Men’s Hockey Suffers Loss to UNE in NCAA

Cam Chottiner ’20
Staff Writer

On Saturday night, the Trinity College Bantams hockey team hosted the University of New England Nor’easters in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division III Hockey Championship. In front of a packed crowd at the Koepell Center in Hartford, the game got off to a fast start. Both Trinity and New England came out flying, with chances on both ends of the ice early on. In a high-intensity and offensive first period, the Bantams held an 18-13 edge in the shot department while the game remained scoreless. The Bantams did a fantastic job killing off a carry-over penalty, allowing just one shot on goal over the span of the Nor’easters’ power play.

Unfortunately, the away squad got on the board first at the 6:55 mark of the second period when junior Ryan Bloom took advantage of a bad bounce on a wrap-around as he beat Bantam goalie Teddy Loughborough ’20. The second period was much of a back and forth affair after the goal, but a one-time shot with just under 15 seconds to play in the frame that beat the Bantam goaltender made the prospects of a third period comeback much more daunting. Just before the 10-minute mark of the third period, the Bantams got one back on a pretty passing play between juniors Liam Feeney and Taggart Corriveau.

After a give and take, Corriveau continued his staggering goal scoring run since transferring to Trinity around the new year as he hammered a shot past the New England goalie. The Bantams had a few glorious chances in the next couple of minutes, but a few soft penalty calls by the referees took away any momentum the Bantams had built up after the tally.

Trinity outshot New England by a margin of 44-30, but a remarkable goaltending performance was the difference as the Nor’easters ended a special run from the Bantams. Trinity head coach Matt Greason said to Trinity College Athletics of the late season streak, “It has been unbelievable the way our guys have held together this year and got us to this point. It’s unheard of for a hockey team go through almost the entire month of January and all of February without losing a game, and that achievement is a testament to the toughness of our players.” Last week’s match against Amherst came as the season’s final highlight, with Corriveau scoring the game winning goal against the odds with just .1 seconds left on the clock. It was a fantastic ride with another NESCAC Championship banner being won, and the Bantams remain atop the NESCAC conference with their 2019 title. After a hard-worked offseason, the Bantams will no doubt come back with another thrilling season next year! Be sure to congratulate your hockey Bantams on a fantastic season and wish them luck on their off season.