Sunday, December 1, 2002

STEVENS LEADS TRINITY MEN'S ICE HOCKEY TO
TIE AT AMHERST IN MCCABE TOURNAMENT

Hartford, Conn.- Sophomore forward Ryan Stevens (Concord, N.H.) scored two goals to lead the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 4-4 tie against the Amherst College Lord Jeffs in the consolation round of the Ben McCabe Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament at Orr Rink this afternoon.  Trinity moves to 2-1-1 for the season, while the Jeffs are now 1-2-1.  Both squads lost their first-round games on Saturday (Amherst, 10-0, to Wentworth and Trinity, 8-3, to Oswego State).    

Amherst took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.  Senior wing Erik DiNardo (North Reading, Mass.) opened the scoring with a rebound off a power-play wrister by rookie forward Steve Nelson (Wayzata, Minn.).  Kretzman then connected with a short-handed tally, stuffing home a rebound off a Jon Hill (Averill Park, N.Y.) shot on a two-on-one break.   

Trinity broke through in the second when freshman defenseman Brendan Timmins   (Arlington, Mass.) tucked a power-play wrister just beyond Amherst goalie Justin Jagher's (Framingham, Mass.) glove-hand.  The Jeffs stretched the lead to 3-1 later in the period with yet another power-play goal, this time by senior captain Erich Schram (Madison, Wisc.) off a nifty feed from junior defender Chris Norqual (Eden Prairie, Minn.).

The Bantams rebounded with two goals to knot the score at 3-3 in the third, both by Stevens off assists from senior co-captain forward Greg O'Leary (Reading, Mass.).  The first was a shorthanded tally on a two-on-one break, while the second came off a power-play wrister from the slot.  

With just under six minutes left in regulation, Kretzman gave Amherst the lead once again with his team-leading sixth goal of the season, stuffing in a loose puck following a shot by Hill on a power play.  The Jeffs appeared to have the game in hand with less than two minutes remaining, but Trinity freshman blue-liner Peter Langella (Manchester, N.H.) had other ideas, sending the game into overtime with a game-tying rebound and his first career goal.

Trinity played much of the five-minute extra-session with a two-man advantage after a pair of Lord Jeffs were whistled for charging and holding, respectively.  The Bantams were unable to seal the deal, however, as Jagher tallied seven of his 28 saves in overtime to preserve the tie.  Sophomore center Beau Kretzman (Edina, Minn.) paced Amherst (1-2-1) with two goals and an assist.  Freshman goalie Henry Breslin (Hampton, N.H.) matched Jagher with 28 stops in his first career start for the Bantams. 

SCORING
1. A - Erik DiNardo (Steve Nelson, Beau Kretzman) 9:45, A - Beau Kretzman (Jon Hill) 13:07, TC - Brendan Timmins (Joseph Ori, Tim Joncas) 10:08.
2.  A - Erich Schram (Chris Norqual) 11:19.
3. TC - Ryan Stevens (Greg O'Leary, Tim Joncas), TC - Ryan Stevens (Greg O'Leary, Peter Langella) 12:02, A - Beau Kretzman (Jon Hill, Steve Nelson) 14:08, TC - Peter Langella (Joseph Ori, Jeffrey Natale) 18:52.

GOALIE SAVES

TC- Henry Breslin (65:00) 28
A- Justin Jagher (65:00) 28

PENALTIES

TC- 9/18, A- 9/18.

POWER PLAY

TC- 2/7, A- 3/7.