Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore forward Ryan Cole (Anchorage, Alaska) registered a hat trick and added an assist as Trinity College defeated Amherst, 7-2, on Friday night in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action at Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center. With the win, the Bantams improve to 3-0-0 overall and in league play, while the Lord Jeffs move to 1-1-0 on the year and in conference tilts.

The potent Trinity offense was on display again as the team scored seven goals for the third straight contest. The victory also snapped a two-game losing skid versus Amherst for the Bantams.

Trinity wasted little time getting on the board as first-year forward Tyler Whitney (Wakefield, Mass.) scored his fourth tally of the season just over one minute into play on a wrap around as linemates Ryan Cole and first-year Antony Sabitsky (Sicklerville, N.J.) picked up assists.  The visitors absorbed the opening charge by the Bantams and knotted the contest at one seven minutes later as first-year forward Keenan Hodgson potted his fist collegiate marker on the power play.

Junior center Elie Vered (Ottawa, Ontario) gave Trinity a 2-1 advantage as he won a faceoff in the offense zone and flipped a shot past Amherst netminder Dave Cunningham midway through the first.

Two minutes after Vered's goal, the Lord Jeffs tied the game at two after a failed clear attempt bounced off the boards to Brendan Burke who beat Trinity goaltender Nathaniel Heilbron (West Vancouver, British Columbia).

With time winding down late in the first period, Whitney played a pass ahead to Cole who skated in and fired a shot that found the back of the net with just 2.6 seconds remaining. His first score of the game gave Trinity a 3-2 edge heading into the second.

Both teams traded opportunities throughout the second stanza as both Heilbron and Cunningham turned aside shots. In the final 90 seconds, Trinity stretched their lead to three at 5-2 as senior forward Conor Coveney (Hingham, Mass.) and Cole both scored.

In the third period, the Bantams added a pair of goals, the second of which chased Cunningham from the game as Sabitsky scored with the man advantage and Cole deflected a bouncing puck in front of the net. Trinity has been dominant closing out opponents this season, outscoring the opposition, 11-1, in the final period of games.

Heilbron made 30 saves to earn his third win of the season for the Bantams, while Cunningham stopped 26 shots in a losing effort for Amherst. Senior goaltender Danny Vitale played the final 10:09 of the game for the Lord Jeffs and he turned aside all five shots he faced.

The Bantams outshot Amherst, 38-32 and both teams converted one of their five power-play opportunities.

Trinity wraps up a home weekend of action on Saturday, Nov. 22, welcoming Hamilton into Hartford in NESCAC action. The contest with the Continentals gets underway at 4:00 p.m.