Bowdoin Slips Past Williams 4-2 in Women's Ice Hockey Quarterfinals
Courtesy Williams Sports Information
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – After losing the game and home-ice advantage to Williams last weekend, fifth-seeded Bowdoin redeemed itself on Saturday with a 4-2 win in the quarterfinals of the 2010 NESCAC Women's Ice Hockey Championship. Al Chlebeck's breakaway goal at 3:50 of the third period snapped a 2-2 tie and proved to be the deciding score. The Ephs end their first winning season in four years with a record of 12-11-2.
The opening 20 minutes featured the skilled goaltending of Williams senior Sara Plunkett, who stopped all 14 Bowdoin attempts in a period dominated by the Polar Bear offense.
The scoring started early in the second frame however, when the forechecking of Eph freshman Sam Weinstein opened up space for a shot from the circle. The rookie sniped home the game’s first goal at over the shoulder of Bowdoin’s first-year netminder Kayla Lessard at 1:32, putting Williams in front 1-0.
The Polar Bears would answer five minutes later with their own even-strength score, after sophomore Alexandra Fahey’s low blast kicked off the left pad of Plunkett directly onto the stick of an uncontested Kim-Tess Wanat, who tossed into the open net for her 8th of the year at 6:37.
The stalemate was broken again a short while later on a Williams power-play, thanks to the diving effort of sophomore Hannah Systrom, who wrapped in a rebound off a Tracey Ferriter wrister to reclaim the lead at 9:37 in the second.
The score would remain in favor of the Ephs until 2:24 into the final stanza, when the Polar Bears countered with a power-play strike on a deflection by freshman Stephanie Ludy to level the count at 2. Fahey’s low slapshot from the point earned her another assist on the score.
Then just moments later, speedy Chlebeck caught the Williams defense pinching at the blue line and scampered down the ice on a breakaway. The sophomore finished the play with a strong forehand-to-backhand move to give Bowdoin their first lead of the day at 3-2.
Both teams continued to generate
chances for the rest of regulation, but Williams could not solve
the riddle of Lessard and the Polar Bear defense. The Ephs pulled
goaltender Plunkett with two minutes remaining on the clock,
allowing Shelagh Merrill to fire in an empty net goal to punctuate
Bowdoin’s 4-2 victory.
Bowdoin will face an opponent yet to be determined this coming
Saturday in the semifinals at Amherst.
