Trinity Men's Hockey Weekly Preview
This Week: The Trinity College men's ice hockey team was one of four teams to receive an at-large bid into the 2015 NCAA Tournament as announced during a live selection show Monday morning on NCAA.com. The Bantams, coached by Matt Greason, will host ECAC Northeast Champion Nichols on Saturday in the opening round of the 11-team tournament.
Match-up:
NCAA Tournament Opening Round
Trinity (21-3-1) vs. Nichols (21-3-3)
Saturday, Mar. 14, 2015 at 7:00 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
Last Meeting Versus the Bison: Nichols scored a 5-3 victory at home against Trinity in December of 2012.
Series History: Trinity leads the all-time series, 16-7.
Scouting Nichols: The Bison enter the tournament with a record of 21-3-3 and have won their last five contests, highlighted by a 3-0 whitewash of Salve Regina University Saturday afternoon in the ECAC Northeast Championship contest. Overall, Nichols is unbeaten in its last 11 (10-0-1) and begin the week ranked No. 14 in the D3hockey.com poll and No. 15 in the USCHO poll. Nichols is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance. They are led offensively by junior Frank Butler with 20 goals and classmate Tyler Beasley, who leads in both assists (28) and points (35). Junior netminder Alex Larson and his nation-leading .952 save percentage enter the tournament fresh off being named both ECAC Northeast Goaltender of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament.
Game Notes:
- Trinity is ranked No. 7 in the latest USCHO.com poll and the Bantams moved up one spot to No. 5 in the most recent D3Hockey.com poll. Two of Trinity's setbacks this season have come versus nationally ranked opponents. The Bantams also received one first-place vote in the D3Hockey poll.
- Trinity enters NCAA Tournament with fresh legs and something to prove. The team last played on Feb. 28 and fell to visiting Tufts in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. The Bantams were one of four teams to receive an at-large bid into this year's NCAA Tournament.
- Trinity is making its fourth overall NCAA appearance, having reached the tournament in 2003, 2005 and 2008. In 2005, the team advanced to the Frozen Four.
- Through 25 games, the Bantams have scored 106 goals to lead the league and rank seventh in the nation in scoring offense (4.24 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 1.80 goals per tilts. The team leads the NESCAC and ranks fourth in the nation in scoring margin at 2.58.
- Sophomore forward Ryan Cole was named the NESCAC Player of the Year earlier this month. Cole was tabbed First Team All-NESCAC for the second straight season after leading the league with 35 points, ranking second with 21 assists, and tying for third with 14 goals as he helped the Bantams earn the No. 1 seed in the league tournament for the second straight season after posting a 16-1-1 record. The 2014 NESCAC Rookie of the Year becomes the first player in conference men's ice hockey history to receive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year accolades. Cole is the second Bantam to garner the Player of the Year. He also joins Hamilton's Joe Houk, who received the award in 2011, as the only players to earn the award as sophomores.
- Joining Cole on the All-NESCAC First team were junior forward Michael Hawkrigg, senior defenseman Michael Flynn and junior goaltender Nathaniel Heilbron as the Bantams placed four player on the all-conference first team for the second straight season. Hawkrigg is tied for the team-lead with 14 goals and is second on the squad with 34 points.
- Senior tri-captain Jackson Brewer leads the NESCAC and is tied for sixth in the country with 24 assists (0.96 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 third 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, Heilbron has been stellar this season for the Bantams. He has amassed a 16-3-1 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, 39-14. 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-104 power-play opportunities and Trinity has killed 65-of-77 penalties this season. The Bantams penalty kill is third in the NESCAC and the power-play ranks second.
Interactive Bracket
Selection Show
