Senior Kelly Howe scored 3:41 into overtime to give William Smith hockey a 2-1 SUNYAC win over SUNY Canton at The Cooler on Saturday. Both teams had received votes in the USCHO.com poll entering the weekend.
Sophomore Bella Hacker led the Herons with a goal and an assist. Junior Mia Iwicki played nearly 64 minutes in net, making 29 saves, including a key stop on a third-period penalty shot. Canton’s Alyssa Townsley made 20 saves over 63 minutes.
Hacker opened the scoring at 11:18 of the third period, finishing a pass from Ainsley Lonczak with a shot over Townsley’s blocker. Less than 30 seconds later, Canton earned a penalty shot, but Isabella Paswater was denied by Iwicki. The Roos tied the game with 8.6 seconds remaining in regulation on a power-play goal by Kylah Small, assisted by Lucy Beal and Anna Pavlasova, with Canton pulling their goalie for an extra attacker.
In overtime, Hacker collected a loose puck in her defensive zone and fired a wrist shot that Townsley blocked, leaving Howe to pounce on the rebound and score her third goal of the season. William Smith had all four shots in the extra session.
Canton finished with a 30-22 advantage in shots and went 1-for-2 on the power play. The Herons fell 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
With the win, William Smith improves to 5-1-0 overall and 3-1-0 in SUNYAC play.
The Herons travel to UMass Boston for the Codfish Bowl, opening against Bowdoin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 29.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.