Hartford, Conn. – A day after the Trinity College Bantams men's ice hockey team earned a 3-2 overtime win at Wesleyan University, the Cardinals traveled to Hartford and answered with a 2-1 win behind two third period goals, including a game-winner by senior Ryan White (Grant Island, N.Y.) with 2:28 remaining.   Trinity drops to 13-6-3 and 10-4-3 in the league, while the Cardinals improve to 10-10-4 overall and 6-8-4 in the NESCAC. 

The Trinity offense came out firing and tested Wesleyan freshman goalie Nolan Daley (Exeter, N.H.) throughout the opening period, but Daley stood his ground until midway through the frame.  After a Wesleyan penalty put Trinity on a power play, the Bantams had several scoring opportunities, and capitalized on one of them when senior tri-captain brothers Jeffrey Menard (Burlington, Mass.) and Chris Menard (Burlington, Mass.) connected for a Bantam goal.  Chris hit Jeffery with a pass just inside the blue line, and Jeffrey ripped a slap shot into the top right corner of the net, giving the Bantams an early 1-0 edge.  

Click here to watch Menard's goal.  

Wesleyan came back strong in the second period, outshooting the Bantams 17-10 in the frame, as intensity of the game increased.  Midway through the period, Wesleyan gained a five-on-three advantage, but Trinity's penalty kill unit came up with a stop.  Sophomore Tim Shea (Somerset, Mass.) made a key play on the power play kill, winning a faceoff, and protecting the puck against the boards, eating significant clock time, before escaping.  Later in period, with just under five minutes remaining, Wesleyan freshman Terence Durkin (Scituate, Mass.) took a backhanded shot headed for the corner of the Trinity net, but freshman goalie Nathaniel Heilbron (W. Vancouver, British Columbia) picked the puck out of the air with a glove save to protect the 1-0 Bantam lead.

Wesleyan opened the third with a quick goal by junior Keith Buehler (Skaneateles, N.Y.), who sent a shot through the five-hole, tying the game at 1-1.  The goal came after a series of rapid fire shots by Wesleyan, with Trinity defenders sprawled in front of the net.  Another power play for Trinity with three minutes remaining opened the possibility of another overtime game. But with 2:28 on the clock, White scored a rebound goal to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.  Trinity pulled their keeper, and the offense had some opportunities in the final minute, but Daley protected the net as the Cardinals skated away with the 2-1 victory. 

Heilbron finished the game with 40 saves, while Daley made 33 stops for the Cardinals.  Trinity celebrated senior night before the game.  The match was the last of the regular season for Wesleyan.    Trinity will face Bowdoin in the final game of their regular season on Monday, February 18 at 7 p.m. at Brooks School in North Andover, Mass.  Bowdoin has clinched the top seed for the NESCAC Tournament, while Trinity, Williams, Middlebury, and Amherst are all in the mix for the No. 2 seed. 

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