Box Score Bantams Advance To Second Final Four With 5-1 Win
Hartford, Conn. – The Trinity College Bantams took a 1-0 lead on a first-period penalty shot by senior forward
Jackson Brewer (Newton, Mass.) and scored four goals in the third period for a 5-1 victory over the SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament this evening at Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center. Trinity improves to 23-3-1 and advances to the NCAA Semifinals next weekend at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. Plattsburgh State ends the year with a 20-6-2 final mark.
Watch Jackson Brewer score Trinity's first goal on a penalty shot
There was no scoring for the vast majority of the first period despite a combined 27 shots on goal before Brewer was tripped on a breakaway and drew the first penalty shot of his collegiate career with 1:08 left before the first break. Brewer made two late but quick moves on Plattsburgh sophomore goalie Brady Rouleau (Fort Macleod, Alberta) before depositing the puck over Rouleau's right shoulder for the game's first goal.
Plattsburgh came out firing in the second period, peppering Trinity junior netminder Nathaniel Heilbron (West Vancouver, British Columbia) with 15 shots, but the Bantams came the closest to scoring as Rouleau came up big on three solid chances by Trinity sophomore forward Ryan Cole (Anchorage, Alaska). Rouleau saved Cole's hard shot from the left face-off circle and his rebound attempt 13 minutes into the frame, and snagged Cole's wrap-around bid with his glove moments later just before the puck crossed the line.
Junior forward Elie Vered (Ottawa, Ontario) gave Trinity a two-goal cushion with the first of his two goals in the final period with 2:45 gone by after the second intermission. The Cardinals nearly cut the Trinity lead in half when a shot by senior forward Alex Brenton (Kanata, Ontario) sailed just wide at the 9:30 mark, and the Bantams took advantage quickly, advancing the puck up the right boards to senior forward Tim Shea (Somerset, Mass.) who finished the play with his third goal of the season. Bantam senior forward Conor Coveney (Hingham, Mass.) provided assists on both early goals in the final period.
Brewer added his second goal of the night with a wrist shot from outside the left face-off circle that trickled out of Rouleau's glove and into the net, and Vered completed the Trinity scoring with an empty netter with 1:02 left in the game. Senior forward Connor Toomey (Billerica, Mass.) spoiled Heilbron's shutout with a goal from classmate Mark Constantine (Haddonfield, N.J.) with two seconds on the clock, but Heilbron finished with 40 saves including 12 in the final period. Senior forward Liam McKillop (New York, N.Y.) also notched a pair of assists for Trinity, while senior captain defenseman Michael Flynn (Cheshire, Conn.) and sophomore defenseman Sam Johnson (Dallas, Texas) added one helper apiece. Rouleau had 25 stops for the Cardinals who did not have to kill a penalty but came up empty on their three power plays.
"This was the best job we did all year of being consistent and persistent and it came against the best opponent we faced all year," said Trinity Head Coach Matt Greason (4th Season). "We were successful in our plan to keep them on the outside, and we got big plays when we needed them. This is a very special night for our program."
The Bantams will be making their second appearance in the NCAA Division III Final Four, and will face Adrian in the semifinals on Friday, March 27 at 5 p.m. EST. Amherst and Wisc.-Stevens Point will play on Friday at 8:30 p.m. EST with Friday's winners facing off in the championship game on Saturday, March 28 at 8 p.m. EST.
Post-game press conference
USHCO.com Wrap-up
