Offense - 1.83 G/GM (9th in NESCAC)
Defense - 2.11 G/GM (2nd)
PIM - 9.3/GM (4th)
Power Play - 13.4% (9th)
Penalty Kill- 87.5% (2nd)
Special Teams Net - +2 (3rd)
Offense - 3.44 G/GM (1st)
Defense - 2.11 G/GM (2nd)
PIM - 10.4/GM (2nd)
Power Play - 18.5 % (2nd)
Penalty Kill - 82.5% (7th)
Special Teams Net - +2 (3rd)
So here we are: the NESCAC title game between the defending NESCAC champion Amherst Purple and White vs the defending NCAA national champion Trinity Bantams. This is the first time a sixth seed has made the finals since 2008 when sixth seeded...Trinity defeated second seed Middlebury in double OT in the 2008 finals. For all the success in the short Matt Greason era in Hartford, the Bantams have not been back to a NESCAC finals since that 2008 affair. They have been to four finals, losing to Middlebury in 2002 and 2004 and defeating the very same Panthers in 2003 and the aforementioned 2008 campaign. That first NESCAC title appearance in 2002 included a senior Bantam named Matthew Greason, you may have heard of him.
For 33 year Amherst head coach Jack Arena - who was recently featured over at D3Hockey.com - this is the third straight NESCAC title for his charges and the sixth all-time. They have won titles over Middlebury in 2009 and 2012, as well as last season over Williams. They lost to the Panthers in 2001 and to fifth seed Bowdoin in 2014 in a double OT thriller at the site of today's game in Hartford. This Purple and White team has some similarity to that 2014 Bowdoin team, who won a NESCAC title they hosted, only to underperform in the subsequent regular season but regain momentum to make a run at a title as a lower seed.
This is the fourth NESCAC playoff meeting between these two schools with Trinity winning Quarterfinal matchups in 2004 and 2010 and Amherst winning in the 2009 semis. They split the regular season series this season with Amherst winning at home 4-2 in December and the Bantams winning 4-1 in Hartford in January.
One thing to watch for in today's matchup is who gets the start in net for both squads. Both have senior goalies with All-NESCAC credentials in their resume, neither of whom got starts in the NESCAC semis. Dave Cunningham did get the start in the 8-5 Quarterfinal win over Bowdoin, but transfer Conor Girard started in yesterdays 4-2 win over Middlebury. For the Bantams, sophomore Alex Morin has gotten both playoff starts over Nate Heilbron.
Trinity does have a chance for a Pool C bid with a loss today, though a loss today probably means the end of their season as it certainly does for Amherst. The winner gets an automatic bid to the 11 team NCAA Tournament. In honor of what's at stake, here's short lived but influential Boston band The Suicide File with "Some Mistakes You Never Stop Paying For." It may be aprocraphyl, but the internet claims that lead singer Dave Weinberg went to Amherst and the internet never lies.
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