Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore Michael Hawkrigg (Toronto, Ontario) tallied two goals  and an assist to lead the Trinity College Bantams over the visiting Middlebury College Panthers in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's ice hockey action tonight on Williams Rink at the Koeppel Community Sports Center.  Trinity, ranked No. 11 in the nation, improves to 15-4 overall and 10-3 in the NESCAC.  Middlebury drops to 8-9-2 overall and 6-6-1 in the league.

Trinity was first to strike, with a power play goal by Hawkrigg midway through the opening period.  Later in the period, Hawkrigg and junior co-captain defender Michael Flynn (Cheshire, Conn.) set up junior Jackson Brewer (Newton, Mass.) for a score to put the Bantams up 2-0.

The score remained 2-0 until 6:24 into the second period, when sophomore Evan Neugold (Goshen, Conn.) netted a goal to bring the Panthers within a score.  Trinity answered 27 seconds later on a goal by sophomore Joseph Horak (St. Louis, Mo.), which put the Bantams up 3-1.  Trinity tacked on another before the end of the second frame, as junior Liam McKillop (New York, N.Y.) scored to bring the score to 4-1.  Trinity outshot Middlebury, 17-8, in the second period, which featured key defensive plays by the Bantams, including several standout stops by junior Greg Rooney (Worcester, Mass.).

But the game was far from over.  Middlebury opened the third period with a quick strike by senior John Barr (Ridgefield, Conn.).  Middlebury sophomore Ronald Fishman (Roslyn, N.Y.) added another goal less than four minutes later, cutting the Trinity lead to 5-3, and keeping the home crowd unsettled.  But the fans would soon breathe a sigh of relief, as Hawkrigg came up with another clutch goal roughly one minute later, giving the Bantams a 5-3 lead.  The Trinity defense and senior goalie Ben Coulthard (South Windsor, Conn.) kept Middlebury out of the net the remainder of the way, as Trinity sealed their eighth win in nine games.

Coulthard finished the game with 29 saves, while Middlebury sophomore goalie Liam Moorfield-Yee (Toronto, Ont.) finished the game with 31 saves in net for the Panthers.  Heading into the game, Brewer, Hawkrigg, and rookie Ryan Cole (Anchorage, Alaska) were three of the top five leading scorers in the nation.  The trio combined for seven points in this evening's game, tallying at least one point apiece.

Trinity welcomes the Williams College Ephs to the Koeppel Center tomorrow at 4 p.m.  The game is a rematch between the teams, who last squared off at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass., on Jan. 7.  Trinity is 8-1 since suffering a 4-2 loss to Williams in Boston.  The game will be webcast live at www.trincoll.edu/livevideo. 

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