Ashley McDermott ’26
Sports Editor
The line outside the Koeppel Sports Center extended down the sidewalk. Students and families waited to enter the rink dressed in blue, gold, and white. The volume inside the rink was a resounding buzz of excitement as the stands began to fill. Between Thursday and Saturday night, the men’s hockey team showed the nation how much they deserved to reach the NCAA National Championship. The players skated onto the ice, sophomore goalie and Player of the Year Devon Bobak ’26 leading them on. Spectators were roaring, echoing names of players throughout the rink. For a full 60 minutes on March 21, the Bantams pulled through with two goals to Adrian College’s single goal. After the game the Tripod joined Coach Matt Greason, Devon Bobak ‘26 and Devan Tongue ’24 for a press conference. In Coach Greason’s opening statements he reflected on the game being “great college hockey. It’s a special program,” he continued, “it’s a special group of guys to be able to come back and spend two more days with these guys is the biggest blessing.” On scoring the second goal on Thursday, “it was a big time play by Tongue here to not panic and get [Adrian’s] goalie moving, and a great play by Conor Sedlak who had one of his best games this year in a season full of tough games. Devan’s elevated his game, especially in his senior year, he’s a threat on the rush. Once he scored the goal, the floodgates opened.” In regard to the awards collected by Bobak, “we’re glad he’s on our side, the accolades he’s gotten this week in particular. He deserves every one of them, and tonight the whole country saw why.”
Devon reflected on his Trinity hockey career thus far, saying “these 30 guys are just the biggest group of brothers I’ve ever had, giving every second and every step to each other.” Tongue concluded the conference with, “no matter who we send out there, we know he can get in front of the puck and make the play. To get to the national championship you have to do the little things, too. In order to win hockey games at this level you have to have a complete game.”
The anticipation set in for Saturday’s final showdown. The fan section overflowed on the bleachers. The first period was a nail-biter, with lean passes from both teams, coupled with quick defensive plays. It was clear that both teams deserved to make it to this final game. Unfortunately, only one team can take home a victory. Hobart scored their first goal towards the end of the second period, pulling Bobak to the left of the net and sneaking the puck past him on his right. Trinity came back on the ice with intensity, using defensive plays to keep the puck to the outside. With a lot of action in the Hobart zone, the anticipation for a responsive goal was hanging in the air. The clock quickly began to run out, and with 30 seconds left Hobart snagged an open net goal, shutting out Trinity 2-0. Hobart celebrated while the Bantams remained on the ice, some for the final time in their hockey careers. The Tripod was joined by Coach Matt Greason, and captains John Campomenosi ’24 and Ned Blanchard ’24 for a press conference directly after awards.
On their successful season, Coach Greason remarked “We came a long way, and we’re a close team. We showed up and weren’t caught off guard by this moment, it’s a one game series and it treated us really well, I wish we could’ve ended differently.” Upon being asked how the players feel knowing they have a powerhouse of support sitting in the bleachers for each of their games, Campomenosi expressed, “It’s been so special to do this in our rink with the support of our best friends and students.” It means the world that they come out and support us day in and day out. We see them on campus and they are always so nice to us; the support is massive and it doesn’t go unnoticed.” When asked who they would like to thank for getting them to this point, Blanchard shared that, “We want to thank our parents, we have the craziest and best group of parents in the country. We are grateful to host here at home, but even if we played 10,000 miles away, we would have our families there with us. You do it for yourself all year, but on a night like tonight you do it for everyone who has helped get you this far.” Campomenosi also thanked his teammates and faculty. “It takes a village to get to this point, and we hold our heads high knowing that we have the support we do here at Trinity. I’ve never been on a team that had such a close group of guys, guys that genuinely care for each other. It was a beautiful thing to be a part of.” So what’s next for the Bantams? Coach Greason closed with, “we will be back here soon, because these guys do the work.”
It has been a pleasure following these players in this immensely exciting season. This team born out of fire and ice have left it all in the rink for the past seven months. We will miss the seniors, but we look forward to what’s next in the 2024-2025 season.
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