Trinity Men's Hockey Weekly Preview
This Week: The Trinity College men's ice hockey team exploded for four goals in the third period en route to a 5-1 victory over Plattsburgh State in the NCAA Quarterfinals last Saturday. With the win, the Bantams advanced to their second Frozen Four in program history. This week, Trinity will take on No. 1 Adrian in the National Semifinals. The winning team will advance to the National Championship to square off with the winner of the other semifinal featuring Amherst and Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Match-up:
Frozen Four
NCAA Semifinals
No. 5 Trinity (23-3-1) vs. No. 1 Adrian (24-3-3)
Friday, Mar. 27, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. EST
Ridder Arena (University of Minnesota)
Minneapolis, Minn.
Live Stats & Video: Provided through the NCAA. GameCenter (All links will become active at the start of the contest)
Series History: This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
The Bulldogs Road to the Frozen Four: Adrian earned the top-seed in the NCHA Championship Tournament with a 16-1-1 record in league play during the regular season. In the conference tournament, the Bulldogs defeated Concordia, St. Scholastica in overtime and defending National Champion St. Norbert to capture the Harris Cup. After receiving an opening round bye, Adrian scored a 5-4 come-from-behind win in the quarterfinals versus Oswego State. The Bulldogs, like the Bantams, will be appearing in their second Frozen Four.
Scouting Adrian: The Bulldogs enter Friday's contest riding a 12-game winning streak. Since falling at Finlandia on January 23, Adrian has won out and outscored its opponents, 66-26. During that stretch, the potent Bulldogs attack has scored four or more goals 11 times. Offensively, the team is led by freshman Kyle Brothers who leads the team in goals (24) and points (49). He ranks third in the nation in points per game at 1.69. Senior Josh Ranalli and first-year Mathew Thompson are also scoring threats and both rank in the top-eight nationally in points per tilt. Ranalli has potted 17 markers and has a team-high 27 assists, while Thompson has scored 22 tallies to go along with 20 helpers. Between the pipes, senior Scott Shackell is 18-1-3 with a .930 save percentage and a 1.99 goals-against average. Adrian is second in the country in scoring offense, averaging 4.77 goals per game.
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. Adrian is ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 1 with 16 first-place votes in the D3hockey.com poll.
- Trinity entered NCAA Tournament with fresh legs and something to prove. The team defeated Nichols, 4-2, in the opening round of play and topped Plattsburgh, 5-1, in the quarterfinals. The Bantams were one of four teams to receive an at-large bid into this year's NCAA Tournament. Trinity is making its second Frozen Four appearance.
- 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 27 games, the Bantams have scored 115 goals to lead the league and rank sixth in the nation in scoring offense (4.26 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 1.78 goals per tilts. The team leads the NESCAC and ranks third nationally in scoring margin at 2.48.
- 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. He enters the weekend with a team-high 36 points, thanks to 15 goals and 21 assists.
- 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 second on the team with 14 goals and is second on the squad with 34 points.
- Senior tri-captain Jackson Brewer leads the NESCAC and the squad with 24 assists (0.89 apg). Brewer has potted nine markers this season as four of those have come on the power play and three have been game-winners. His 33 points are third on the team. Last time out, he scored twice, highlighted by burying a penalty shot to open the scoring, to lead Trinity past Plattsburgh.
- Earlier this winter, Hawkrigg and Brewer became the 19th and 20th players in program history to record 100 career points. Brewer currently ranks 13th all-time with 121 points (38g-83a) and Hawkrigg is 17th with 104 (45g, 59a). Brewer is also tied for third in program history with 83 career assists.
- Sophomore Sean Orlando is second on the team 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 18-3-1 record with a .935 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average. He ranks eighth in the nation in save percentage and 10th in goals-against average. Versus the Cardinals, he turned aside 40 shots to help the Bantams advance. He currently has the lowest goals-against average in a single season in program history and is tied for the highest save percentage.
- Trinity's depth is shown in their third-period scoring margin. In the final 20 minutes this season, the Bantams have outscored their opponents, 44-15. Trinity has also done a good job scoring early, netting 36 goals and allowing just 13 during the first period.
- The Bantams have converted 29-of-107 power-play opportunities and Trinity has killed 70-of-82 penalties this season. Trinity has the fourth most efficient power play in the country (27.1%).
