Ephs Hockey Breaks Losing Streak Againt Bengals
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The game remained scoreless until 18:34 into the first period, when Williams grabbed hold of the lead. Connecting on a rebounded shot, junior Sam Tarnasky sent the puck into the lower left corner of the goal to score for the Ephs. She was assisted by sophomore Kait O'Brien and senior captain Caralyn Quan.
The Ephs' lead, however, was short-lived, as the Bengals scored two goals within the first four minutes of the second period. The first goal came at 2:42 when Jessica Thieme, assisted by Melissa Jeckovich, sent the puck flying into the far right corner of the net. Julie Ruszala quickly followed with a goal of her own at 3:26 to put the Bengals up 2-1. Junior Catherine Mullen answered for the Ephs at 9:54 when her shot slipped through Bengal goaltender Shannon Anesetti's legs. Williams regained the lead at 15:07 when sophomore Tracey Ferriter deflected senior Allie Morrow's shot into the goal.
The Bengals tied the game at three when Jackie Blanchard knocked in a goal on a breakaway at 5:40 into the third period. She was assisted by Mariah Fairgrieve. The Ephs pulled ahead once again when junior Mallory Green, assisted by Sam Tarnasky and Ferriter, scored on the power play at 12:57. The Bengals, however, were not finished and came back to tie the game at four. With a hard shot from the top of the zone, Kristin Bozek sent the game into overtime at 18:20. Tonya Ford collected an assist on the play.
The game-winning goal came at 4:41 when sophomore Tracey Ferriter netted her second goal of the game, for a final score of 5-4. O'Brien and Tarnasky both picked up assists on the play.
Commenting on Ferriter's play, Coach Shannon Bryant said, "I thought that down the stretch Tracey had some key shifts for us. She scored late in the second period, had an assist on the power play goal, and then put in the game winning goal."
Reflecting on the game, coach Shannon Bryant said, "I think this game will be a great confidence booster for us in the next five games we play. I say this because it paid off – we made some adjustments, we got better in the second period, we made some smart plays with the puck – and it resulted in a win. We've been playing some good hockey, we just haven't been getting the results we wanted. It will certainly be exciting tomorrow."
The Ephs will face Buffalo State again Sunday in a 2 p.m. game.
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