WATERVILLE — The last time the Colby College men’s hockey team enjoyed a weekend like this, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were still an item.

Sophomore Nick O’Connor scored a pair of goals, including a key third-period power play strike, as Colby upended 13th-ranked Williams College 4-1 in a New England Small College Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon at Alfond Rink. It was Colby’s first win over Williams since Jan. 24, 2014.

Coupled with a 2-1 overtime win over longtime nemesis Middlebury on Friday, the Mules swept a weekend series from Williams and Middlebury for the first time in 12 seasons.

Senior winger Devin Albert added a goal and an assist against the Ephs (1-1-0), while freshman netminder Andrew Tucci made 25 saves for his second win in as many nights to begin his college career.

“Our team played great. It was a great weekend overall for our team,” O’Connor said. “You want to beat everybody, regardless of who it is or what they’re ranked. We think we’re one of the top teams in the NESCAC and in Division III, and we want to prove it every night.”

The Mules (2-0-0) nursed a 2-1 lead through much of the third period, neutralizing Williams’ speed with sound puck management. Nearly every time Colby was presented an opportunity to play a puck out of its own end it did, following that effort by chipping the puck in deep behind Ephs’ goalie Michael Pinios (19 saves).

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Save for one especially nervous two-minute stretch when Williams pinned the Mules in their own zone, Colby looked every bit like a seasoned team featuring 16 upperclassmen on the roster.

O’Connor’s second goal of the game couldn’t have come at a better time. Shortly after surviving the mid-third period onslaught from the Ephs, Williams’ Sam Gray was whistled off for tripping. On the ensuing power play, Colby senior defenseman Jack Burton drifted in behind the net and centered for O’Connor, who cut through the slot area to beat Pinios with a one-timer at the 17:08 mark.

Thirty-four seconds later, Phil Klitirinos stormed down the middle of the ice in transition to bang home J.P. Schuhlen’s feed for a 4-1 lead.

“It was great to get that power play and kind of switch that momentum,” O’Connor said. “We knew that was our chance to kind of close the door on them. That was huge.”

“Our ability to respond and react to various circumstances in the game … that’s really the true indicator of growth and how good your team’s going to be,” Colby coach Blaise MacDonald added. “The guys showed some really good resolve in that regard.”

It was a satisfying third period for Colby, which was well aware of Williams’ penchant for limiting the opposition’s scoring chances. The Mules managed just eight total goals in their previous six meetings with the Ephs, dating to the 2013-14 season.

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“We knew (Williams) prides itself on not letting a lot of goals in,” Burton said. “When it was 2-1 going into the third period, we knew there was a chance we might not score again. It was all up to our ‘D,’ and we did a good job of getting pucks out. Fortunately, we got a couple of great bounces to put a couple of goals in.”

The teams traded early first-period goals off turnovers, with C.J. Shugart opening the scoring for Williams just 1:22 in. O’Connor answered 59 seconds later, picking off a pass in the neutral zone and leading a 2-on-1 that he opted to keep for himself.

Williams enjoyed a much better opening stanza, outshooting its host 11-6 though it could not capitalize on either of its two first-period power plays.

In the second, the Mules started to establish more of a physical presence and a much better forecheck. Albert’s one-timer off a cross-ice feed from Burton in the right wing circle on the power play gave Colby a 2-1 lead at 5:13.

“I think we came out in the first kind of dipping our toe in the water,” MacDonald said. “At the end of the first period, we took the floaties off and jumped in the deep end. And we enjoyed swimming in the deep end, so it was a really good effort by the guys.”

Williams went more than 13 minutes before registering its first shot of the frame. When it finally did get its best chance of the period — a blistering bid from Joe Welch, set up by George Hunkele with 3:30 left until the intermission — Tucci made perhaps his finest stop of the game with the left pad.

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“It’s not only the stops you make but it’s how you make them,” MacDonald said. “You can make stops like Carey Price or you can make them looking like Tim Thomas used to. I think it translates through our team when you see the poise and collectiveness in how he handles that position.”

“This was huge. Williams is one of the best teams in the country,” Burton said of the weekend sweep. “It meant a lot to us. To get started off on a good foot, we knew we had to win at least one of these two games. We found a way to get them both, and it feels good.”

Travis Barrett — 621-5621

tbarrett@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TBarrettGWC


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