Hockey Falls To Williams, Torches Middlebury

NATE CHOUKAS ’18 SPORTS EDITOR
Trinity Men’s Hockey took to the road this weekend to face league rivals Williams and Middlebury. Friday night, Trinity suffered a tough loss to Williams before bouncing back with a blowout victory over the Middlebury Panthers. The Bantams, now 7-5-2 in league play (11-6-3) overall sit in 4^th place in the NESCAC.
In Williamstown, the Bantams made a strong effort but came up just short. After a scoreless first period, Tyler Whitney ’18 broke through with a powerplay goal 5:51 into the second period. Freshman defender Liam Feeney ’20 fired a slap shot from the point, and Whitney buried the rebound to give the Bantams a 1-0 lead. Despite taking a penalty late in the period, the Bantams held their lead going into the third.
While the puck was mostly in Williams’ zone to start the third, the Ephs tied the game off a breakaway goal by junior C.J. Shugart, 6:54 into the period. Just 28 seconds later, the Ephs struck again when David Italiano slid a back door pass to Robert Cellini, who backhanded it in. The Bantams threatened to tie several times, but Williams goaltender Michael Pinios turned away 11 shots in the third period. Frankie Mork sealed the deal for the Ephs with an empty net goal as the clock wound down.
Following the upsetting loss, Trinity showcased their offensive firepower in an 11-3 stomping of the Middlebury Panthers. The Bantams scored early and often, taking advantage of a weak Panther team. Barclay Gammill ’20 netted the Bantam’s first goal just 1:34 into the game. Middlebury tied things up midway through the period, but Tyler Whitney’s powerplay goal (15:35), followed by scores from Will Sleeper ’17 and Ryan Cole ’17 gave the Bantams a 4-1 advantage going into the second.
Trinity dominated the second period, scoring 4 goals to Middlebury’s 0. Michael O’Brien ’19 scored minutes into the period, followed by goals from T.J. Sherman ’17, Gammill, and Ross Mandigo ’19. The Bantams did not relent as they took the ice in the third period with a commanding 8-1 lead. Sleeper scored his second goal of the contest (3:20). Middlebury scored to make it 9-2, but Gammill answered less than a minute later, completing his hat trick. The Panthers scored a meaningless goal with 5 minutes remaining, but Gammill put the icing on the cake, potting his fourth goal (19:59) as time expired.
After dropping an important contest Friday night, Trinity made a statement by running up the score against Middlebury. With 4 games in regular season play remaining, the Bantams look to carry this momentum as they prepare for the NESCAC tournament.