MANCHESTER, NH -- The Williams women's hockey team (5-5-1) completed their fifth shutout victory of the season this afternoon in New Hampshire, as they took down the Hawks of Saint Anselm (8-5-1) by a final of 3-0. The game-winner came midway through the first frame, when freshman defenseman and power-play quarterback Sam Weinstein lit the lamp for the 3rd score of her career, with help from senior co-scoring leader Tracey Ferriter and junior defenseman Allison Page.
Williams was aided by the trusty hands of senior netinder Sara Plunkett, who made 27-saves on the day. The Eph defense also played a steady, disciplined game, limiting the Hawks to just two man-advantage opportunities and few quality scoring chances throughout the contest.
"It was a very solid, very complete sixty-minute effort by our team today," praised Eph head coach Marissa O'Neil. "We had contributions from various players on both offense and defense and that was the key to our success."
Among these contributors were junior forward Stephanie Berger, who added another to the Eph tally late in the middle period, her 2nd of the season, and sophomore Kristen Tubbs took a feed from senior and co-scoring leader Taurey Taussig on the power-play to register her 4th goal this year just three mintues and 22 seconds later, putting the purple and gold ahead 3-0.
Despite a strong third period effort by Saint Anselm, in which they outshot Williams 11-10, they could not find a way to beat Plunkett and the swarming Williams defense, as the final twenty mintues came and went without a single goal or penalty to speak of. Freshman Meghan Grant stopped 24 out of the 27 shots she faced in the first loss of her young career.
"Overall I was quite pleased with our performance and I think it defintely gives us some momentum heading into this week," recognized O'Neil. "We are going to need all the momentum we can get for these three games as they are all going to be critical for our season."
Indeed, the Ephs bounce back from a tough loss and regain a .500 footing with this important win. They will be hosting a formidable opponent in the Cadets of Norwich this upcoming Tuesday before battling #7-ranked Middlebury (USCHO Div. III Poll) in a doubleheader weekend that begins next Friday at Lansing Chapman Rink in Williamstown. The puck will drop at 7:00 PM this Tuesday at that very location.
