Hartford, Conn. – The Williams College Ephs scored two goals in the third period to emerge victorious over the Trinity College Bantams, 2-1, in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's ice hockey action this evening at the Koeppel Community Sports Center.  Trinity falls to 3-7 overall and 1-4 in the league, while the Ephs improve to 4-5 on the year, and 2-1 in the NESCAC. 

Heading into the third period of action, Trinity and Williams were scoreless until junior Aimee Dennett (Highlands Ranch, Co.) intercepted a pass in Trinity's defensive zone and converted on a wide open shot to give the Ephs the game's first goal, 5:02 into the period.  Despite the early scoring inabilities, Trinity responded less than three minutes later, as first-year Samantha Edelson (Northbrook, Ill.) tied the game after classmate Lucy Robinson (Toronto, Ontario) pushed the fuck in front of the net from the blue line. 

Knotted at 1-1, Williams came up with another clutch goal, as sophomore Cristina Bravi (Montreal, QC) beat sophomore goaltender Alexa Pujol (New Canaan, Conn.) with 9:24 left in the match, to put Trinity in a 2-1 hole, one in which the Bantams could not recover.  Trinity had scoring chances late, and a penalty with less than two minutes to play gave the Bantams an advantage for the remainder of regulation, but time expired with Williams on top, as Trinity dropped their first match in three games.

Earlier in the match, Trinity had taken what appeared to be a 1-0 lead with 5:18 left in the second period, but the puck was deemed to have been scored just after the Williams net had been dislodged, and therefore the goal was not awarded.  Less than a minute later, Williams senior Kristen Tubbs (Garden City, N.Y.) threatened with a one-on-one shorthanded opportunity, but Pujol came up with an athletic stop to keep the game tied for the time being.  Trinity sophomore Sarah Duncan (Dedham, Mass.) had ended the first period with a hard point blank slap shot, but first-year Chloe Billadeau (Chaska, Minn.) made a nifty glove save to keep the Bantams off the board early.

Pujol finished with 17 saves for Trinity, while Billadeau, coming off her first collegiate shutout, made 19 stops for the Ephs. 

Trinity and Williams will square off in Game 2 of a two-game series, tomorrow, Sat., Jan. 7, at 3 p.m.

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