The Bantams, which have been ranked nationally for the majority of the season, are currently slated at No. 12 in the United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division III National Poll.

The Bantams, coached by John Dunham (29th season, 380-269-24) have won their last three games and five out of their last six, and have beaten three teams currently ranked in the top 15 in the nation. All five of Trinity’s five losses have come against teams ranked among the top 15 as well.

The winner of the NESCAC Championship Tournament will determine the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Trinity is the No. 2 seed in the tournament, and Williams (8-14-2, 8-9-2) is seeded No. 7. Middlebury earned the top seed and plays No. 8-seeded Tufts, and will host the semi-finals and finals on Mar. 8 and 9 with a win in its quarterfinal game. No. 3-seeded Colby (17-5-1, 14-4-1) hosts No. 6-seeded Amherst (7-12-5, 7-8-4) and No. 4-seeded Bowdoin (13-5-5, 11-3-5) hosts No. 5-seeded Hamilton (13-9-2, 10-7-2) in the other first round games this Saturday.

Trinity sophomore goaltender Doug Kisielius (Park Ridge, Ill.) has led a Bantam defense that is allowing just 2.70 goals per game (13th in nation). Named the NESCAC Player of the Week and the USCHO.com National Defensive Player of the Week this season, Kisielius posted five shutouts this season. He is fourth in the NESCAC with a 2.48 GAA, third in save percentage at .909, and is 16-5-1 with 538 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 36 assists among them.

Trinity sophomore forward Joseph Ori (Niles, Ill.) leads Trinity in scoring with 15 goals (8th in NESCAC) and 17 assists (9th in NESCAC) for 32 points (3rd in NESCAC), followed by senior co-captain forward Greg O’Leary (Reading, Mass.) with six goals and a team-high 23 assists (1st in NESCAC, 14th in nation) for 29 points (9th in NESCAC). Sophomore forward Jeff Natale (Hamden, Conn.) has 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points, and classmate Ryan Stevens (Concord, N.H.) has a team-high 17 goals (5th in NESCAC, 19th in nation) and seven assists for 24 points. The powerful Bantam offense is also balanced with 10 players accumulating 10 points or more in 23 games, and leads Division III on the power play at 36.3 percent (37-102).

Williams finished tied with Amherst for sixth place in the NESCAC, but dropped to the seventh seed due to its 4-3 regular season loss to the Jeffs. The Ephs, coached by Bill Kangas (14th season, 189-130-25), have lost six games by one goal this season. Freshman Devon O’Rourke (Belmont, Ontario) leads Williams in scoring with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points, followed by senior co-captain Wes Fox (Wayzata, Minn.) and junior Brian Teixeira (Falmouth, Mass.) with 12 goals and 16 assists and nine goals and 19 assists for, respectively, for 28 points apiece. Senior Mike Aroesty (Pittsford, N.Y.) has 370 saves for an .873 save percentage and a 3.56 GAA in goal for the Panthers.