The Tripod

Media Credit: Emily Gittleman

The Trinity College Men's Hockey team has improved to 3-1 after competing in the William A. Spurrier Men's Ice Hockey Tournament this past weekend. After losing their opening round game to Wesleyan University on Saturday, Nov. 28, 3-2, they rebounded with a resounding 6-3 win on Sunday, Nov. 29 over the Connecticut College Camels.

The two contests will not contribute to the Bantams' New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) record, which remains perfect at 2-0. The Bantams started the season ranked No. 13 in the nation and won their first two games over conference rivals Hamilton College and Amherst College.

In the first round of the Spurrier Tournament, Trinity lost 3-2 to Wesleyan, following a tight game.

The game had been tied 1-1, and 2-2, but the Bantams were never able to take a lead, and eventually gave up the winning goal halfway through the second period. Forward Ben Shellington '11 tied the game at one, nine minutes into the opening frame.

The Cardinals scored at the beginning of the second period before Zachary Lombardi '13 tied the game again. Joe Hanson '10 made 29 saves in net for the Bantams, but the Bantams could not take advantage of his outstanding effort.

The second-round game went better, as the Bantams got three goals from forward Matthew Quigley '11, including the tying goal and eventual game-winning goal. The Bantams won the game 6-3. Forward Adam Houli '11 added two assists for the Bantams, and goalie Wesley Vesprini '11 made 22 saves to preserve the win.

The Bantams season started on Friday, Nov. 20, against Hamilton College. The Bantams came back from an early 2-1 with five unanswered goals to take the NESCAC season opener from the Continentals.

Houli scored two goals and had one assist to lead the Bantams. After allowing two goals in the first period, Vesprini held the Continentals scoreless over the final 41 minutes of the game. He recorded 27 saves on the day.

A day later, on Saturday, Nov. 21, Vesprini and the Bantams held the Amherst College Lord Jeffs scoreless on the way to a 2-0 victory. The Lord Jeffs were ranked No. 10 in the nation at the time.

Vesprini made 34 saves in the contest and his counterpart, Amherst junior goalie Cole Anderson, made 24 of his own. The two goaltenders kept the game scoreless until midway through the third period when forward Stephen Rogers '13 broke the stalemate. Shellington added an empty-net goal with time dwindling in the game.

The lone loss of the season seemed to create doubts about the team in the minds of the voters, as the Bantams dropped out of the national poll. The poll only ranks the top 15 teams in the country and the Bantams gathered just 14 points, good for what would be 19th place.

The Bantams play their next games on Friday, Dec. 4, against the University of Massachusetts-Boston, and Saturday, Dec. 5, against Babson College.

Article Tools