This Week: The Trinity College men's ice hockey team closed out a banner regular season by going 2-0 in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action last weekend versus Wesleyan. For the second straight season, the Bantams swept the Cardinals to secure the No. 1 Seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship Tournament. Trinity will open post-season play at home this weekend against eighth-seeded Tufts.
Match-up:
NESCAC Quarterfinals
No. 1 Trinity (21-2-1, 16-1-1) vs. No. 8 Tufts (8-14-2, 5-11-2)
Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 at 1:00 p.m.
Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center
Hartford, Conn.
Live Stats: Click Here (All links will become active at the start of the contest)
Live Video: Click Here
Earlier this Season Versus the Jumbos: Trinity swept the season series against Tufts, outscoring the Jumbos, 11-3, in a pair of victories. In the second game of the year, the Bantams skated to a 7-2 win against Tufts on the road. In the contest, Trinity broke a 2-2 tie with five unanswered goals in the third period. In Hartford, the hosts netted a 4-1 triumph behind a pair of goals from sophomore Ryan Cole.
Game Notes:
- Trinity jumped to No. 2 in the latest USCHO.com poll and the Bantams moved up two spots to No. 2 in the most recent D3Hockey.com poll. Trinity's two setbacks this season have both come versus nationally ranked opponents. The Bantams also received four first-place votes in the USCHO poll and nine in the D3Hockey poll.
- With their wins two weeks ago versus Bowdoin and Colby, the Bantams secured the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Championship Tournament for the second year in a row. Trinity, which aims to hoist the NESCAC trophy for the first time since 2008, is 10-4 in conference quarterfinal appearances. Its other league crown came in 2003.
- Trinity enters post-season play as one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 17 of their last 18 games, including their current seven-game winning streak.
- Last week, junior Michael Hawkrigg scored the eventual game-winning goal that broke a 1-1 tie in the third period of Trinity's 4-1 win at Wesleyan and added two goals and one helper in a 6-0 victory against the Cardinals on Saturday. His assist came on the first goal in the shutout victory. Hawkrigg is tied for the team and conference lead in points with Cole at 34. Both skaters have potted 14 markers and recorded 10 helpers this winter.
- Through 24 games, the Bantams have scored 105 goals to lead the league and rank seventh in the nation in scoring offense (4.38 goals per game) after exploding for six or more goals in eight victories this season. Trinity is also tops in the NESCAC and fifth in the country in scoring defense surrendering 1.79 goals per tilts. The team leads the NESCAC and ranks third in the nation in scoring margin at 2.58.
- Senior tri-captain Jackson Brewer leads the NESCAC and is tied for fifth in the country with 24 assists (1.00 apg). Brewer has potted seven markers this season as four of those have come on the power play and three have been game-winners. His 31 points are tied for third in the conference.
- Sophomore Sean Orlando is tied for the team lead and ranks second in the NESCAC with 14 goals. The second-year winger also leads the conference and the nation with 10 power-play tallies.
- First-year Tyler Whitney leads the conference and ranks second in the country with five game-winning goals this winter.
- Between the pipes, junior goaltender Nathaniel Heilbron has been stellar this season for the Bantams. He has amassed a 16-2-1 record with a .931 save percentage and a 1.94 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, 39-13. Trinity has also done a good job scoring early, netting 34 goals and allowing just 13 during the first period.
- The Bantams have converted 28-of-99 power-play opportunities and Trinity has killed 64-of-76 penalties this season. The Bantams penalty kill is third in the NESCAC and the power-play ranks second.
