proud of our guys," said head coach
Bill Kangas. "It is always tough because there is a group of seniors finishing their careers today, but what a run we had. As we got into the middle part of the season, we found ourselves. The senior class did an unbelievable job righting the ship. I could not be prouder of how they led the team and how much they meant to our success down the stretch. We played some great hockey."
The Pioneers (20-7-1, 13-2-1 UCHC) scored a trio of second-period goals over the span of three minutes, three seconds. Aidan Hughes buried the game-winning goal at the 13:58 mark, and then 30 seconds later, Andrew Della Rovere gave Utica some breathing room. With 2:59 left in the second, John Gutt ended the scoring on a power-play tally.
Junior goaltender
Harrison Fogel made 23 saves for the Ephs (12-14-2, 8-10-0 NESCAC). Junior forward
Brady Welsch and first-year forward
Simon Gaul tallied game-highs of five shots on goal, respectively. The Ephs held a 28-26 advantage in shots on goal and sophomore forward
Jake McManus went 16-11 on faceoffs.
Prior to today's loss, the Ephs went 7-2 in their last nine games. Saturday's NCAA Tournament game marked the final game for Eph seniors
Conner Fitzpatrick, captain
David Vieten,
Jared Lambright,
Connor Berg,
Ziv Deener-Chodirker,
Mel Mortarelli, assistant captain
Trevor O'Brien and assistant captain
Liam Jones.
Â
