PLYMOUTH, N.H. – William Smith College scored a pair of goals just 40 seconds apart midway through the opening period to get past Plymouth State University, 4-0, in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) women's ice hockey contest at Hanaway Rink on Saturday afternoon.
The Herons stole the puck in the offensive zone and fired a quick wrister for a 1-0 lead at the 9:00 minute mark of the opening frame, then knocked in a rebound goal 40 seconds later. The visitors added a pair of second-period goals to extend the margin and Plymouth State was unable to light the lamp.
Plymouth State dips to 2-8-0 (1-5-0 NEHC), while William Smith improves to 6-5-1 and 4-4-0 in league play.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 0, William Smith 4
- Plymouth State (2-8-0, 1-5-0 NEHC)
- William Smith (6-5-1, 4-4-0 NEHC)
How it Happened:
- A William Smith skater intercepted a pass near the blue line before whipping a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle for a 1-0 lead at the 9:00 mark of the first.
- Forty seconds later the Herons jumped on a rebound opportunity in front of the PSU goal to double the margin and force an early timeout.
- The Panthers had a late power play in the period, but the William Smith defense prevented any of PSU's shot attempts to get to the goal.
- The William Smith forecheck earned an offensive zone turnover and a blocked shot in the right circle flipped high in the air and over the PSU goaltender into the net to make it 3-0 at 6:51 of the second.
- Senior Meghan Hamilton (Walpole, Mass.) knocked the puck loose from a William Smith defender and got a shot on target and sophomore Emily DeSimone (Walpole, Mass.) took a hack at the rebound later in the second, but the Herons' goaltender saved both chances.
- The visitors responded minutes later when a high pass through the neutral zone found a William Smith skater in stride, and she skated down the right side before bouncing a shot off the left post and in to make it 4-0 with 10:45 left in the second.
- Senior Chantelle Ross (Ottawa, Ontario) made a move around a defender and whipped a shot at the right post, but again the Herons' goaltender was up to the challenge.
- PSU's best chance came in the opening minute of the third when graduate student Siri Brett (East Wenatchee, Wash.) had a one-timer in the slot, but the William Smith goalie went post-to-post to kick the puck aside.
By the Numbers:
- The Herons held a 32-25 advantage in shots on goal.
- Senior Taylor Thomas (Prior Lake, Minn.) led PSU with five shots, with sophomore Emily Biggin (Didsbury, Alberta) adding four.
- Freshman Katie Porrello (Milford, Conn.) won 9-of-14 faceoffs for the Panthers.
- Junior Amelia Julian (Apple Valley, Minn.) made 17 saves over the first 26:51 before giving way to freshman Maggie Vance (Woodbury, Minn.), who registered 11 stops the rest of the way.
- William Smith has won all three meetings between the two teams.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State heads to Bowdoin next Friday (Dec. 9) for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference clash with the Polar Bears.
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