On Jan. 15, the men’s hockey team faced off against Little Three rival Williams, which entered the game ranked 10th nationally, at Spurrier-Snyder Rink. Historically the Ephs have dominated the Cardinals, and entering the game Williams was 36-3-3 all-time vs. Wesleyan and 17-0-4 when playing in Middletown. However, on that Friday night, history fell by the wayside, and instead of laying down at the feet of a team that, according to recent history and most statistics, should have crushed them, the Cardinals stood tall and dominated Williams to achieve a 6-2 victory. Two of Wesleyan’s four all-time wins against Williams have come in the last four seasons, as the Cardinals also took a 3-2 victory in Williamstown in 2006-07.

In the match the Cards came out on a tear, lighting the lamp four times in the final five minutes of the first period. Brett Bandazian ’12 led the charge, scoring with just over 15 minutes elapsed in the first to set off a Wesleyan run of four goals. John Guay ’13, who was named NESCAC Co-Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 18, knocked one in for Wes just 90 seconds after Bandazian, and Tom Salah ’12 was not to be denied his chance at the leaky Ephs defense, scoring at the 18:31 mark. Bandazian found the back of the net once again with just 27 seconds left in the period for his second goal of the evening, giving Wesleyan a 4-0 lead at the end of the first.

After being embarrassed by Wes in the first period, the Ephs’ D tightened up in the second, allowing three fewer shots on goal than in the first period, and not letting one through. The Ephs offense also made their mark with their first goal of the match coming 14 minutes into the second stanza. However, in the third period Wesleyan returned to form, and despite having just five shots on goal the Cards converted two of them, a testament to the impressive level of focus and execution the team exhibited that evening. Geoff Mucha ’12 scored at the 5:02 mark off an assist from Bandazian, and the sixth goal that sealed the game for the Cards came at the 16:09 mark off the stick of Guay, with assist from Bandazian. In the third the Ephs had 13 shots on goal with only one conversion. Goalie Glenn Stowell ’13, in just his second career start, had an incredible game in the net, allowing only two goals on 29 shots and posting an impressive .931 save percentage to move his career record as a starter to 2-0.

In addition to the Williams game the Cards have played seven other matches since The Argus last went to print. During that time period the team went 3-5, to come to 5-9 on the season, already surpassing last season’s 4-17-2 record. The team defeated both Lebanon Valley College and St. Mary’s of Minnesota to capture the Bison Classic Title in the Nichols New Year’s Tournament, in which David Layne ‘10 received MVP honors. The team fell at Skidmore 4-3 in overtime, 5-0 at Castleton State, 8-0 at undefeated Norwich, and 3-2 at St. Michael’s, as well as a 3-1 home loss to Middlebury following the Williams game. Despite a 30-15 edge in shots, Middlebury clung to a 2-1 edge late thanks to 27 saves from Stowell before adding an empty-netter with 10 seconds left.

The Cardinals will look to break their three-game losing streak with a home game against travel partner Trinity on Tuesday at 7 p.m.