GENEVA, N.Y. – The William Smith College ice hockey team scored three third period goals as they collected a 4-1 ECAC West victory over Buffalo State at the Cooler this afternoon. First-year Maura Mulligan recorded a game-high two assists as the Herons collected their fifth win of the season.
 
"This is a good win for the team," Head Coach Jaime Totten said. "They have been working hard and I think things came to fruition for them today. It's nice to see that the team is putting what we do in practice and the film room together into a game situation. It was a complete team effort and we need to build on this momentum down the stretch run."
 
Buffalo State (13-4-0, 7-3-0) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Brooke Krantz deposited a rebound behind the William Smith goalie. Christine Harris and Bri Carroll were credited with assists on the Bengals' goal.
 
William Smith (5-10-2, 2-8-2) scored the game tying goal at 15:45 of the period. Sophomore Krista Federow netted her fifth goal of the season. She collected a clearing pass from Mulligan in the neutral zone, carried the puck down the right wing and lifted a backhand shot over the left shoulder of Justine Silva, the Buffalo State goalie.
 
In the second period, both goalies stood tall, not allowing a puck across the goal line. The Herons had the better of the scoring chances in the middle 20 minutes. Sophomore Catherine Linehan had a breakaway but was robbed by a Silva glove save. First-year Lindsay Brown fired three wrist shots in quick succession in the later stages of the period but could not get the puck past Silva.
 
Rebecca Begley's seventh goal of the season put the Herons out front for good. Mulligan dug a loose puck out of a scrum along the wall. She fed a pass to Begley at the blue line. Begley carried the puck from the right point, around a defender, and snapped a shot past Silva from inside of the left faceoff circle.
 
At 16:36 of the third period, Buffalo State pulled its goalie in favor of the extra-attacker. The gamble did not pay off for the Bengals as William Smith added two empty-net goals late in the period to secure the victory. First-year Tess Madarasz notched her second goal of the season when she wristed a shot from center ice. The puck bounced off of the right post and into the empty net. Hedi Droste was credited with an assist on the goal. A little over a minute later, first-year Laura Rollins fired a shot from her own blue line that found the center of the empty net. The goals were the first two empty-net goals in program history.
 
After letting in a goal at 2:44 of the first period, Laurel Brown slammed the door shut, making 37 saves on the way to collecting her first collegiate victory. Silva made 34 stops in 58:13 of action in the Bengals' goal.
 
Both teams came away empty on the power play and finished with 38 shots a piece.
 
William Smith will be back on the ice next weekend, Jan. 29-30, when they travel to Fairfield, Conn., for a pair of games against Division I Independent Sacred Heart. Faceoff on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.