Hartford, Conn. – Senior Nathaniel Heilbron (West Vancouver, British Columbia) made 41 saves and sophomore forward Anthony Sabitsky (Sicklerville, N.J.) scored the game-tying goal 8:14 into the third period, as the Trinity College Bantams skated to a 1-1 tie against the visiting Hobart College Statesmen in men's ice hockey action this evening at Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center. Trinity, ranked No. 7 in the nation, is now 4-2-1, while the No. 5-ranked Statesmen move to 7-2-2. The Bantams host Elmira, which won at Wesleyan tonight, 6-1, tomorrow at 4:30 p.m., while Hobart visit the Cardinals tomorrow afternoon.
With Trinity trailing, 1-0, early in the final frame after a power-play goal by Hobart junior forward Bobby Sokol (Belle Vernon, Pa.) broke the scoreless tie, Sabitsky tied it up with a redirect from classmate Griffyn Martin (Southport, Conn.). Hobart had a great chance to go back ahead when the Bantams took two crosschecking penalties in a 1:07 span but Trinity held them off. The Bantams played the final 1:33 with the extra skater after a Statesmen penalty, but could not get a shot on net. Hobart senior forward Sean Rudy (Long Sault, Ontario) made a steal deep in the Trinity zone and got off a hard wrist shot from close on the left wing, but Heilbron stopped it with his glove. The Statesmen held a 6-to-3 shooting edge in the five-minute overtime, but Trinity came the closest to winning it as Hobart senior netminder Lino Chimienti (Montreal, Quebec) gave a great effort to stop Trinity junior forward Ryan Cole (Anchorage, Alaska) one-on-one and the rebound bid by fellow Bantam junior Will Sleeper (Wellesley, Mass.). Heilbron had to make two saves against Statesmen sophomore Tyler Wolf (Naperville, Ill.) in the final 90 minutes of overtime.
The teams combined for 29 shots in the first period and 28 in the second, but Heilbron and Chimienti were up to the task. Hobart junior defenseman Connor Simon (Manchester, N.H.) caromed a shot off Heilbron and into the post with 5:08 left in the first frame, while Trinity could not get a shot on goal during a power-play opportunity later in the opening stanza. Early in the second period, Trinity senior forward Michael Hawkrigg (Toronto, Ontario) blasted a shot from just outside the left face-off circle that nearly got through, and the Bantams pelted Chimienti with four more shots right after another to no avail. Hobart's goal was a one-timer by Sokol who converted on a pass from the left corner by junior forward Nick Bingaman (Paradise, Valley, Ariz.). Chimienti finished with 45 saves.
"I am proud of our defensive effort tonight," said Trinity Head Coach Matt Greason. "Starting with Nano in net, we were focused and our young defensive core took a nice step forward. Our forwards' commitment to team defense will be what we take from tonight's game."
