Ephs drop second straight; fall to Norwich 4-0
NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The offense was stymied for the second straight game as the Williams College men's hockey team fell to Norwich University 4-0 for their second consecutive loss Friday night. The Ephs were previously shutout in a lost to NCAA #1 Plattsburgh in their last game and now fall to 11-6-2 (9-3-2 ECAC East-NESCAC), while Norwich improves to 11-5-3 (9-3-2 ECAC East).
Chad Anderson scored a pair of goals, and Ryan Klingensmith stopped all 15 shots that he faced to lead the Cadets past Williams College; Ryan Purdy had 27 stops in the net for the Ephs.
Norwich outshot Williams 11-2 in the first period, and Anderson put Norwich (11-5-3, 9-3-2 ECAC East) on the scoreboard midway through the first period as he scored a power play goal at the 8:52 mark
Williams had a golden opportunity to tie the score midway through the second period when Connor Olvany redirected a shot past Norwich goaltender Ryan Klingensmith. Unfortunately for the Ephs, the puck barely found the right post and Norwich was able to preserve its one-goal lead.
Norwich broke the game open late in the second period, scoring two goals in a span of 53 seconds. Rico Piatelli put the Cadets in front 2-0 when he scored at the 16:32 mark off assists from Steve Coon and Craig Serino, and Anderson made it 3-0 when he potted his second goal of the nightat the 17:25 mark.
Norwich capped the scoring late in the third period when Greg Eskedjian took advantage of a Williams turnover and scored an unassisted goal at the 13:43 mark.
The Cadets outshot the Ephs 11-5 in the third period, and never gave the visitors a chance at a comeback bid. For the game, Norwich held a commanding 31-15 edge in shots.
Norwich went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Williams was 0-for-5 on the man advantage.
The Ephs have now dropped two straight after reeling off for straight victories and look to get back in to the win column tomorrow, February 7th, when they travel to St. Michaels. That game is scheduled to start at 3:00 PM.
