Rapid Reaction NESCAC Quarterfinals

Trinity and Bowdoin, who last met in Brunswick on Valentine's Day
with Trinity winning 5-4 in OT will face off in one semifinal. Williams will
play Amherst in the other semi. Both games will be hosted by Trinity. 

#8 Wesleyan   1
#1 Trinity        9 
FINAL Box Score 

This was never a game, as Trinity scored four in the first period to defeat Wesleyan for the third time in nine days. Freshman Sean Orlando had a hat trick, while Will Gray and Mike Hawkrigg had two a piece. Wesleyan senior and 2013 NESCAC Player of the Year Keith Buehler wrapped up his collegiate career with the lone Cardinals goal.

Trinity's D-III best power play went 4/8 on the man advantage while the Bantams limited the Cardinals to only three power play opportunities, of which they converted on one. Ben Coulthard made 30 saves, 15 of them in the third period, to get his team to the semifinals for the second straight season. On the other end, freshman Dawson Sprigings was relieved in net after the sixth goal by Nolan Daley, who gave up three tallies.

The only facet Trinity didn't deliver in was fan support. The Bantams faithful did not show up with an official attendance of only 350, many of them from nearby Wesleyan, including a dude in a giraffe costume. (#OnlyIntheCac). Of course, the long winter weekend break that Trinity students have playd a large role in the small numbers. The Bantams will try and get their fans to put on a better showing next week as Trinity hosts the NESCAC semifinals and finals.

Trinity will play Bowdoin in one NESCAC semifinal. Arch-rivals Williams and Amherst will play in the other.


#5 Bowdoin      6
#4  Middlebury 3
FINAL

Max Fenkell got the start in net (wasn't sure who Meagher would go with) and Liam Moorfield-Yee made his eighth straight start for the Panthers. Bowdoin carred a 2-1 lead into the 2nd, which Middlebury erased in the first minute of the second with a 5-3 power play goal from Louis Belisle. Bowdoin would go on to score three goals of their own in the second (Lace, Lockwood, Downey) to take a 5-2 lead into the third.

After the second, Bill Beaney replaced Moorfield-Yee with senior Nick BonDurant. The Panthers chipped away at the Polar Bears lead with a George Ordway goal but Lockwood's second goal of the game with 6:50 to play gave Bowdoin a commanding 6-3 lead.

Middlebury, once THE powerhouse program in D-III hockey, falls to Bowdoin for the second straight year in the NESCAC playoffs after beating the Polar Bears in their first five meetings in the 'Cac postseason. The big (for D-III standards) Kenyon Arena was nowhere near full and the crowd was pretty listless throughout.


#6 Colby       3
#3 Williams   7
FINAL

With only eight goals combined in the last three matchups between the Ephs and Mules dating back to last season's quarterfinals, we expected to see a low scoring affair today. Boy, were we wrong. Colby opened up the scoring, but Williams responded with Matt Werner and George Hunkele goals to take a 2-1 lead into the second. The two teams traded goals before two Ephs goals gave Williams a 5-2 lead heading into the third.

Colby cut it to 5-3 before two Williams goals in the third put the game to bed. After the seventh goal, freshman Ben Csiernik replaced Sam Parker in the Colby net. With Amherst beating Conn College in the nightcap, the Lord Jeffs and Ephs will play each other in the semis.

The Ephs fans deserve a hat tip for being the only fanbase that seemed to show up in the afternoon games. Chants could be heard on the webcast echoing throughout the old barn, including the "Na-na-na...Goodbye" chant in the final minute.

#7 Conn College   2
#2 Amherst            4
FINAL

Amherst got on the board first at 10:56 of the first when Mike Rowbotham shot it past a screened Mike Petchonka immediately after a faceoff. The Camels thought they tied it up a few minutes later when Amherst goalie Dave Cunningham covered a loose puck with his back and the refs initially indicated that it crossed the line. The zebras conferred and the goal was waived off. Conn College had a hard time with the Amherst pressure and ended up icing the puck on repeat through the first period. Amherst outshot the Camels 13-6 in the first period.

A "Let's Go Amherst" chant erupted at the start of the second period. Based on the attendance figures during the regular season, it was unclear if Amherst students knew they had a men's hockey team. Showing up for the last game of the year is better than not showing up at all, I suppose. The attendance size was bolstered by the fact that the defending national champ Lord Jeff men's basketbal team played next door in the NESCAC semis before this game.

The Camels got even 6:49 into the second when Mike Sinsigali backhanded it past Cunningham. At the end of the second, tempers flarred and shoves were exchanged and Conn College will start the third period on the power play as Jake Turrin heads to the box. The Camels cut the shots on goal deficit in half, but were still outshot 10-7 in the period.

The penalty at the end of the second turns out to be costly, as the resurgent Conn College power play struck with a Joe Giordano goal 1:08 into the third to give the Camels a 2-1 lead. The Lord Jeffs would strike right back with 16:26 left in the third, as Elliot Bostrom scored an unassited goal from the blue line that beat Petchonka.

Brendan Burke took the Jeffs on his back, taking on two Camel defenders for a nice individual effort goal with 2:17 left to put Amherst up 3-2. The Camels called a timeout with 1:31 and the faceoff in the Amherst zone, but Jim Ward didn't pull Petchnoka until an icing call with 1:12 left. With just under a minute left, Brian Safstrom put in an empty net goal to seal the game and a semifinal bid.

Not only will Amherst and Williams play in the NESCAC men's hockey semifinals next week, they will also faceoff in the NESCAC men's basketball finals. The Biggest Little Rivalry is alive.