Plattsburgh Cardinals 14-2-2 1
Williams Ephs 10-2-2 5
It was over when...: Craig Kitto (F, '15) put in two empty net goals to complete his first career hat-trick that sealed the 5-1 Williams victory over third ranked Plattsburgh. The Ephs remain undefeated in the all-important NESCAC standings but had lost two of their three previous non-conference affairs to Hobart and Johnson and Wales, both in overtime. It's a ways a way, but the win over Plattsburgh could help the Ephs' case for a Pool-C bid to NCAA tournament should Williams fail to win the NESCAC tournament.
It was a closely contested game most of the way despite the score. After a scoreless first, Williams broke the ice at the 9:20 mark of the second period when Ephs freshman Luke Stickel (F, '17) capitalized on a Cardinals turnover for his first collegiate goal. A minute later, Sam Gray (F, '17) put in a Greg Johnson (D, '16) rebound for a 2-0 Williams lead.
Cardinals coach Bob Emery - -the third winngest coach in D-III men's hockey history behind Middlebury's Bill Beaney and UMass-Dartmouth's John Rolli - - thought his team played "solid" outside of the two turnovers that lead to the first two Ephs goals. "The first two goals were totally because of bad turnovers," he told the Press-Republican.
Kitto went five-hole on a breakaway in the final minute of the second for his first goal of the evening and Williams carried a commanding 3-0 lead into the second intermission. Shots were in favor of Plattsburgh, 16-13, after two and the Cardinals would ratchet up the pressure in the final frame. Plattsburgh dialed up 20 shots in the third but Ephs netminder Sean Dougherty (G, '15) was up for the task, stopping 19 of them, including several in highlight reel fashion.
The Cardinals beat Dougherty around the seven minute mark of the period on a deflection, but the goal was called off for high-sticking. Down 3-0, Emery pulled goalie Mathieu Cadieux (G, '14) with just under three minutes left and the Cards got on the board at the 18:02 mark, ruining Dougherty's shutout. Dougherty made 35 shots on the evening, while Cadieux stopped 16.
The win was Ephs coach Bill Kangas' 330th at Williams (330-223-55), setting a new school record originally held by Kangas' predecessor Bill McCormick (329-351-18). The win over third ranked Plattsburgh came on a night when the #2, #3, #6, #7 and #9 teams in the D3hockey.com poll lost. It also closes out the Ephs non-conference schedule with a 4-2-0 mark, with one of the wins coming against NESCAC foe Hamilton in the Buck Supply tournament.
Player of the game: Sean Dougherty (G, '15) Dougherty nearly missed out on his second shutout of the season and had his best third period performance of the season. The 35 saves are the second most this season for the junior from Lawng Island, who had 39 turnaways in the Ephs other win over a top-ten OOC opponent, a December 1st victory over Babson.
Box Score: Plattsburgh 1/Williams 5 Williams Recap Press-Republican Recap
Middlebury Panthers 6-6-2 2
Norwich Cadets 12-3-2 5
It was over when...: Norwich scored four goals in the first two periods leading coach Beaney to pull starter Nick BonDurant (G, '14) in favor of freshman Drew Michals (G, '14) for the third in the 147 meeting of Norwich/Middlebury. The teams skated to a 1-1 tie in the first round of Plattsburgh's Primelink Tournament back in November with the Panthers advancing to the finals in a shootout. The Panthers goalie in that game was opening day starter Mike Peters (G, '15), who seems to have been relegated to third string status at this point.
The Cadets outshot the Panthers 36-20 as BonDurant made 24 saves to fall to 2-4-0 on the season and Michals let up one goal on eight shots in the third. The Cadets Chris Czarnota (G, '14) made 18 saves to move to 2-0-0. Middlebury finishes their OOC schedule with a 2-3-1 record with both wins coming in the Middlebury Holiday Classic.
Player of the game: Shane Gorman (F, '14) The Trumbull, CT native scored a goal and assisted on another to end the night with the team lead in points (8-18-26).
Box Score: Middlebury 2/Norwich 5 Norwich Recap
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