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1924–25 Williams Ephs
men's ice hockey season
1924–25 Williams Ephs; men's ice hockey season
Conference	Independent
Home ice	Weston Field Rink
Record
Overall	4–4–0
Home	2–0–0
Road	1–1–0
Neutral	1–3–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	J. 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

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

Player	Class	Pos	DoB	Hometown
Francis D. Austin	Freshman	D		Douglaston, New York
Mills P. Baker	Junior	D	1903-04-18	Great Neck, New York
William O. Blaney	Freshman	RW	1905-09-15	Waban, Massachusetts
Daniel K. Chapman	Junior	G		New York, New York
Lewis W. Francis Jr.	Senior	C/LW/RW		Brooklyn, New York
Roger A. Gurley	Freshman	LW	1905-11-16	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Frederic W. Howe Jr.	Junior	D		Providence, Rhode Island
Clinton S. Mason	Sophomore	RW	1905-02-01	Watertown, Massachusetts
Robert M. Popham	Junior	LW/RW		New York, New York
Ebenezer Smith	Junior	D/RW		New York, New York
Leonard H. Smith Jr.	Sophomore	LW/RW	1904-02-03	Brooklyn, New York
Harry A. Watkins	Junior	C	1904-02-07	South Orange, New Jersey

^[10]

Standings

1924–25 Eastern Collegiate ice hockey standings v t e
	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	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	7	9	0	–	–
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

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

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

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