Offense - 4.32 G/GM (5th)
Defense - 2.18 G/GM (13th)
Power Play - 24.74 % (6th)
Penalty Kill - 87.9% (8th)
Penalty Minutes - 8.61/GM (68th)
Offense - 3.59 G/GM (14th)
Defense - 2.19 G/GM (14th)
Power Play - 21.49 % (19th)
Penalty Kill - 79.1 % (54th)
Penalty Minutes - 10.48 (49th)
How they got here
UMass-Boston defeated Babson in OT to claim the first ever NEHC title (formerly the ECAC-East) to earn an automatic bid to the tournament. Trinity easily handled Amherst in the NESCAC title to earn their first NESCAC title since 2008 and earn a spot in the 11 team field to defend their national title.
Tournament History
This is the first ever trip to the NCAA D-III men's ice hockey tournament for the Beacons, who made the NCAA tournament in 1982 prior to the creation of the D-III tournament in 1984. For the Bantams, this is obviously not their first rodeo, as they won last season's NCAA title over UW-Stevens Point out in Minnesota. It is the fifth trip to the D-III big skate for Trinity , who own a 6-3 record all-time in D-III tournament games.
How They Match Up
Trinity leads the alliterative all-time series between the Beacons and Bantams, 13-5-1, but the only recent matchup came last season in November of 2014 when UMB defeated Trinity Hartford. The Beacons were the last non-CAC team to defeat Trinity that season. This season, the Bantams have only lost one non-conference game to Salve Regina, who also happens to be in the tournament and will be playing today at Geneseo. The Bantams are 0-3-1 against this year's tournament field with a pair of losses to Williams to go along with the loss to the Seahawks anda tie against Hobart, the team the Bantams would travel to if they start their title defense on the right foot tonight. UMB has not played any tournament teams this season.
On the ice, both squads feature plenty of firepower, including 1st team conference conference selections up front for the Beacons (Lemire and Larkin) and Trinity (Orlando). The Bantams also have reigning NESCAC Player of the Week in senior Mike Hawkrigg, who despite not making the All-Conference team thsi season is as dangerous as ever since returning from an ACL tear in February. Expect to see sophomore Alex Morin in net for Trinity, who has usurped reigning NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Nate Heilbron recently, while senior Billy Faust should be in between the pipes for the Beacons.
One stat to keep in mind is 40, which is the number of penalty minutes Trinity racked up in their only non-conference loss this season to Salve Regina. If the Bantams have a mental lapse like this against a dangerous PP unit like UMB, the title defense could end in Hartford tonight.
What's Next
The winner of this game heads to upstate New York to The Cooler to face the east;s top seed in the Hobart Statesmen.
Players to Watch (other than the goalies)
Matt Lemire - The senior transfer from Quinnipiac has adjusted well to the jump down to D-III and leads the Beacons in points (14-29-43) after notching 0 at the D-I level in his first three seasons.
Mike Hawkrigg - Just read the Hatford Courant piece from this week on Riggy.
Preview Videos
UMB
Trinity
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