WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Wesleyan men's hockey team continued their recent surge with a 3-0 road win at Williams on Friday night. The Cardinals (8-8-2, 7-4-2 NESCAC), who netted a pair in the second period before adding an empty netter late, have now won three straight and have defeated the Ephs (9-8, 9-5 NESCAC) in six of their last eight meetings.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• After playing through a scoreless first period, in which Marc Smith '24 tallied 11 of his 24 saves, the Cardinals were first on the board as Go Uemura '23 was left open in the slot. Stevie O'Connor '22 made the play happen with an aggressive skate with the puck up-ice before he beat an Ephs defender to the puck behind the net. His pass along the boards came to Colin Cobb '23 who quickly spotted Uemura open in the slot, whipping a pass that was touched in for the 1-0 Wesleyan lead with just 3:32 remaining in the frame.
• It suddenly became 2-0 Cardinals just over two minutes later as another late second period goal came off the stick of defenseman Jake Lachance '23. Cobb slid the puck over to his left where Lachance skated deep into the Eph defensive zone from the point. With not a lot of open net to shoot at, Lachance rifled a wrister that beat Williams goalie Cal Sandquist over his left shoulder, going bar-down for the second Wesleyan goal.
• The Cardinal defense took care of the rest, allowing just four Williams shots-on-goal in the third period before depositing an empty netter late. With a shot blocked from the point, the puck caromed out to Tyler Levine '22 near center ice. Levine beat the Eph skater to the puck and then skated past him all alone on the empty net as his marker finished the scoring at 3-0 Wesleyan.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Smith tallied 24 saves for his first career shutout
• This marks the first time Wesleyan has recorded a shutout of the Ephs on the road since Feb. 2, 2013 (eight games ago)
• Lachance's goal is his first of the season and second of his career, both of which he scored at Williams as his first career goal came as the OT game-winner in the NESCAC Semifinals in 2020
• Uemura scored his third goal of the season and his second in the last four games
• Cobb posted two assists to give him a team-leading 11 on the season in 18 games played
• Levine's goal is his fifth on the year 

NEXT GAME:
Wesleyan heads up I-91 for a Saturday afternoon showdown at Middlebury. Opening faceoff is set for 4 PM. The Cardinals are 8-1 in their last nine meetings against the Panthers.