# 1947–48 Williams Ephs men's ice hockey season

The 1947–48 Williams Ephs men's ice hockey season was the 44th season of play for the program but 1st under NCAA oversight. The Ephs represented Williams College and were coached by A. Barr Snively in his 14th season.

## Season

Williams came into the season sporting a roster full of underclassmen. Much of the team was made up of sophomores and, which they did have some experience, many were still untested in the starting role. The weather got cold enough for the rink to form in mid-December and the team began training with gusto. Coach Snively tried to cram as much practice time in as possible before the winter break as the team would be travelling to Buffalo to take on three of the nation's top teams. Unfortunately, the Ephs weren't able to pull off an upset and were defeated in all three games. There were some outstanding performances in those losses as goaltender Dave Pynchon did well against a withering attack while the physical play from Don Radcliffe elicited cheers from the several-thousand-strong crowds. While the start to their season was inauspicious, Williams was able to turn the adversity to their advantage and use the experience to post stellar results for the rest of the season.
The team had a 10-day layoff before their next game and were able to iron out the deficiencies in their game. Entering the game against Hamilton, their opponents were coming off dominating performances and were expected to swamp the still winless Ephs. Instead, Williams swept the Continentals off of their home rink with six different players scoring. The strong play continued with an overpowering performance against Massachusetts. Goals continued to come from all quarters and even bit players were able to get their name on the scoresheet.
Unfortunately, the Ephs couldn't sustain that level of play and, after a tie with Middlebury, the team lost 4 games in a row. Williams recovered at the end of the season, first by deadlocking a strong Army squad but then by taking down Princeton on the road.

## Standings

1947–48 NCAA Independent ice hockey standingsvte :
| | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Intercollegiate | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | Pct. | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Army | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | .719 | 78 | 39 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 78 | 39 |
| Bemidji State | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 13 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 37 | 63 |
| Boston College | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0 | .737 | 126 | 60 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 126 | 60 |
| Boston University | 24 | 20 | 4 | 0 | .833 | 179 | 86 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 179 | 86 |
| Bowdoin | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 45 | 68 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 56 | 73 |
| Brown | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 61 | 91 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 61 | 91 |
| California | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 45 | 62 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 87 | 89 |
| Clarkson | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | .458 | 67 | 39 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 96 | 54 |
| Colby | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 28 | 41 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 41 |
| Colgate | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 54 | 34 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 83 | 45 |
| Colorado College | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 84 | 73 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 207 | 120 |
| Cornell | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 43 |
| Dartmouth | 23 | 21 | 2 | 0 | .913 | 156 | 76 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 156 | 81 |
| Fort Devens State | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .231 | 33 | 74 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Georgetown | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 21 |
| Hamilton | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | – | – |
| Harvard | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | .409 | 131 | 131 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 135 | 140 |
| Lehigh | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 8 | 95 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 108 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 30 |
| Michigan | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | .889 | 105 | 53 | 23 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 141 | 63 |
| Michigan Tech | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | .368 | 87 | 96 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 91 | 97 |
| Middlebury | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | .607 | 111 | 68 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 127 | 74 |
| Minnesota | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 78 | 73 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 100 | 105 |
| Minnesota–Duluth | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 21 | 24 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 28 |
| MIT | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | .421 | 93 | 114 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 93 | 114 |
| New Hampshire | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | .308 | 58 | 67 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 58 | 67 |
| North Dakota | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 51 | 46 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 103 | 68 |
| North Dakota Agricultural | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 27 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 29 |
| Northeastern | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | .526 | 135 | 119 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 135 | 119 |
| Norwich | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 38 | 58 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 56 | 70 |
| Princeton | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | .444 | 65 | 72 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 79 | 79 |
| St. Cloud State | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 55 | 35 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 73 | 55 |
| St. Lawrence | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 65 | 27 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 95 | 50 |
| Suffolk | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tufts | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 15 |
| Union | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 7 | 86 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 86 |
| Williams | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | .364 | 37 | 47 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 2 | – | – |
| Yale | 16 | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 60 | 69 | 20 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 89 | 85 |

## Schedule and results

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Record |
| Regular Season |||||
| December 29 | vs. Dartmouth* | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium • Buffalo, New York | L 1–7 | 0–1–0 |
| December 31 | vs. Princeton* | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium • Buffalo, New York | L 2–5 | 0–2–0 |
| January 4 | vs. Colgate* | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium • Buffalo, New York | L 0–5 | 0–3–0 |
| January 14 | Hamilton* | Cole Field House Pond • Williamstown, Massachusetts | W 7–0 | 1–3–0 |
| January 17 | Massachusetts* | Cole Field House Pond • Williamstown, Massachusetts | W 11–1 | 2–3–0 |
| January 21 | at Middlebury* | McCullough Arena • Middlebury, Vermont | T 6–6 $^{OT}$ | 2–3–1 |
| January 24 | New York A. C.* | Cole Field House Pond • Williamstown, Massachusetts | L ? | 2–4–1 |
| January 30 | St. Lawrence* | Cole Field House Pond • Williamstown, Massachusetts | L 3–5 | 2–5–1 |
| February 21 | Harvard* | Cole Field House Pond • Williamstown, Massachusetts | L 1–5 | 2–6–1 |
| February 23 | Dartmouth* | Cole Field House Pond • Williamstown, Massachusetts | L 1–9 | 2–7–1 |
| February 28 | at Army* | Smith Rink • West Point, New York | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 2–7–2 |
| March 1 | at Princeton* | Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey | W 3–2 | 3–7–2 |
| March 7 | New York A. C.* | Cole Field House Pond • Williamstown, Massachusetts | W 4–1 | 4–7–2 |
| *Non-conference game. |||||