Brewer Rewrites Bantam Record Book With Six Assists

Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore forward Michael Hawkrigg (Toronto, Ontario) had two goals and four assists and junior forward Jackson Brewer (Newton, Mass.) set one team assist record and broke another to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 9-1 victory over the visiting Wesleyan University Cardinals in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men's Ice Hockey Championship Quarterfinal action at Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center this afternoon.  Top-seeded Trinity, ranked No. 6 in the nation, improves to 21-4, its highest win total since 2004-05, with its third win over the Cardinals in eight days and advances to the NESCAC Semifinals for the 10th time and the second year in a row.  Wesleyan sees its season end at 11-12-2. 

Winners of the their last eight games, the Bantams will face Bowdoin or Connecticut College in the semifinals on Saturday, March 8, depending on the outcome of tonight's Amherst/Connecticut College quarterfinal game.  The NESCAC Championship Finals will take place on Sunday, March 9 between the semifinal winners, and all three games will be hosted by Trinity in the Koeppel Center.  Trinity, which won league titles in 2003 and 2008, hosted the NESCAC Final Four once before in 2005 when the Bantams played their home games at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford.

Trinity scored early and often, opening up a 4-0 lead after one period and leading, 7-0, at the second intermission.  Bantam junior captain defenseman Michael Flynn (Cheshire, Conn.) scored the first of his two goals 5:45 into the game, and senior captain forward Will Gray (Wellesley, Mass.) followed with the game-winner 14:37 into the opening stanza.  Hawkrigg scored twice late in the first period, and junior forward Jackson Brewer (Newton, Mass.) tallied three of his College-record-tying six assists in the first 20 minutes. 

Trinity scored three times on power plays in the second stanza, including two tallies by rookie forward Sean Orlando (Ivyland, Pa.), and added third-period goals by sophomore forward Elie Vered (Ottawa, Ontario) and Orlando.  Brewer assisted Orlando on his first goal, tying George Brickley's 36-year-old College record with his 40th helper of the season, and fed Flynn for the game's sixth goal with three minutes left in the second period to pass Brickley with 41.  His last assist on Orlando's third goal, which tied the College's single game record, puts the new team-season mark at 42 and counting.  Senior captain forward Keith Buehler (Skaneateles, N.Y.) scored for Wesleyan with 5:11 left in the game from junior forward James Albrecht (Commerce, Mich.). 

Orlando finished with a hat trick plus an assist, while Flynn had two goals and one assists, and freshman forward Ryan Cole (Anchorage, Alaska) collected two helpers.  Brewer's six assists tied a record set by William Bullard against Quinnipiac in 1978.  Trinity senior Ben Coulthard (South Windsor, Conn.) made 18 of his 30 saves in the third period, while freshman Dawson Sprigings (Toronto, Ontario) and sophomore Nolan Daley (Exeter, N.H.) combined for 28 Cardinals saves.  Wesleyan racked up 44 minutes in penalties and surrendered four power-play goals in eight Trinity chances.

"We had a great week of preparation for this game," said Trinity Head Coach Matt Greason.  "It was nice to see us execute so effectively."