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1924–25 Williams Ephs men's ice hockey season

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1924–25 Williams Ephs
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceIndependent
Home iceWeston Field Rink
Record
Overall4–4–0
Home2–0–0
Road1–1–0
Neutral1–3–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachJ. Philip Bower
Captain(s)Harry Watkins
Williams Ephs men's ice hockey seasons
« 1923–24 1925–26 »

The 1924–25 Williams Ephs men's ice hockey season was the 22nd season of play for the program.

Season

[edit]

With the Ephs behind their third head coach in as many years, the team took a major step forward in the offseason when it was admitted into the Intercollegiate Ice Hockey Association.[1] Williams was one of just two small colleges (the other being Hamilton) in the group with the other members being the seven active Ivy League schools. Rather than form a conference and compile a schedule, the league met to decide upon a uniform set of rules for college hockey, a vital necessity as there was no national governing body for the sport. The inclusion of Williams raised the profile for the program and gave it an authority commensurate with the school's longstanding dedication to the sport.

The team was also undergoing several changes on the ice, both positive and negative. With the loss of several key contributors, most notably star goaltender Marvin Lowes, Williams would need to replace a good number of its '24 lineup. Fortunately, the team had a very sizable contingent of players to pick from; 42 men showed up to the first practice which, unusually, was held in November. After having to deal with warm winters for several seasons, the region welcomed in an early chill and the surface of Leake's Pond froze over before Thanksgiving.[2] At the time the team was being led solely by team captain Harry Watkins as a coach for the team had yet to be hired.[3] In mid-December, the administration decided upon J. Philip Bower as the team's head coach and he immediately assumed the reigns.[4]

With the team's impending Christmas trip to Lake Placid just weeks away, Bower had a shot time to put his stamp on the program. He did his best to organize the team around Watkins at center with Smith, Blaney and Popham on the wings. Howe, the veteran blueliner, stayed at his normal position while several players were cycled through on the other point. Chapman had an unenviable task of following one of the program's best goaltenders but still acquitted himself well in the opening series with Yale. Entering the games with fewer numbers and less preparation, the Ephs were soundly beaten in the first two matches. The defensing intercollegiate champion Elis were too fast for the Purple to keep up but, once they got their skating legs under them, Williams proved to be a match for the Bulldogs. The third game saw a much closer contest with the Ephs fighting back in the third. Watkins led a third period surge that came up just shy with the Purple falling 2–3.[5] Though winless to this point, the Ephs strengthening performance in the series continued as they travelled to Buffalo and rolled over the Nichols hockey club 7–2. Popham was the star of the game with 4 goals but the biggest surprise came in the final match of the winter break when Williams defeated Princeton. The Tigers only goal came from when Popham accidentally knocked the puck into his own cage while Howe and Austin kept the Princeton attack at bay.[6]

After their relatively successful start, the team was looking forward to a slate of 10 further games and opened against Massachusetts Agricultural. Unfortunately, poor ice conditions on the MAC rink forced the two teams onto a nearby pond. The less-than-satisfactory conditions were worsened by the lack of boards that forced the team to adapt a new style of play. The Ephs were unable to adjust in time and fell to the home team 0–2.[7] After returning home, the team was met by the unwelcome sight of another warm winter. The team was hardly able to practice over a 2-week span and had to cancel a few games before finally squeezing in a match with Bates. As if he was making up for lost time, Watkins set a program record with 7 of the team's 8 goals in the game as the Ephs smothered the Bobcats. The game also had the distinction of being longer than normal with three 18-minute periods instead of the standard 15-minute frames.[8]

The exam break caused the next pause to the season and Williams didn't play another game until early February. When they did get back onto the ice the Ephs demonstrated an overpowering brand of hockey seldom seen in a Purple jersey by hammering their ancient rivals, Amherst, 12–1.[9] Watkins and Popham each recorded 4 goals in the game while Howe netted a pair. Several games remained on the team's schedule, however, due to a thaw throughout the region, Williams ended up having to cancel the remainder of their season. In all, the Ephs lost seven games to poor weather conditions, a fade made worse with how well the Purple had performed throughout the year.

Frank Gummey served as team manager with Frederick Cleveland as his assistant.

