Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College men's hockey team defeated the Colby College Mules, 3-1, in Saturday's New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's hockey quarterfinal game in Hartford. Trinity moves on to the semifinals and will host the remainder of the tournament as the No. 1 seed Williams College Ephs lost, 2-1, to No. 8 seeded Tufts today. Colby finishes the season with a 9-11-5 overall record and 6-10-3 mark in conference play.

Trinity dominated Colby for most of the game, outshooting the Mules a staggering 47-27, including a 23-7 advantage in the first period. After 11 shots without a goal to show for it, the Bantams finally got on the board as junior Sean Orlando (Ivyland, Pa.) skated behind Colby's net with the puck, passed it to freshman Mark Knowlton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in the slot, who fired a slapshot into the top shelf of the net, past Colby netminder Emerson Verrier (Whitby, Ontario). 

In the second period, both teams managed 11 shots on net, but it was Trinity who added a goal just over six minutes in. Orlando added his second assist as he got the puck to senior Michael Hawkrigg (Toronto, Ontario) who was camped out just inside the blue-line, and fired a wrist shot past Verrier to give the Bantams a 2-0 lead. Trinity had two power play opportunities late in the period within a five minute frame, starting with nine minutes to go, but was not able to convert either chance into a goal.

Eight minutes went by in the third period before a flurry of Mule shots were stoned by Trinity goalie Alex Morin (St. Hubert, Quebec), only for Colby junior Jack Burton (Baltimore, Md.) to grab a rebound and push the puck past Morin for Colby's first goal and Morin's only blemish on the afternoon. With under five minutes to play, Trinity found themselves with a 2-on-1 as Hawkrigg flicked a pass to a wide open Orlando who fired a shot into the top of the net to extend the Bantams lead to 3-1, and ice the victory for the home team. Colby pulled Verrier with 2:30 to play, but was unable to get anything past Morin.

With the win, Trinity improves to 19-5-1 on the season as they enter the NESCAC semifinals. The Bantams are 5-0 in the all-time postseason series against the Mules and return to the conference semifinal game for the first time since the 2013-14 season when they lost to Bowdoin, 5-4. Trinity will face Tufts next weekend, at home at the Koeppel Center.