WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Bill Kangas’ Williams men’s ice hockey team (7-1-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season Friday night with a dramatic 3-2 OT win over Hamilton on Saturday to go one and one on the week and remain 10th in the USCHO national poll.
This is the fourth consecutive week the Ephs have been ranked after debuting in the poll at number 14.
The loss by Williams last week leaves second ranked Norwich (10-0-3) as the only team in Division III without a loss. Top-ranked SUNY Oswego has a record of 16-1-0, having played almost twice as many games as the Ephs.
The Ephs, currently in first place in NESCAC with a conference record of 5-1-0, are one of three NESCAC teams ranked in the USCHO’s top 10. Middlebury, second place in NESCAC, is 3-0-3 in conference play and 6-1-3 on the year and the Panthers are 7th in the USCHO poll. Amherst, which holds down fifth place in NESCAC, has a conference record of 3-2-1. The Lord Jeffs are 8-2-1 overall and they are ranked 9th in the USCHO poll.
The Ephs are led in scoring by senior forward Alex Smigelski who has tallied eight goals and assisted on four for 12 points. Junior forward Matt Masucci has five goals (three of which are game-winners) and four assists for 9 points.
Backstopping the Eph defense is sophomore goalie Ryan Purdy who has allowed 13 goals in 393.5 minutes for a 1.98 goals against average. He has turned aside 247 of 260 shots for a save percentage of .946.
This week the Ephs take to the road as they
will pay on Friday night at Wesleyan and then on Saturday
afternoon.
USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./January 11, 2010
Team (First
Place) Record Pts Last Week
1
Oswego
(20) 16-1-0
300 1
2
Norwich
10-0-3 275 3
3 St.
Norbert
12-2-1 259 4
4
Plattsburgh
9-2-3 233 2
5 St.
Scholastica
10-2-2 230 5
6
Elmira
10-3-1 198 6
7
Middlebury
6-1-3 175 8
8
Hamline
8-2-3 141 7
9
Amherst
8-2-1 117 14
10
Williams
7-1-1 103 10
11
Adrian
10-3-0 87 9
12 Gustavus Adolphus 10-4-1
85 11
13 Wis.-River
Falls
9-5-1 66 13
14
Wentworth
10-1-1 43 15
15
Manhattanville
12-4-0 29 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Colby 23, Wis.-Superior 19,
Bowdoin 7, Fredonia 4, Curry 3, Augsburg 1,
New England College 1, Potsdam 1
