Trinity Bantams 7-3-0 (3-2-0 NESCAC) 2Williams Ephs 7-1-2 (5-0-2 NESCAC) 4
It was over when...: Williams scored four third period goals -- two power play goals, a short handed tally and an empty netter - - to erase a 2-0 deficit heading into the final frame. The win keeps Williams undefeated in the NESCAC and gives the Ephs sole position of first place for the time being.
Trinity struck first in the opening frame on their very first shot. After entering the zone to the right of Sean Dougherty (G, '15), Mike Hawkrigg (F, '16) shuffled the pass to Sean Orlando (F, '17),who immediately backhanded it to Jackson Brewer (F, '15), who found himself open from the left wing circle and riffled it past the blocker of Dougherty.
Both teams struggled to find their groove in the first period as the blustery outdoor atmosphere and the ice conditions after the first half of the D-III doubleheader (Umass-Boston/Salem State) made stickhandling and passing difficult. Despite the score, Williams controlled a majority of the period and held the shot advantage, 7-4, at the first buzzer.
Penalties were the story of the second period. Trinity went on the first power play at 1:55 on a Sam Gray slashing call. Nothing was doing on the man advantage for the Bantams and from the end of the penalty until the second Bantams power play at 9:46, Williams dominated play, keeping the puck in Trinity's end with an aggressive forecheck.
But on the power play on the DaBaere interference call, the Bantams would prove opportunistic once again. Co-captain Mike Flynn (D, '15) threw the puck in on net from just inside the blueline to the left of Dougherty. Before the junior netminder could cover up, Liam McKillop (F, '15) dislodged the puck over to Sean Orlando (F,'17), who put home a backhand past a stretching Dougherty.
The Bantams would have three more power plays in the second, including back-to-back man advantages after the Ephs' Nick Anderson (F, '14) took a tripping call at 19:42 just nine seconds after leaving the box for a cross-checking call. Despite the five Bantams power plays, the Ephs held the slight shot advantage,13-11, for the period.
Early in third period with the Bantams on the power play, Dave Jarrett (D. '15) dumped the puck down the ice. George Hunkele (F, '17) streaked down the ice and found himself one-one with Bantams goalie Ben Coulthard (G, '14), whom Hunkele beat low blockerside to get the Ephs on the board at 0:28 with a short handed goal. Trinity had a flurry of activity in front of the Ephs net the rest of the power play, but Dougherty was up to the task.
Williams would tie up the game two minutes later on their first power play of the evening. Swirling around the right circle, Hunkele dumped the puck down to Anderson with his back to Coulthard. Anderson spun to face the goalie and shot the puck past blocker of Coulthard for the tie game. A bit of redemption for Anderson after his two second period penalties.
On the second Ephs power play of the night, Hunkele scored his second goal when he tipped in a Frankie Mork (D, '17) shot for the Ephs first lead at 6:19 . The Ephs were 2/2 on the man advantage for the night after going 1/10 on the power play against Hamilton in the consolation game of the Buck Supply Classic on Saturday. Trinity was 1/5 on the power play with all five opportunities coming in the second period.
All three of the Ephs non-empty net goals came as they played down wind in the first half of the third period. In order to give both teams an even thirty minutes in the same wind conditions, teams at Frozen Fenway switch sides at the ten minute mark of the third period.
In the second half of the period, Trinity called timeout at 1:15 to pull the goalie for the man advantage. 25 seconds into the 6-5 empty net situation, Williams' Craig Kitto (F, '15) found himself with the puck along the Bantams sideboards and put in the empty netter to seal the game.
In the battle of reigning All-NESCAC goaltenders, 2013 First-Teamer Coulthard stopped 30 of 33 shots faced in the loss and Second-Teamer Dougherty made 24 saves in the win.
After all the hype and excitement - - including Ephs backup goalie Sam Kurland (G, '14)'s awesome scarf and winter hat over helmet combo - - the boys return indoors for the rest of the season. Since this was originally scheduled as an Ephs home game on Saturday January 11th, both teams only have one conference game this weekend on Friday. Williams hosts Wesleyan while Trinity travels to Middlebury to take on the Panthers.
Player of the game: George Hunkele (F, '17) The freshman from West Haven, CT had a huge four point night (2-2-4), which included scoring the winning goal and having a hand in all four Ephs tallies. Hunkele now leads the NESCAC leading Ephs with 13 points (6-7-13) on the season. It was his second game at Fenway, as he scored a goal in his prep school (Lawrence Academy)'s 6-0 victory over Thayer Academy at Frozen Fenway 2012.
Box Score: Trinity 2/Williams 4
Articles: Trinity Recap Williams Recap Berkshire Eagle Recap Hartford Courant Recap
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