WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass - The Williams College men's hockey team took the ice against the combined might of the fifty United States Saturday, with the USA under 18 team looking every inch what they were billed to be en route to earning a 6-1 victory.
The exhibition match-up has no bearing on the actual season and the result is not factored into the season record, thus the 14th ranked Ephs, despite the loss, remain at the top of the NESCAC with a 5-0-1 (4-0 Conference) record.
The USA under 18 team gets back on track following a 4-1 defeat at the hands of NCAA Division 1 school Union in their last outing. The Americans had previously knocked off NESCAC schools Bowdoin and Colby, 10-2 and 4-0 respectively, this season.
The USA jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the games first 4:37 off of goals from Bill Arnold and Nick Shore, with Adam Clendening playing the role of facilitator as he earned the assist on each score.
The lead would swell in the second period, with the red, white, and blue ballooning their lead to 5-0 off of scores Jason Zucker, Jon Merrill, and Stephen Jones in the opening 15 minutes of the period.
However, the Ephs would land a blow of their own before the period was through. After an American turnover at center ice, Williams' Eric Rubino would take the puck and navigate the US defense before notching a glove side winner that caught the inside roof of the cage to cut the lead to 5-1.
The USA would add one more score in the final period to finalize the scoring at 6-1.
The Ephs were out shot 38-22 by the Americans, and earned four more penalty minutes (Williams: 14; USA: 10) in the loss.
Williams' Ryan Purdy (17 saves) and Marc Pulde (15 saves) split time in the net for the Ephs.
Williams will look to get back in the win column tomorrow, December 13th, when they host Salve Regina. That game is scheduled to start at 3:00 PM.
