Hartford, Conn. – Senior goalie Benjamin Coulthard (South Windsor, Conn.) made 35 saves, allowing one goal, to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 5-1 win over the visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's ice hockey action on Williams Rink at the Koeppel Community Sports Center this evening. Trinity moves to 10-3 overall and 5-2 in the NESCAC, and Bowdoin drops to 8-4-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the league.
"Tonight was a great effort by our entire lineup," Trinity Head Coach Matt Greason said about his team, which has rattled off three straight wins. "It's important that we bring this effort every time that we hit the ice."
Trinity grabbed a quick 1-0 lead on a power play goal by sophomore Elie Vered (Ottawa, Ontario), 1:29 into the game. Within the next five minutes of action, Trinity would get all the offense they needed, as classmate Michael Hawkrigg (Toronto, Ontario) netted the eventual game-winner. Bowdoin didn't let Trinity get too comfortable too early, as sophomore Matt Rubinoff (Oakville, Ontario) and classmate Gabriel Renaud (Quebec City, Quebec) linked up to bring Bowdoin back within a score at the 13:12 mark. Trinity rookie Sean Orlando (Ivyland, Pa.) got the goal back for Trinity with his team-best 12th score of the season, putting Trinity on top, 3-1, at the end of the first.
Neither team was able to score in the first half of the second period. Junior Jackson Brewer (Newton, Mass.) clanked a shot off the post with a bid to put the Bantams on top, 4-1, as Bowdoin remained in striking distance. With 3:34 to play, however, Brewer took another chance, and it paid off this time, as his pinpoint shot found a small crevasse in top left corner of the Bowdoin goal. Brewer hit the post twice in the game, and finished with a goal and two assists to bring his team-high points total to 28.
Bowdoin was relentless in the second and third periods, outshooting Trinity 17-11, and 12-4 in the frames. But the Polar Bear offense was continually iced by Coulthard, who saved all 29 shots he faced in the final two frames. In the closing five minutes of action, Trinity junior co-captain defender Michael Flynn (Cheshire, Conn.) fired a shot off the post, before first-year Ryan Cole (Anchorage, Alaska) netted his seventh goal of the year, giving the Bantams a 5-1 lead, and virtually assuring the Trinity win.
The Trinity and Bowdoin matchup has been very evenly contested in recent history, as each team held matching records of 4-4-1 against each other in the nine games leading up to tonight, with a combined score of 30-30 in those games. Since suffering a 4-2 loss to Williams at Frozen Fenway Park on Jan. 7, Trinity has won their last three games, including convincing league victories over Middlebury last week, and Bowdoin tonight.
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