Trinity, ranked No. 12 in the United States College Hockey Online (USCHO.com) National Poll, would move into first place in the conference with a win at Middlebury and would control its own destiny to remain as the league’s top seed over its final three games of the regular season. The Bantams, who have never finished an ice hockey season atop the league standings, reached the finals of the NESCAC Championship Tournament last winter as the No. 3 seed. Trinity dropped a 3-2 decision at top-seeded Middlebury, after downing Williams and edging nationally ranked and NCAA-bound Bowdoin, 3-2, in overtime in the semi-finals. The 2002-03 eight-team NESCAC Championship Tournament begins in March with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The top seed hosts a first round game on Mar. 1 and hosts the semi-finals and finals on Mar. 8 and 9.

Trinity sophomore goaltender Doug Kisielius (Park Ridge, Ill.) has led a Bantam defense that is allowing just 2.70 goals per game (seventh in nation). Named the NESCAC Player of the Week and the USCHO.com National Defensive Player of the Week this season, Kisielius posted three straight shutouts in late January and added another on Saturday against Skidmore to give him five for the season. He is third in the NESCAC with a 2.47 GAA, second in save percentage at .910, and is 13-4-1 with 443 saves.

The Trinity defensive unit, despite the loss of eight defensemen and its starting goaltender from last season has emerged as one of the stingiest in the league. Converted Bantam forwards Timothy Joncas (Branford, Conn.) and Colin Wilson-Murphy (Southboro, Mass.) have teamed with the outstanding freshman foursome of Brendan Timmins (Arlington, Mass.), Peter Langella (Manchester, N.H.), Rico Murtha (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), and John Newhall (Winchester, Mass.) to rank third in the NESCAC in scoring defense at 2.74 goals allowed per game. Joncas, Timmins, and Langella are also a factor on the offensive end, totaling 12 goals and 29 assists among them. Trinity is particularly adept at killing penalties, ranking second in the nation with an .889 percentage.

Trinity sophomore forward Joseph Ori (Niles, Ill.) leads Trinity in scoring with 11 goals (10th in NESCAC) and 16 assists (3rd in NESCAC) for 27 points (3rd in NESCAC), followed by senior co-captain forward Greg O’Leary (Reading, Mass.) with five goals and a team-high 19 assists (1st in NESCAC) for 24 points (9th in NESCAC). Sophomore forward Jeff Natale (Hamden, Conn.) has nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points, and classmate Ryan Stevens (Concord, N.H.) has a team-high 14 goals (6th in NESCAC) and seven assists for 21 points. The powerful Bantam offense is also balanced with 10 players accumulating 10 points or more in 19 games, and ranks second in the nation on the power play at 34.4 percent (32-93).

Middlebury, ranked No. 3 in the nation, has a 16-3-1 overall record and a 13-2-1 mark in the NESCAC. The Panthers have recovered from a 3-3 start to win 13 consecutive games before a 1-1 tie at Amherst on Saturday. Tim Schneider (Trochu, Alberta) leads Middlebury in scoring with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points, followed by Kevin Cooper (Mississauga, Ontario) with a team-high 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points. Yen-I Chen (Rigaud, Quebec) has 301 saves for a .904 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA in goal for the Panthers.