MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The William Smith College ice hockey team opened 2016 with a 3-1 non-conference victory over Morrisville State at the Ice Plex this evening. Sophomore Krista Federow and first-year Laura Rollins notched game-high honors with two points each.
The Herons (4-5-2) collected their program record fourth win of the season, they had three in their inaugural season. William Smith jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 16:25 of the first period when sophomoreRebecca Begley notched her team-leading fifth goal of the season. Begley broke in on the Mustang goalie, Renee Schmaltz, and slipped a shot just past her outstretched pads. The Herons took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Morrisville (5-5-2) evened the game at one, 50 seconds into the second period. Stephanie Strymecki collected a loose puck in front of the goal and poked the puck just inside the left post, beating Maggie Salmon, the Herons goalie.
William Smith regained the lead 77 seconds later when first-year Stephanie Hampton buried a feed from Rollins past Schmaltz. The goal came after a Heron faceoff win. Rollins and Federow were credited with assists on Hampton’s second goal of the year. Two minutes later, Federow added a goal of her own to give William Smith a 3-1 lead. Rollins notched an assist on Federow’s fourth goal of the year. Despite both team’s taking 11 shots in the period, the Herons carried a majority of the play with Schmaltz standing tall to keep the margin at two goals.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the third period. The Mustangs killed off three straight penalties early in the third period, despite the Herons firing eight shots on net.
Salmon got the start in goal for William Smith and stopped 20 shots for her fourth victory of the season. Schmaltz made 26 stops in 60 minutes in net for Morrisville.
The Herons finished the contest with a 29-21 advantage on the shot chart, including an 11-4 edge in the final 20 minutes. Both teams came up empty on the power play. William Smith was 0-4, while the Mustangs were 0-3.
The Herons will return to the Cooler this weekend, Jan. 8-9, when they host Franklin Pierce for a pair of non-conference games. Faceoff on both days is scheduled for 4 p.m.
