Chee Leads Ice Hockey to NESCAC Championships
Marissa Powers
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The Trinity College women's ice hockey team defeated the Bowdoin College Polar Bears for the first time in program history this past Friday night, Feb. 15.
The 2-1 victory guaranteed the Bantams a spot in the playoffs for just the second time in Bantam history, and the 1-1 tie Saturday secured a home game for the first round of the NESCAC Championship Tournament. The playoff match-up (scheduled for March 1) will be the Community Sports Complex's first, and will likely be a rematch against either Bowdoin or Hamilton - neither of which has bested the Bantams this season.
Both Bowdoin games proved grudge matches for the Bantams and Polar Bears. Bowdoin's seventh-place NESCAC ranking and two wins on the season failed to intimidate the Trinity squad. The Polar Bears had five ties on the season. While Trinity had endured a number of hard-fought close games and come out on top, Bowdoin had been dealt just as many tough losses.
"Bowdoin is a very aggressive team and they didn't stop skating for the full 120 minutes," said first-year defenseman Michelle Benjamin. "We had to dig deep and battle every shift in order to come out of the weekend with 3 out of 4 points."
Friday night's game showed Trinity's grit, with the Polar Bears unleashing 42 shots on sophomore goaltender Isabel Iwachiw. The 41 saves only helped boost Iwachiw's already superb .94 GAA and .966 save percentage on the season.
The first goal of the night came with five minutes left in the third, when a power play rush and a setup from the defense led to junior forward Michelle Chee's 10th goal and 17th point of the season. Chee found the net again in the second, with both assists coming from first-year defenseman Laura Komarek. Bowdoin struck in the third but came up short, falling 2-1 to the Bantams.
Saturday's game proved a tougher battle for the Bantams. The teams remained at a scoreless deadlock the majority of the game, with Bowdoin striking first 10 minutes into the third. Trinity junior right wing Britney McKenna netted her ninth of the season just two minutes later to tie up the game on a power play. The game would remain tied through the overtime period, giving the Bantams their third point of the weekend and securing a home seed for NESCACs,
The Bantams ended up 3-12 with a man ahead this past weekend, compared to the Polar Bears' 1-10. The special teams unit made all the difference in both games, with all of Trinity's goals coming on the power play.
The weekend games were more than just a win and tie for the 16-3-3 Bantams, who have enjoyed their best season in team history and a ninth-place national ranking.
Senior defenseman Ali Schmidt gave the team's perspective on the weekend.
"We've sealed a spot for a home NESCAC playoff game, which was one of our team goals [from the beginning]."
As always, the Bantams have their eyes set on the future, looking forward to potential rematches with the best the NESCAC has to offer.
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