The William Smith College ice hockey team jumped out to a 2-0 and held on to defeat 13th-ranked Norwich 3-2 in a New England Hockey Conference contest at Kreitzberg Arena this evening. It was William Smith’s fourth win over a ranked opponent in program history and the second against the Cadets.
Kayla Ketchabaw led the Herons with two goals. Mackenzie O’Neil added two assists in the victory. Annie Hauser played all 60 minutes in goal for William Smith (1-2-0, 1-0-0) and made 38 saves.
Melianne Reynolds had a pair of assists for Norwich (0-2-0, 0-1-0). Leocadia Clark made 12 saves in just under 58 minutes in goal for the Cadets.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Norwich finished the game with a 40-15 advantage in shots on goal.
- William Smith was 1-for-5 on the power play and the Cadets were 0-for-4 with the extra skater.
- The Herons also had a shorthanded goal in the victory.
- William Smith is now 2-3-0 against Norwich.
SCORING SUMMARY
- Annabel Ziskin opened the scoring at the 8:10 mark of the second period. She fired a shot from the point through traffic and past Clark for her first goal of the season. O’Neil was awarded an assist on the goal.
- Seven minutes later, Ketchabaw made it a two-goal game with her second tally of the season. She snapped a shot from the high slot across the goal line. Her power-play goal was assisted by O’Neil and Grace Romeo.
- Norwich broke up the shutout bid at the 8:41 mark of the third period. Neris Archambault’s shot from the point trickled past Hauser. Her goal was assisted by Reynolds and Rylie McIntyre.
- Ketchabaw put the game out of reach with a shorthanded goal with 7:37 remaining in regulation. She picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, raced down the ice and wristed a shot past Clark for her third goal of the year.
- Olivia Boyer rounded out the scoring with 85 seconds remaining in the game. She picked up a rebound in the left faceoff circle and snapped a shot past Hauser. Her first goal of the season was assisted by Aimee Headland and Reynolds.
COACH’S CORNER
Tonight’s win was a great start to the NEHC schedule,” Head Coach Matt Cunningham said “We’ve talked at length with the team about work ethic and compete level being the foundation of our season. That was evident tonight along with strong habits, details and a team-first mentality.”
UP NEXT
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow, Nov. 4, when it travels to Henniker, New Hampshire, to take on New England College. Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].