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| It's the last hurrah for seniors like Trinity's Ryan Cole (L) and Williams' Brian McNamara (R) |
Stats are regular season NESCAC stats and Conference Rank
#4 Williams vs #3 Trinity Sage Rink Clinton, NY 1 PM
Williams (14-8-3; 10-5-3 NESCAC)
Offense - 3.17 G/GM (2nd)Defense - 2.72 GA/GM (6th)
PIM - 8.7/GM (10th)
Power Play - 24.2% (1st)
Penalty Kill - 78.3% (8th)
Special Teams Net - +4 (4th)
Offense - 3.61 G/GM (1st)
Defense - 1.94 G/GM (2nd)
PIM - 12.9/GM (3rd)
Power Play - 17.2% (5th)
Penalty Kill - 86.8% (4th)
Special Teams Net - +5 (2nd)
Williams Preview Trinity Preview USCHO Picks
The NESCAC’s two best offenses will meet in the tournament’s first semifinal on Saturday. Trinity and Williams account for the NESCAC’s top six overall scorers this year, and they’ll kick off the final weekend with what promises to be an uptempo affair.
Defending champ and No. 3 seed Trinity takes a six-game winning streak to Clinton. The Bantams have lost just once in their last 11 games, a Feb. 3 contest at Williams. However, they shut out the Ephs 3-0 in Hartford on Jan. 6, splitting the season series. If there’s one thing the Bantams can do, it’s score. They popped 11 goals at Middlebury on Feb. 4 and had seven tallies at Wesleyan two weeks ago. Senior Sean Orlando (Second Team All-NESCAC) and junior Ryan Whitney have 31 points each on the season, tying for the league lead. Ryan Cole has been a force to be reckoned with the past four seasons, and Anthony Sabitsky (First Team All-NESCAC) is a threat as well.
Trinity is no slouch defensively, either. Starting netminder Alex Morin has posted a .929 save percentage and allows just 1.79 goals per game. The Bantams are hot, and they are looking to win it all for the fourth time in program history.
After ousting archrival Amherst in the quarterfinals, No. 4 seed Williams seeks its first-ever tournament championship. The Ephs were regular season champs last season, but they were upset by Mason Pulde Tufts in the Quarterfinals. They were atop the standings again this year until the regular season’s last weekend, when losses at Amherst and Hamilton dropped them to fourth. Junior David Italiano (First Team All-NESCAC) is tied with Orlando and Whitney for the NESCAC scoring lead, and talented sophomore Roberto Cellini (Second Team All-NESCAC), his linemate, is sixth.
Italiano and Cellini are studs, but if Williams is going to win it, all 20 men need to show up. The Ephs have an eight-man senior class, which consists of Frankie Mork (First Team All-NESCAC), James McNamara, George Hunkele, Luke Stickel, Alex Hagerty, Taylor Carmola and co-captains Sam Gray and Tyler Young, all of whom are key contributors. Last season, goaltender Michael Pinios put up a .937 save percentage and a 1.64 GAA to win Div. III Rookie of the Year, but he’s regressed to marks of .892 and 2.54, respectively, in his sophomore campaign. Though it has produced better results of late, the Ephs’ defense has had lapses, and lapses against a team like the Bantams could lead to an early deficit. That said, this Williams team has mounted some impressive comebacks, and it never seems to give up. Look for Mork, one of the best in the league at jumping the rush, to create some breakout chances.
Trinity will try to overpower the Williams D, and the Ephs need their seniors to lead a strong team effort and contain the Bantams. These are two incredibly talented teams, and all signs point to a great battle with exciting hockey.
The Ephs lost their game at Sage against Hamilton a few weeks ago and Trinity came away with a tie in their only trip to Clinton this season in January. There are no ties in playoff hockey, so one of these teams will get their first win at Sage this season with a trip to the title game on the line.
With NESCAC semis on horizon, Williams defenseman Mork reflects on career: https://t.co/GHjeQnVINf— D3hockey.com (@d3hky) March 4, 2017
Editor's Note: Thanks to Williams student Danny Jin. If you haven't read his feature on Frankie Mork, originally posted in the Williams Record, follow the reproduced article in D3Hockey.com above.
Should be a great matchup. In the end, one team will move on to the finals and the other will end their season with nothing.
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