BEVERLY, Mass. – The William Smith College ice hockey team dropped a non-conference game to Endicott 4-1 at the Raymond J. Bourque Arena this afternoon. The Herons complete the 2016 portion of their schedule with a 3-6-1 overall record.
The Gulls (9-0-0), who entered the week receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com DIII poll, struck first with a penalty shot goal in the first period. Michaela McNamara wristed a shot into the top right corner of the goal beating William Smith goalie, Devon Strachan, high glove side. Endicott ended the period with a 12-8 advantage in shots on goal.
The Herons appeared to swing momentum in their favor in the second period but they could not solve Endicott goalie Vendela Jonsson. Junior Kiley Fewster had one of the best opportunities of the period but Jonsson swept the puck off the line at the last second.
The Gulls next two goals came off the stick of Jade Meier. At the 12:13 mark of the second period, Jillian Gibbs and Meier broke into the offensive zone with only the goalie to beat. Gibbs slid a centering pass to Meier, who one-timed the shot past Strachan into the net. The duo stuck again at 2:49 of the third period. With an Endicott penalty expiring, Gibbs forced a turnover in the neutral zone and fed a pass to Meier, who tucked the shot across the goal line.
William Smith cut into the Endicott lead when sophomore Lindsay Brown scored her first goal of the season. Brown forced a turnover in the attacking zone, carried the puck down the right wing and snuck a shot inside the right post.
McNamara’s second goal of the game gave Endicott a 4-1 lead. From just inside the right faceoff circle, she wristed a shot into the upper right corner of the goal. Teneal Perry and Madison Huber were credited with assists on the goal.
Neither team could get anything going on the power play. Both teams were 0-for-2 with the extra skater. The Gulls have killed off 32 straight penalties to start the season.
In her second career start, Strachan made 35 saves in 58:20 of action. At the other end of the rink, Jonsson made 31 stops for Endicott.
William Smith will be back in action Jan. 1 when it hosts Connecticut College at The Cooler. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
