NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's ice hockey team dropped their home opener, falling to visiting WIilliams 5-1 on Friday night from Dayton Arena. With the loss, Conn falls to 2-1 overall and 2-1 in NESCAC play, while Williams improves to 1-2 on the year and 1-2 in conference action.
It was a quick start from Conn as Reid Shafer (Coppell, Texas) forced a save from Cal Sandquist just 26 seconds into the contest. However, it was Williams that opened the scoring at 5:40. William Cannata and Connor Berg picked up the assists, as Jake McManus got the Ephs on the board. The Camels controlled much of the opening period after that but were unable to find a tying goal until late in the frame. Jack Houser (Arlington, Mass.) intercepted a puck along the boards, before firing over the glove of Sandquist at 18:48 to tie the game at one after one.
Williams came out strong in the middle frame, and retook the lead just 3:38 in on a Cannata marker. The Ephs continued to press and doubled the lead at 8:11. Owen Stadheim poked a puck loose in the slot, finding Nicholas Rashkovsky who made it 3-1 at 8:11. Just 50 seconds later, Williams pushed the lead to 4-1, as Jack Sabre tipped home a shot in front. Conn was unable to make a dent in the deficit, trailing 4-1 heading to the third.
Conn was able to generate a few more chances in the final frame but couldn't cut into the deficit. With just under six minutes left, David Vieten threw a puck towards that net that deflected in off a Camel to make the final score 5-1.
Williams outshot Conn 32-20, while Conn held a slim 30-28 edge on face-off wins.
Will McEvoy (Ottawa, Ontario) got the start in goal, recording eight saves on 12 shots, before Kellen Beauton (Colchester, Conn.) closed out the game with 19 saves on 20 shots. Houser tallied the lone Camels goal, while Andrew Eberling (Mount Laurel, N.J.) led the way with three shots on goal. John Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) led the way in the circle winning 12 of 21 draws, while Conn finished 2-2 on the penalty kill and 0-3 on the power play.
Sandquist picked up the win in goal, stopping 19 shots. Cannata led the way with three points on one goal and two assists, while McManus added a goal and an assist and Berg chipped in two assists. Williams finished 0-2 on the power play and 3-3 on the penalty kill.
Conn looks to bounce back tomorrow afternoon, as the Camels host Middlebury at 3:00 p.m. in Dayton Arena.
