MIDDLETOWN, CT. – The number one seeded Wesleyan men's hockey team was stunned this Saturday afternoon at Spurrier-Snyder Rink, falling to eighth-seeded Williams by a score of 4-3. The Cardinals mounted a 2-0 advantage heading into the third and final period of play, before adding one more in the opening minute of the 3^rd to move into the final 19 minutes of action up 3-0. The Ephs came storming back in the final 18:42 of the game, scoring four goals in the final 12 minutes of the period to secure a come-from-behind upset victory over the Cardinals.

Wesleyan ends their season with a 15-7-3 (11-4-3 NESCAC) record, their most wins since the 2019-20 campaign where they made the NCAA Tournament. They clinched the #1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament for the first time in school history, knocking off 14^th ranked Trinity in the final two games of the regular season to do so. They were nationally ranked during the season, holding the number 15 spot for a week in mid-January. Williams keeps their season alive, improving to 8-15-2 (5-11-2 NESCAC) and advancing to the NESCAC Semifinals where they will take on either #3 Amherst or #5 Colby depending on tonight's results.

The Cardinals were able to flex their muscles early in front of a packed Spurrier-Snyder Rink, scoring just four minutes in. Colin Cobb '23 let a shot go from the right side that deflected off an Ephs' defenseman and right to Wiggle Kerbrat '23 who was able to put one in the back of the net to give Wesleyan an early advantage. A cleanly played first period saw no penalties and only single digits shots from either side, with Wesleyan outshooting Williams 8-6 in the opening 20 minutes.

The Cardinals opened up the second period with a flurry of shots in the first five minutes, but it did not result in a goal. The Ephs found their footing and went back on the attack over the next four minutes, but it was once again the Cardinals who were able to find the back of the net. A turnover in the Ephs attacking zone led to a Wesleyan breakout the other way where Ethan Davidson '26 sent a cross to Jake Lachance '23 who gathered and then finished to give Wes a 2-0 lead at the 8:16 mark. Williams had a power play chance late in the second period and were able to record five shots, but all were turned away by Wesleyan including the final two shots being blocked by Mike Dunderdale '23.

Heading into the third, it seemed like Wesleyan had sucked the life out of the upset-minded Ephs, and another score in the first minute of the final frame only furthered that notion. Cobb picked an Ephs player's pocket in the neutral zone, eventually leading to Kerbrat's second score of the contest and the Cards were up 3-0 with 18:42 remainingin the game. The score was followed by a Williams' penalty, but the Cards could not add to their three-goal advantage.

The game crept into the middle part of the 3^rd period, but the Ephs weren't ready to go out quietly as they scored with 11:59 remaining to cut the deficit to two. Williams came right back just three minutes later and netted their second goal of the period to trim the Wesleyan lead to just one. This time it was Mac Carso, who took advantage of a Cardinal and Eph getting tripped up in the Cardinals' zone, gathering the puck and going to his left where his backhanded shot beat Erik Voloshin '24 from out in front. Wesleyan didn't have time to gather their thoughts before a third Ephs' shot found the back of the net just two minutes later. It was Carso again, this time taking the puck from behind the net and beating Voloshin from point-blank range to even the score at three with 6:50 remaining in the quarterfinal.    

Wesleyan was able to re-find their footing over the next couple of minutes, putting together a handful of shots on net. The Cardinal faithful were in full effect, but the closest their team could get to a 4^th goal came off the stick of Ethan Davidson which ricochet off the pipe and back into play at the 17:12 mark. The game went into the final two minutes even at three, and the contest looked bound for overtime but the Ephs were able to scrape one more by in the final minute to advance to the semifinals. Nicholas Rashkovsky weaved his way through a few Cardinals defenders before sending a cross to Jonah Gold who put through the game-winner with 50 seconds remaining.

Wesleyan outshot Williams 33-29. There were only three total penalties in this one, two on Williams and one on Wesleyan. For the Ephs, Carso netted two goals while Gold and Owen Stadheim netted one apiece. For the Cardinals, Kerbrat added his NESCAC-leading 16^th and 17^th goal on the year, while Lachance added his 7^th of 2022-23. Cobb had a career-high three assists, with Davidson added two himself. Voloshin made 25 saves for the Cards, Evan Ruschil made 30 for the Ephs.