Overtime goal lifts Ephs past Buffalo State 5-4
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Ephs’ (2-15-2) losing streak
came to an end this evening with a 5-4 overtime victory against the
Buffalo State Bengals (5-10-3).
The game remained scoreless until 18:34 into the first period when
Williams grabbed hold of the lead. Connecting on a rebounded shot,
junior Sam Tarnasky sent the puck into the lower left corner of the
goal to score for the Ephs. She was assisted by sophomore Kait
O’Brien and senior captain Caralyn Quan.
The Ephs’ lead, however, was short-lived, as the Bengals
scored two goals within the first four minutes of the second
period. The first goal came at 2:42 when Jessica Thieme, assisted
by Melissa Jeckovich, sent the puck flying into the far right
corner of the net. Julie Ruszala quickly followed with a goal of
her own at 3:26 to put the Bengals up 2-1. Junior Catherine Mullen
answered for the Ephs at 9:54 when her shot slipped through Bengal
goaltender Shannon Anesetti’s legs. Williams regained the
lead at 15:07 when sophomore Tracey Ferriter deflected senior Allie
Morrow’s shot into the goal.
The Bengals tied the game at three when Jackie Blanchard knocked
in a goal on a breakaway at 5:40 into the third period. She was
assisted by Mariah Fairgrieve. The Ephs pulled ahead once again
when junior Mallory Green, assisted by Sam Tarnasky and Ferriter,
scored on the power play at 12:57. The Bengals, however, were not
finished and came back to tie the game at four. With a hard shot
from the top of the zone, Kristin Bozek sent the game into overtime
at 18:20. Tonya Ford collected an assist on the play.
The game winning goal came at 4:41 when sophomore Tracey Ferriter
netted her second goal of the game, for a final score of 5-4.
O’Brien and Tarnasky both picked up assists on the play.
Commenting on Ferriter’s play, Coach Shannon Bryant said,
“I thought that down the stretch Tracey had some key shifts
for us. She scored late in the second period, had an assist on the
power play goal, and the put in the game winning goal.”
Reflecting on the game, Coach Shannon Bryant said, “I think
this game will be a great confidence booster for us in the next
five games we play. I say this because it paid off – we made
some adjustments, we got better in the second period, we made some
smart plays with the puck – and it resulted in a win.
We’ve been playing some good hockey, we just haven’t
been getting the results we wanted. It will certainly be exciting
tomorrow.”
The Ephs will face Buffalo State again tomorrow in a 2:00 pm
game.
