Frozen Four Live Scoreboard

Trinity  5
Adrian  2
Final 

In a fast-paced first period, the Bantams buzzed but Adrian struck first with a goal at the 15:40 mark of the first whe DirecTV Ryan Lowe followed up his own rebound to beat Nate Heilbron five-hole. The Bantams answered right back less than three minutes later when Mike Hawkrigg tallied on assists from Sean Orlando and Jackson Brewer. The first penalties of the game were not called into the final minute of the first when matching high sticking minors were called on Bants frosh Tyler Whitney and cable Ryan Lowe.

The ant-first period, full of stoppage, penalties and scoring in the 2nd. Great puck movement from the Bantams for much of the 2nd frame. Ellie Vered scored a pair of tallies, one on the power play and one even strength. Ryan Cole added a power play goal and Ethan Holdaway had the Bantams first short handed lamp lighting of the season. Adrian got one back on one of their three power plays, when a Bulldog put in a puck after a scrum in front of the net. After Heilbron froze the puck with nine seconds remaining a ruckus broke out. After some deliberation, no power play for either team as two bodies in the box each for both sides with three roughings, a cross checking, and a side of fries were called.

Adrian would not go a way in the third. Matt Thompson shredded Sam Johnson in a great individual effort and then beat Heilbron 1:36 in to cut the lead to 5-3. The West has dominated college hockey in recent years with six of the last eight finalists coming from their region and Oswego being the only eastern team to fill those other two spots. It's not hard to see why with  big, physically talented teams like Adrian, but the Bants held their own all afternoon.

The Bulldogs almost had a huge momentum shift on the power play with 4:46 remaining. After  Jerry Olinyk jammed the puck loose at the post, Kyle Brothers put it past the line for the fourth Bulldog goal. Subsequent video replay showed a distinct kicking motion and the goal was called off. The Bantams held Brothers, the D-III nation's leading scorer to just one shot on the afternoon. Trinity blocked shots all game and held the final shots on goal advantage 35-32.

Adrian pulled the goalie with 2:20 left but was unable to capitalize, losing for the first time in 13 games. It was also only the second time in that thirteen game stretch that they did not score four or more goals. For Trinity, the win punches a ticket to the program's first ever D-III MIH final. It's also the first NESCAC team to reach this milestone not named Middlebury. Furthering the first, it's the first eastern team other than Oswego to make the finals since Norwich won it all in 2010. Trinity has come a long way in a short time since I watched the Bantams lose to Williams in the NESCAC semis against Bowdoin up in Maine two years ago.


UW-Stevens Point   6
Amherst                   2
FINAL

Both teams had their moments in the first, but defenses kept people away from the front of the net or from sustained pressure. Both teams played tough, but no penalties were called and the score ended up where it began with a slight 10-9 shots advantage for UWSP. The Pointers player to watch Joe Kalisz had a great first frame, including a sequencing in the later stages of the period during which he single handedly weaved around the offensive zone for 30 seconds, but alas, no tally for your eforrts , Joey boy.

Things picked up in the 2nd from the very get go. Amherst drew first blood 3:42 into the period, when Brendan Burke potted one in off a Thomas Lidstrom shot. The Pointers thought they answered back moments later, with a puck that Vitale gloved but UWSP thought crossed the line. The officials went to the video and determined that there wasn't conclusive evidence to call a goal. The NESCAC was 2/2 thus far on video reviews for the day. The Jeffs would extend the lead to 2-0 five minutes later when leading scorer David White gained position in front of the net and hammered in a rebound on assists from Topher Flanagan and Connor Brown. UWSP turned on the pressure immediately and scored just 23 seconds later. They tried to amp up the presence in front of the net the rest of the frame, but Danny Vitale stood tall. SOG in favor of UWSP 24-19 after two. Amherst had nothing doing on the first power play of the game after a too many men on the ice call.

The wheels came off this one for Amherst in the third. UWSP tied the game but the goal was immediately called off for goalie interference. The Pointers killed the penalty on a lackluster Amherst power play and soon after scored the equalizer 5:53 in on a one timer in front of the net. The Pointers would then score three more goals in less than seven minutes to completely take over the game (not to mention a sixth that was called off on video review for goalie interference). An empty netter with 1:45 left would seal the six unanswered goals for the Pointers.

So it's Trinity vs UW-Stevens Point for the national title tomorrow night at 8 PM EDT. Should be a good one.