This Week: The Trinity College men's ice hockey team went 2-0 at home in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action last weekend. The Bantams erupted in five goals in back-to-back games scoring victories against Bowdoin and Colby to run their winning streak to five games. This weekend, Trinity will close out the regular season with a home-and-home weekend series versus in-state and conference foe Wesleyan.
Match-up:
Trinity (19-2-1, 14-1-1) vs. Wesleyan (3-19-0, 2-14-0)
Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Spurrier-Snyder Rink
Middletown, Conn.
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2014 at 4:00 p.m.
Williams Rink at the Koeppel Community Sports Center
Hartford, Conn.
Live Stats: Saturday (All links will become active at the start of the contest)
Live Video: Friday & Saturday
Last Season Versus Wesleyan: Trinity went 3-0 versus Wesleyan last season, sweeping the regular season series and topping the Cardinals in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. In the three tilts, the Bantams outscored Wesleyan, 19-6. Jackson Brewer had a goal and nine assists versus the Cardinals, while Michael Hawkrigg produced nine points thanks to four goals and five assists and Sean Orlando potted three markers and registered four helpers.
Game Notes:
- Trinity moved up to No. 3 in the latest USCHO.com poll and the Bantams jumped a spot to No. 4 in the most recent D3Hockey.com poll. Trinity's two setbacks this season have both come versus nationally ranked opponents. The Bantams also received two first-place votes in the USCHO poll and one in the D3Hockey poll.
- With their wins last weekend, The Bantams secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship Tournament for the second year in a row.
- Sophomore forward Ryan Cole became the third Bantam to earn weekly recognition from the league office as he was tabbed as the NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Player of the Week after leading Trinity to a pair of wins. Last weekend, the 5-9 winger recorded a pair of three-point games as Trinity defeated Bowdoin and Colby to clinch the top seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship Tournament. In the opener versus the Polar Bears, he recorded a season-high three assists as Trinity scored a 5-4 come-from-behind victory. Cole picked up the primary helper on two first-period tallies and another on the game-tying goal late in the second. In the weekend finale against the Mules, he scored a pair of power-play markers to go along with an assist in a 5-1 triumph.
- Through 22 games, the Bantams have scored 95 goals to lead the league and rank seventh in the nation in scoring offense (4.32 goals per game) after exploding for six or more goals in seven victories this season. Trinity is also tops in the NESCAC and fifth in the country in scoring defense surrendering 1.85 goals per tilts. The team leads the NESCAC and ranks fifth in the nation in scoring margin at 2.41.
-Two weeks ago, Hawkrigg became the first member of the Bantams to earn NESCAC weekly honors as he was tabbed the conference's Player of the Week. This past weekend, he scored three goals and added two assists for Trinity. He is third on the team in points with 29, third in goals with 11 and second in assists with 18.
- Brewer is second on the team in points with 30 and he leads the team, conference and is third in the country with 23 assists. Brewer has potted seven markers this season as four of those have come on the power play and three have been game-winners.
- Orlando leads the team and the NESCAC with 14 goals. The second-year winger also leads the conference and the nation with 10 power-play tallies.
- Between the pipes, junior goaltender Nathaniel Heilbron has been stellar this season for the Bantams. He has amassed a 15-2-1 record with a .931 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average. He ranks second in the conference in both save percentage and goals-against average.
- Trinity's depth is shown in their third-period scoring margin. In the final 20 minutes this season, the Bantams have outscored their opponents, 36-13. Trinity has also done a good job scoring early, netting 30 goals and allowing just 12 during the first period.
- The Bantams have converted 27-of-93 power-play opportunities and Trinity has killed 61-of-73 penalties this season. The Bantams penalty kill and the power-play unity both rank second in the conference.
