Ephs on road Saturday at Middlebury for 1st Round of NESCAC Tourney

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Bill Kangas' Williams men's ice hockey team heads to Middlebury [VT] College for the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. The Ephs and Panthers will face off at 4:00 pm in Kenyon Arena.

Middlebury enters as the tournament's second seed, having won the tie-breaker versus Bowdoin, while the Ephs finished in a tie for sixth, but lost the tie-breaker versus Trinity, and have been seeded seventh.

"The exciting thing this year about NESCAC was the parity of the league," noted Kangas. "The final weekend was needed to determine the tournament seeds. Whoever gets hot over the next three games can be the NESCAC Champion."

Four-time defending NESCAC champion Middlebury (16-6-2, 12-5-2 NESCAC) finished tied in the standings with Bowdoin, however the Panthers held the tie-breaker over the Polar Bears by winning the lone meeting of 2007-08. Although the Panthers finished the regular season on a high note by winning their last two contests they were 2-3 in their last five contests, the season has been up-and-down for Middlebury.

After reeling off 10-straight victories over the months of December and January and out-scoring opponents by a 45-20 margin, the Panthers went uncharacteristically cold in February with a 3-4-1 record and surrendering 25 goals.

The Ephs (7-8-4, 9-11-4 NESCAC) have netted just 15 goals in their last five contests so the offense will need to pick it up on Saturday on the home ice of Middlebury, 10th-ranked team in the nation. The Ephs will be looking for the same kind of effort that resulted in a 5-3 win over then fourth-ranked Norwich back on February 8.

In the January 21st regular season game vs. Middlebury played in Williamstown the Ephs' Brian Malchoff gave Williams a 1-0 lead early in the second period, but Middlebury evened the score before the period ended on a power play goal. Middlebury then recorded the game-winner early in the third period on another power play goal.

Both teams had seven power play opportunities on the night and the Panthers converted on two, while the Ephs came up empty. Eph goalie Marc Pulde was huge in the game as he turned aside 40 Panther shots, while Middlebury goalie Doug Raeder only needed to make 19 saves.

"We learned a lot about our team this season and we know the playoffs are a new season," said Kangas. "We're looking for 60 minutes or more of smart, physical hockey and I think right now we're ready to play our best hockey."

2008 NESCAC MEN’S ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP

Quarterfinals - Saturday, March 1 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Wesleyan at No. 1 Colby - 4:00 p.m.
No. 7 Williams at No. 2 Middlebury - 4:00 p.m.
No. 6 Trinity at No. 3 Bowdoin - 4:00 p.m.
No. 5 Connecticut College at No. 4 Amherst - 4:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, March 8 at Highest Remaining Seed, 1:00 p.m./4:00 p.m.
Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed
Remaining quarterfinal winners

Championship - Sunday, March 9
Semifinal winners - 1:00 p.m.