Roster

[edit]
No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
New York (state) Francis D. Austin Freshman D Douglaston, New York
New York (state) Mills P. Baker Junior D 1903-04-18 Great Neck, New York
Massachusetts William O. Blaney Freshman RW 1905-09-15 Waban, Massachusetts
New York (state) Daniel K. Chapman Junior G New York, New York
New York (state) Lewis W. Francis Jr. Senior C/LW/RW Brooklyn, New York
Minnesota Roger A. Gurley Freshman LW 1905-11-16 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rhode Island Frederic W. Howe Jr. Junior D Providence, Rhode Island
Massachusetts Clinton S. Mason Sophomore RW 1905-02-01 Watertown, Massachusetts
New York (state) Robert M. Popham Junior LW/RW New York, New York
New York (state) Ebenezer Smith Junior D/RW New York, New York
New York (state) Leonard H. Smith Jr. Sophomore LW/RW 1904-02-03 Brooklyn, New York
New Jersey Harry A. Watkins Junior C 1904-02-07 South Orange, New Jersey

[10]

Standings

[edit]
1924–25 Eastern Collegiate ice hockey standings
Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Amherst 5 2 3 0 .400 11 24 5 2 3 0 11 24
Army 6 3 2 1 .583 16 12 7 3 3 1 16 17
Bates 7 1 6 0 .143 12 27 8 1 7 0 13 33
Boston College 2 1 1 0 .500 3 1 16 8 6 2 40 27
Boston University 11 6 4 1 .591 30 24 12 7 4 1 34 25
Bowdoin 3 2 1 0 .667 10 7 4 2 2 0 12 13
Clarkson 4 0 4 0 .000 2 31 6 0 6 0 9 46
Colby 3 0 3 0 .000 0 16 4 0 4 0 1 20
Cornell 5 1 4 0 .200 7 23 5 1 4 0 7 23
Dartmouth – – – – – – – 8 4 3 1 28 12
Hamilton – – – – – – – 13 8 3 2 – –
Harvard 10 8 2 0 .800 38 20 12 8 4 0 44 34
Massachusetts Agricultural 7 2 5 0 .286 13 38 7 2 5 0 13 38
Middlebury 2 1 1 0 .500 1 8 2 1 1 0 1 8
MIT 8 2 4 2 .375 15 28 9 2 5 2 17 32
New Hampshire – – – – – – – 4 2 2 0 – –
Princeton 9 3 6 0 .333 27 24 17 8 9 0 59 54
Rensselaer – – – – – – – 4 2 2 0 – –
Syracuse 1 1 0 0 1.000 3 1 4 1 3 0 6 13
Union 4 1 3 0 .250 8 22 4 1 3 0 8 22
Williams 7 3 4 0 .429 26 17 8 4 4 0 33 19
Yale 13 11 1 1 .885 46 12 16 14 1 1 57 16

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Opponent Site Decision Result Record
Regular Season
December 29 vs. Yale* Lake Placid Rink • Lake Placid, New York Chapman L 2–6  0–1–0
December 30 vs. Yale* Lake Placid Rink • Lake Placid, New York Chapman L 0–3  0–2–0
December 31 vs. Yale* Lake Placid Rink • Lake Placid, New York Chapman L 2–3  0–3–0
January 2 at Nichols Club* Nichols School Rink • Buffalo, New York Chapman W 7–2  1–3–0
January 3 vs. Princeton* Nichols School Rink • Buffalo, New York Chapman W 2–1  2–3–0
January 10 at Massachusetts Agricultural* Campus Pond • Amherst, Massachusetts Chapman L 0–2  2–4–0
January 23 Bates* Weston Field Rink • Williamstown, Massachusetts Chapman W 8–1  3–4–0
February 5 Amherst* Weston Field Rink • Williamstown, Massachusetts Chapman W 12–1  4–4–0
*Non-conference game.

Note: Yale and Williams have the scores for the games on December 29 and 30 reversed with Yale reporting that the 0–3 game occurred first. Both list the games as wins for Yale.
[10]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals
Francis Austin D 5 -
Mills Baker D 8 -
William Blaney RW 5 -
Daniel Chapman G 8 -
Lewis Francis C/LW/RW 3 -
Roger Gurley LW 1 -
Frederic Howe D 8 -
Clinton Mason RW 3 -
Robert Popham LW/RW 8 -
Ebenezer Smith D/RW 8 -
Leonard Smith LW/RW 8 -
Harry Watkins C 8 -
Total 33

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Purple Joins Hockey League". The Williams Record. April 12, 1924. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  2. ^ "Large Hockey Squad Holds First Practice". The Williams Record. November 22, 1924. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "Two Prospective Hockey Coaches are Interviewed". The Williams Record. December 9, 1924. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "J. P. Bower is Selected to Coach Hockey Team". The Williams Record. December 13, 1924. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "HOCKEY TEAM DEFEATS WILLIAMS AND QUEENS". Yale Daily News. January 6, 1925. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  6. ^ "Christmas Hockey Trip is Successful". The Williams Record. January 10, 1925. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "M.A.C. Takes Hockey Game on Faculty Ice". The Williams Record. January 13, 1925. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  8. ^ "Bates Sextet Loses to Purple Team, 8-1". The Williams Record. February 4, 1925. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  9. ^ "Amherst Beaten By Purple Hockey Team". The Williams Record. February 10, 1925. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Gulielmensian 1926". Williams College. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
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