Adrian, Mich. – After allowing a Bulldog goal just 41 seconds into the first period, the No. 13 ranked Trinity College men's hockey team came back with two of their own less than a minute apart to knock off No. 4 ranked Adrian College at Arrington Ice Arena in Michigan on Saturday afternoon. Trinity wins the second-ever meeting between the two schools after previously winning a 5-3 game in the 2015 NCAA Tournament semifinals and improves to 6-3-1 on the year. The loss drops Adrian to 8-3-2 overall. After the two-day trip to the Great Lake State, the Bantams return to action next weekend when they host New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) opponents Williams and Middlebury on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

In a game that saw 13 combined penalties by both teams, Trinity just barely had the shot advantage, posting 21 compared to 20 by Adrian. Bantam junior goalie Alex Morin (St. Hubert, Quebec) came up big for Trinity numerous times on the afternoon and finished with 19 saves, as did his Adrian counterpart Kevin Entmaa (Milton, Ontario).

Adrian struck first, less than a minute into the first period, when freshman Dino Balsamo (Sterling Heights, Mich.) grabbed a loose puck near center-ice and skated towards Morin where he flipped a backhanded wrist-shot into the top shelf. Despite the quick goal, Trinity responded a few minutes later with consecutive goals within a minute of each other to take a 2-1 lead, one they did not relinquish. The first came on a two-on-one when senior Brandon Cole (Anchorage, Ak.) skated down the far-side ice and sent a pass across the front of Adrian's goal to a streaking Ethan Holdaway (Glastonbury, Conn.) who took care of business and buried the puck into the back of the net.  54 seconds later, junior forward Anthony Sabitsky (Sicklerville, N.J.) potted his sixth goal of the season thanks to a helper from Bantam rookie Charlie Zuccarini (Shelton, Conn.) to put Trinity up, 2-1. Despite four first period power play opportunities for Adrian, Trinity's penalty kill unit did its job to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard and hold on to the one goal advantage as the teams entered the locker rooms for the first intermission.

Trinity remained aggressive in the second period as they tallied seven shots on net in the first ten minutes. Entmaa held strong, turning aside all seven to keep it a 2-1 game. Trinity had a good chance to extend the lead when Adrian was whistled for a boarding penalty with eight minutes to go in the period. Senior captain Sean Orlando (Ivyland, Pa.) put a pair of shots on net that Entmaa gobbled up before a wrist shot from the near-side point by Holdaway sailed just wide of the net as the Bulldogs killed the penalty successfully. With less than five minutes remaining in the period, Adrian earned a skater advantage after a high-sticking penalty called on Trinity. The hosts nearly evened the score on a shot just inside the blue-line by sophomore Cory Dunn (Trenton, Mich.) but the puck hit piping instead and bounced away without incident.

The Bulldogs started the third period on a power play due to a slashing call against the Bantams as the horn sounded to end the second period but Trinity's defense once again ended the threat to maintain a 2-1 lead. Adrian was whistled for consecutive penalties, separated by just eight seconds of even-strength action, however Trinity could not add to its lead. Dunn and classmate Bryan Yim (Farmington, Mich.) rifled shots on net with Adrian on the power play and less than five minutes to play, but Morin came up clutch with a pair of saves to preserve the one goal lead. Adrian pulled Entmaa from goal with a minute left to gain an extra attacker but, despite a frenzied final ten seconds of shots towards the net, was unable to find the equalizer as the Bantams came away with the victory.

"It was just courageous," said Head Coach Matt Greason as he exhaled, talking about the team's effort this weekend, a long ways from home. "To play Team USA yesterday in what was the fastest game this program has seen since the National Championship and to come out here today and beat one of the best teams in the country on their ice, it was just courageous." Greason added, "It's one of those games where there will be ice bags all over these guys on the bus ride home with how hard they worked."

As far as carrying the momentum from this win with them as the team returns to Hartford, Greason mentioned the confidence a weekend like this can give a team. "It shows us if we put it together, we are as good as anybody in the country."