Courtesy of Williams Sports Information
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Fourth-seeded Williams (15-8-2 overall) defeated fifth-seeded Bowdoin (14-8-3 overall) 4-3 in overtime in the NESCAC Championship quarterfinals today at the Lansing Chapman Rink in Williamstown. The Polar Bears came into the tournament as two-time defending champions of the conference.
Colby Cretella and David Italiano gave the Ephs a 2-0 lead through twenty-six minutes of play. Alex DeBaere scored Williams' third goal of the afternoon, however Bowdoin goals from Matthew Lison, Connor Quinn, and Brendan Conroy sent the game into overtime. Williams' Craig Kitto scored the game-winner to decide this contest. Eph goaltender Sean Dougherty made 44 saves in the game to lead his team to a victory.
While the teams had similar regular season records, the teams entered the postseason on different notes with Williams winning just one of its last five games and Bowdoin winning five of its last seven.
The first time these two teams faced each other was back in November, when the result was a 3-3 tie in Brunswick. The two teams next faced one another here in Williamstown in late January, and the Ephs came away with decisive 5-2 victory. The last two times these teams have met in the postseason (2011 and 2013), Bowdoin has come away victorious.
The Ephs got off to a quick start, getting on the board at just :33, giving Williams the early 1-0 lead. On the opening shift after the puck drop, Cretella was able to force one past Peter Cronin on the backhand side. Cretella was assisted on the play by DeBaere.
Williams made the game 2-0 at the 5:56 mark in the second period. Frankie Mork kept the puck in the zone for the Ephs, and gave Italiano the opportunity to fire one top shelf past Cronin.
Bowdoin responded at 15:57 in the second period when Lison tapped the puck past Dougherty following a wraparound attempt by Spencer Antunez. The second period ended with Williams leading 2-1.
At 11:40 into the third period, DeBaere used his speed to get a breakaway opportunity. As DeBaere was tripped on the play, he was awarded a penalty shot. On the resulting penalty shot, DeBaere faked his forehand and went backhand on Cronin, slipping the puck through the five hole.
Just 39 seconds later, Bowdoin's Quinn (eleventh goal) cut the Polar Bears' deficit in half with assists going to Tim Coffey and John McGinnis.
The Polar Bears tied the game at the 18:23 mark after Brendan Conroy fired a wrist shot through traffic from the right wing with an assist going to Zach Kokosa.
At 9:26 into overtime, Williams' Craig Kitto scored his third game-winning goal of the year. He went 1-1 against a defender, and fired the puck over Cronin's right shoulder. Sam Gray earned an assist on the game-winner.
Williams will now play Connecticut College on Saturday in the NESCAC semifinal round.
