Men’s Ice Hockey Coach Bill Kangas Wins 450th Career Game in 5-4 Victory at Plattsburgh – Williams College

Plattsburgh, VT – The Williams College Ephs (6-7-1) defeated the Plattsburgh State Cardinals (8-7-1) 5-4. As impressive as that is, the night belongs solely to Eph head coach Bill Kangas who achieved the landmark accomplishment of 450 collegiate hockey wins. It was well earned tonight in a huge victory on the road. 
 
Describing the first period as a shooting gallery would have been an understatement. There were 6 goals scored on 15 shots. Williams would come out the gate flying as Mason Chen made  a strong defensive play to find Jake McManus breaking out of the zone. McManua then dove into the offensive zone pulling up against 4 Plattsburgh players to find Connor Berg who ripped one past the Cardinals’ goaltender for his first of the season. The Ephs immediately followed their first goal up with David Vieten taking full advantage of a missed Cardinal pass to put the Ephs up 2-0. 4 minutes is all it would take for the Ephs to score their 3^rdgoal of the 1^st period. Mel Mortarelli took after Vieten, reading the Cardinal’s defense and picking off a pass in the high slot, driving to the net and forcing one through to put the Ephs up 3-0. The Cardinals began to generate a comeback, but that was swiftly denied by the freshman Bobby Corkery. With assists coming from the Heithoff brothers, Nate and Rowan. Corkery would find his first of the season, beating the Cardinal’s new goaltender and leaving the Ephs with a 4-2 lead.
 
The second period saw a dramatic reduction in goal production. The only goal of the period went the way of the Cardinals. Despite penalties by both sides, there was relatively little action as both teams were fighting for position and momentum. The Ephs looked to secure this game as they moved into the 3^rd period still leading by 1.
 
The third period would be full of excitement. The Ephs started off the scoring 7 minutes into the period. William Yee would continue to expose the weak side in the offensive zone, receiving a beautiful pass from Nate Heithoff (his second assist of the night). There was a last-ditch effort from the Cardinals, who scored 1, but ultimately fell short of matching the Williams College Ephs. 
 
Coach Kangas had this to say after the game, “I’m very proud of how hard the guys played tonight, starting the game with our best performance all season. Playing a game at Plattsburgh, an outstanding college hockey venue, is very challenging, the crowd, noise and atmosphere is definitely a home team advantage. So, for the players to find a way to come out on top, is very rewarding. We will review the video and look to build on tonight’s win, especially as we get back to league play next weekend in Maine versus Colby and Bowdoin.”