Williamstown, Mass. - Sophomore John Wickman scored the
game-winning goal with 3:17 left in the third period to lead the
Williams College Ephs to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Trinity
College Bantams in the New England Small College Athletic
Conference (NESCAC) Championship Quarterfinals this
afternoon. Williams improves to 15-7-3 and will face the
Wesleyan University Cardinals in the NESCAC Semifinals next weekend
in Williamstown, Mass. Trinity closes the year at 11-9-4.
Williams jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first minute of play.
The goal was set up by co-captain Matt Masucci '11, who took a
cross-ice pass from Connor Olvany '11 at the top of the blue line,
skated in on the left side, and found Mark Lyons '13 in front of
the net. Lyons made a quick deke to his left and flipped it in to
give the Ephs the early advantage. Trinity bounced back two
minutes later, when sophomore Chris Menard (Burlington, Mass.)
chipped in a rebound attempt on the left side of the net after an
Adamo Miceli (Woodbridge, Ontario) shot from the right circle to
tie the game at 1-1. With just under five minutes to go in
the first period, Olvany put the Ephs up 2-1 with a slapshot from
the left circle that snuck past Bantam goalie Wesley Vesprini
(Lexington, Mass.). Defensemen Brian Malchoff '11 and Stephen Maier
'12 got credit for the assists. Trinity responded yet again
at the two-minute mark to tie the score heading into the locker
room. After a delayed penalty from Williams, the Bantams took
advantage of a 6-on-5 opportunity when junior Joe Tierney (Reading,
Mass.) chipped in a loose puck in front of the net to even the
game at 2-2.
Both teams dialed up the intensity in the second period, and
this led to an increase in penalties and big hits for both
sides. The Bantams would capitalize on one of these penalties
four minutes into the frame when senior Egor Petrov (Novokuznetsk,
Russia) and Jeffrey Menard Burlington, Mass.) broke free on a
2-on-1 opportunity. Skating in on the left side, Menard made a
quick pass to Petrov who beat Eph goaltender Ryan Purdy '12 for the
power play goal, giving Trinity its first lead of the game at
3-2. Trinity almost extended its lead on another power play
attempt at the ten-minute mark. After junior Paul Jaskot (Methuen,
Mass.) took a shot from the left circle, a scrum ensued for the
rebound and the puck found its way into the net. After determining
the puck was kicked, however, the referees called off the goal and
the score remained at 3-2.
The Bantams took their one-goal lead into the final period and
remained on top in the first few minutes. The Ephs dug deep,
however, getting a flurry of scoring chances that would ultimately
lead to the tying goal with ten minutes to go when Ben Contini '11
and Eric Rubino '13 skated in on a 2-on-1. The Trinity defense made
a nice play to break up Contini's scoring chance, but Rubino
corralled the loose puck on the right side, moved it to his
backhand, and flipped it in to make the score 3-3. Both teams
battled hard down the stretch, but it would be Wickman who came
away with the game-winner for Williams. With less than four minutes
to go, Contini took a shot from the right circle that was stopped
by Trinity's goalie. Wickman was right behind Contini, however, and
he took control of the rebound and fired it past Vesprini to give
the Ephs a late 4-3 lead. Trinity pulled Vesprini with one
minute remaining and pressured the Eph defense in the final minute,
but Purdy made some nice saves to preserve the win, Purdy
stopped33 of 36 shots from the Bantams in 60 minutes of play.
Wesley Vesprini had a solid effort as well, making 34 saves on 38
shots in 58:55 minutes of play.
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