Williams Ephs Men's hockey 2015-16 Season Review

As we enter the 2015-16 academic calendar and the fall athletic season, we are reviewing the 2015-16 campaigns for each of the NESCAC men's hockey teams from #10 to #1.  Closing it out is regular season champ Williams.

Zander Masucci was one
of the top players in D3 in 2015-16

1.Williams
2015-16 Reccord
14-2-2 (1st in NESCAC)
19-6-2 Overall

Stats:
Overall (Conf. Rank)                                     Conference Games (Conf. Ranks)
Offense - 2.85 G/GM (4th)                                                       Offense - 2.72 G/GM (3rd)
Defense - 1.67 G/GM (1st)                                                       Defense - 1.50 G/GM (1st)
Power Play - 17/86 19.8% (3rd)                                              Power Play - 10/52 19.2% (1st)
Penalty Kill - 69/78 88.5% (1st)                                              Penalty Kill - 47/53 88.7% (1st) 
Penalty Minutes - 7.7/Gm (7th)                                             Penalty Minutes - 6.6/Gm (10th) 

Season Review
Williams entered the 2015-16 season having lost a tight 1-0 NESCAC championship game in 2014-15 to their bête noir, Amherst. The Ephs lost their leading scorer, Craig Kitto, and former All-NESCAC goaltender, Sean Dougherty, but returned most of their core. In net, they found a replacement in freshman Michael Pinios, who earned Second Team All-NESCAC and Rookie of the Year honors thanks to a .940 save% and 1.62 GAA in 16 games. His backup, senior Noah Klag, was solid in relief as well with a .944 save% and 1.65 GAA in nine games, more appearances than he had in his first three seasons in Williamstown combined.

The Ephs also benefited from the enhanced play of Zander Massuci, who provided a strong leadership role and put up 20 points (7-13-20) or as many as he had in his first three seasons combined. Massuci went on to garner numerous honors in 2015-16, including NESCAC Player of the Year.

The regular season was a boon for the Ephs, who won their first ever NESCAC regular season crown, thanks in large part to sweeping the season series with second place Trinity. The only team in conference the Ephs failed to beat was Hamilton, losing in New York and tying in Williamstown. Success does not mean there wasn't some drama, however, as the Ephs came back from two goal deficits in four straight games to win in one stretch midseason.

The NESCAC playoffs, however, were another story. The Ephs, like Trinity the year before, fell to eight seed Tufts, 2-1, thanks to terrific goaltending. Williams, also like the Bantams the year before, were left at the mercy of the selection committee to extend their season. The Ephs were ultimately awarded a Pool C bid and hosted their first ever NCAA tournament game against MASCAC champion Salem State. Williams handled the Vikings, 7-1, to earn a trip to upstate New York for a rematch with Geneseo, a team that had beaten the Ephs in Williamstown in November.

The Knights - a team bonded by the horrific tragedy of one of their teammates being murdered by a classmate midseason - held on for a hardfought 2-1 win to end Williams' season.

High Point
Williams received a second life from the NCAA selection committee and they did not waste it in the NCAA opening round. Coach Kangas crew doubled the shot output of the Vikings and outplayed them in ever facet of the game. In the locker room after the game, Salem coach Bill O'Neill credited Williams speed for disrupting his team's game plan. Coach Kangas was not only proud of his troops after the game, but also waxed poetic how this win was for all his previous teams that weren't able to go to the NCAA Tournament.


Low Point 
The Ephs almost never got the opportunity for that NCAA tournament game. A shocking NESCAC loss to Tufts in the Quarterfinals left an NCAA birth in doubt. As Massuci  told Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle after the game, the team was shocked and silent after the game.

MVP
Zander Massuci (D, '16) NESCAC Player of the Year, ACHA First Team All-America East, D3Hockey.com First Team East. 'Nuff said.