The William Smith College ice hockey team knocked off Morrisville State, 4-1, in its home opener at The Cooler Sunday evening. With the win, the Herons are now 1-0-1 on the season while the Mustangs fall to 0-1-1 on the year.
Three different Herons recorded multi-point games in the victory. Brianna Felice and Kayla Ketchabaw had a goal and an assist and Mia LaPlante notched two helpers. Erin Murray played all 60 minutes in goal and made 34 saves. Emma Plett went the distance in goal for Morrisville and made 27 saves.
KEY STATS:
- The Mustangs finished the contest with a 35-31 edge in shots on goal.
- Both teams scored a power-play goal. William Smith was 1-3 with the extra skater and limited Morrisville to one goal on six attempts.
FIRST PERIOD:
- William Smith opened the scoring at the 3:41 mark of the opening frame on Izzy Friedman’s first goal of the year. She snapped a shot from the low slot past Plett and into the back of the net. Emily Cataldo and Ava Cornforth were credited with assists on the goal.
- Just over three minutes later, Alisa Canney gave William Smith a 2-0 lead. She one-timed a centering pass from Julianna Gong into the back of the net for her first goal of the year.
- Morrisville finished the period with a 10-7 edge in shots on goal. The Herons limited the high-danger scoring chances, allowing Murray to stop all 10 shots.
SECOND PERIOD:
- At the 7:09 mark of the middle stanza, Kayla Ketchabaw extended William Smith’s lead to three goals. She slammed a rebound past Plett for her first goal of the year. LaPlante and Felice were awarded assists on the tally.
- Pippy Pritchard broke up the shutout bid with five minutes remaining in the frame. She fired a shot from the left point through traffic and into the net for her first goal of the year. Kate Mabey and Samantha Torgerson notched assists on the goal.
- Both second-period goals were power-play goals.
THIRD PERIOD:
- Brianna Felice rounded out scoring with her first collegiate goal. She picked up a rebound and stuffed the loose puck past Plett. LaPlante and Ketchabaw set up the goal.
COACH’S CORNER:
“Tonight was a great team win,” Head Coach Matt Cunningham said. “We got solid goaltending, as we’re accustomed to, and showed lots of resilience killing penalties and playing our game. Our energy was outstanding and we’re excited for league play next week.”
UP NEXT:
William Smith will hit the road to open NEHC play. The Herons begin a three-game road trip in Salem Massachusetts, against Salem State. The faceoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].