Ephs fall 4-1 to Middlebury in NESCAC Semis
AMHERST, MA - The third-seeded Williams College men's hockey
teams season came to end Friday as they fell to 2nd-seeded
Middlebury Panthers 4-1 in the NESCAC semifinals at Orr Rink in
Amherst, Mass. The Panthers advanced to the NESCAC Championship
game for the 10th straight year with a 4-1 win over 3rd-seeded
Williams College and will face the winner of this evening's second
semifinal game between the top-seeded Amherst College Lord Jeffs
and No. 4 Trinity College.
After starting the season 11-4-2, the Ephs lost five of their last
nine games and ended the 2008-2009 campaign with an overall record
of 15-9-2 (12-5-2 Conference). After skating to a 4-4 OT draw
against Williams on January 13th, Middlebury has won 11
of their last 15 games and improves their overall record to 19-6-1.
The Panthers received two goals from Leonard Badeau and 29 saves from goaltender Doug Raeder in the win. The Ephs lone goal came off of the stick of Andrew Lepore with Brett Haraguchi assisting, while Ryan Purdy amassed 35 saves in a solid performance in the net for Williams.
Middlebury had the first scoring chance of the game less than five minutes into the first period as Mason Graddock let a one-timed slap shot fly, that went just over the shoulder and crossbar of Williams goaltender Ryan Purdy. However, the Panthers would make good on the Williams power play just a short time later as Jamie McKenna buried a shot from close range just over halfway through the extra-man session.
At the end of the opening period, Middlebury held a narrow 9-8
edge in shots on goal, despite attempting 25 total shots to
Williams 16.
The Ephs responded in the early goings of the 2nd
period when Lepore and Haraguchi connected amidst a scrum in front
of the Panther net just 3:17 into the stanza. The Ephs played the
Panthers strong throughout the middle period and stewarded play
into the 2nd intermission with the score at 1-1 and
Middlebury edging the Ephs in shots with 22-18.
After just five minutes of third period action, the Panthers
regained the lead on a rebound score from Leonard Badeau, and with
added an insurance score with 6:59 to play to open up the lead to
3-1.
With 1:50 to play in the third, Williams was sent on the power
play, and after calling a timeout, pulled Purdy for an extra
skater. The Ephs put a handful of shots on Raeder, before
Middlebury's Badeau riffled home a short-handed empty-net goal from
beyond center ice.
With the trio of third period scores, the Panthers doomed the Ephs NESCAC championship aspirations and ended the careers of Williams seniors Christopher Fahey, Matt Draheim, Brett Haraguchi, David Ramsay, and Rick Redmond.
Middlebury will face either Amherst or Trinity in tomorrow's conference title game at 7:30 p.m.
