Men’s Hockey skates over Colby Mules at home

MEGHAN O’REILLY ’19
STAFF WRITER
The Trinity Men’s Hockey team rolled over Colby College this past Saturday afternoon in the NESCAC Quarterfinals with a final score of 3-1. The Bantams will move on to the Semifinals against Tufts University next Saturday. The Bantams were consistent in all three periods, scoring in each one and limiting the Mules to just one goal.
Trinity started off the first period well by playing aggressively and keeping Colby in their own end for most of the first. Every time the Mules tried to push the puck up, the Bantams came storming back. Trinity’s first goal was a beauty from freshman Mark Knowlton ’19, who shot the puck right down the middle past Colby goalie Emerson Verrier. Knowlton put the Bants on the board 1-0, thanks to assists from junior Sean Orlando ’17 and senior Michael Hawkrigg ’16 at 13:39.
The Bantams continued to dominate by never wasting time and shooting often. They had outshot Colby 23-5 by the end of the first.
The second period started the same as the first, with the Bants pushing the Mules back with hard hits and precise passing. Sophomore goalie Alex Morin ’18 had 11 saves in the second, including a glove and kick save. Morin would go on to help the defense gain 26 total saves in the game. Trinity’s second goal came late in the period courtesy of Hawkrigg lifting the puck and netting it over the glove of Verrier. Knowlton and Orlando were credited with the assists at 6:04. The Mules fought back hard and had several close shots but the second period ended 2-0 in favor of Trinity.
Colby became desperate by the third period, and it showed in their aggressive skating. Colby’s single goal came at 8:16 from a long shot by Jack Burton, who managed to get past every Trinity player and make the score 2-1. The surprisingly large amount of Colby fans were on their feet when Mules player Tyler Lingel threw his body in front of the shot of junior TJ Sherman ’17. However, those fans were quickly silenced when aggressive defense from Orlando and Hawkrigg resulted in a well-aimed shot from Orlando at 15:37, putting Trinity up 3-1, with Hawkrigg credited with the assist.
Aggressive playing from both sides ensued for the rest of the period but Trinity stayed ahead 3-1 and knocked Colby out of the playoffs. The defending NCAA champions improve to 19-5-1 and will play the 10-9-6 Tufts next Saturday at home in the semi-finals.