Men's Ice Hockey Sweeps Critical NESCAC Series

NATE CHOUKAS ’18 SPORTS EDITOR
Men’s Hockey hosted Tufts on Saturday afternoon in the NESCAC Quarterfinals, defeating the Jumbos by a score of 4-1. Trinity fired on all cylinders, making a competent Tufts team look inferior throughout the contest.
The Bantams drew first blood just two minutes into the game, when Barclay Gammill ’20 redirected a slap shop from T.J. Sherman ’17 into the net. Tufts answered with 4:43 to play in the first, but Trinity regained the lead just 19 seconds later. Tyler Whitney ’18 slipped a backdoor pass to Sean Orlando ’17, who buried the go-ahead-goal.
Tufts goaltender Nik Nugnes stood tall throughout most of the second period, shutting down Trinity sharpshooters Orlando and Ryan Cole ’17 on a powerplay attempt. With 2:11 remaining in the period, captian Ethan Holdaway gave the Bantams a 3-1 lead, scoring off a rebound from a Whitney shot.
The Bantams continued to apply pressure in the third period, as the puck was mostly in the Jumbo’s defensive zone. Nugnes made an impressive 46 saves, keeping the Tufts in the game. However, the Jumbos could not spark any offense, and Trinity sealed the deal with an empty-net goal from Holdaway.
With this win, Trinity moves on to the NESCAC Final Four, which will be hosted by #1 seeded Hamilton. The Bantams will face off against Williams in the semifinal, and will play the winner of Hamilton vs. Wesleyan in the Championship if they can advance.