The Tripod

The Trinity College women's ice hockey team opened the 2008-09 season with a 7-1 road victory over Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., this past weekend. Junior Britney McKenna recorded a hat trick, scoring all three goals on Trinity power plays and leading the Bantams to victory. The win was Trinity's fourth straight against Wesleyan.

A big key to this game was the Bantam defense, shutting down the Cardinal attack. Defense is something that senior co-captain Kelley McCarthy stressed as an area where the team needs to improve. "I think we need to work on being stronger in the defensive zone," she said. "We have to win the one-on-one battles in the corners and break the puck out clean as a team."

A key to the defense this weekend was the play of Bantam goalie Isabel Iwachiw '10, who recorded 14 saves, and didn't relinquish a goal until the first minute of the third period, when the game had already been decided.

McKenna scored her first goal at the 10:19 mark of the first period, redirecting a point shot from McCarthy and breaking the scoreless tie. Kim Weiss '11 made it 2-0 with a second power play goal at the :36 mark of the first period. The Bantams then took off in the second period, scoring four goals, including two by Jill Roloff '11, within a 24-second span. The other two goals were scored by Weiss, her second of the game, and McKenna, her second of the game as well.

Even though she gave up all seven goals, Wesleyan senior goalie Rachel Stemerman was a strong point for the Cardinals as she recorded 36 saves. Junior Izzy Huston scored the lone goal for Wesleyan.

The final goal of the game for the Bantams came at the 2:39 mark of the final period, as McKenna finished off her hat trick. Senior co-captain Michelle Chee was pleased with the Bantams' consistent play, which will be important in ensuring that the team has a successful season. "More than a few times last year our team came out a bit flat in the first period," she said. "If we could score the first goal right off the bat, it would set the pace for the game."

And set the pace the Bantams did, which is something they hope they can carry into each and every outing. This may be difficult with such a young team, but both captains remain optimistic about the freshman class. "There are quite a bit of freshmen so it took some time to adjust to each other's playing styles but the last few practices looked really good," said Chee. "I think as the season moves along, we'll improve as a team. There's a lot of individual talent on our team right now and we're slowly, but surely, learning to work together. Off the ice, we couldn't have better chemistry."

When asked what he thought the team's biggest strength was, Coach McPhee responded by saying, "I think our strength is our team speed. If we make a mistake, we are able to make up for it by hustling and using our speed."

"Preseason has been going very well," McCarthy added. "I think we have a very strong freshmen class that should be able to help the team a lot. We have high expectations and as long as we can put the little things together and play as a unit, I think we will have a very successful season."

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