West Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore forward Ryan Stevens (Concord, N.H.) scored the game winning goal 1:24 into the third period to give the Trinity College Bantams a 5-3 victory over the  Norwich University Cadets in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)/Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East men’s ice hockey action this evening at Kingswood-Oxford Rink.  The victory pushes the Bantams, who are ranked No. 15 nationally to 11-2-2 overall and 10-0-1 in the NESCAC, while the loss drops the Cadets to 15-1 overall and 10-1 in the ECAC East.

Freshman forward Richard Masucci (Winthrop, Mass.) opened the scoring for the Bantams just after the 10 minute mark of the first period with his first collegiate goal. That goal held up until the start of the second period when Norwich junior defensemen Lou DiMasi (Burlington, Vt.) tied the score with a power play goal, which was followed by a second Norwich score four minutes later by Matt Schmidt (Markham, Ontario).

Trinity answered the Cadets with a power play goal of their own by senior co-captain forward Greg O’Leary (Reading, Mass.) who was set up by freshman defenders Rico Murtha (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Peter Langella (Manchester, N.H.). The Bantams waited only two minutes to add to their lead, when senior co-captain forward Andrew Halder (River Edge, N.J.) pushed a shot between the legs of the Norwich goaltender.

Trinity sophomore forward Ryan Stevens (Concord, N.H.) scored what proved to be the game winner 1:24 into the third period. The Cadets rallied to score a goal with just under ten minutes remaining in regulation to cut the deficit to one, play excellent defensive play by Trinity over the final ten minutes of the game kept the Cadets at bay for the remainder of the contest.   Freshman defensemen Brendan Timmins (Arlington, Mass.) added an empty net goal to secure the Bantam victory with five seconds remaining on the clock. Sophomore goaltender Douglas Kisielius (Park Ridge, Ill.) continued his hot play by stopping 33 shots, including 12 in the final period to secure victory for the Bantams.

 SCORING

1. TC- Richard Masucci (unassisted) 10:47
2. N- (PP)-Lou DiMasi (Phil Aucoin) 3:20, N- Matt Schmidt (Toza Crnilovic) 7:21, TC- (PP)- Greg O’Leary (Rico Murtha, Peter Langella) 9:25, TC- Andrew Halder (unassisted) 11:01.
3. TC- (PP)-Ryan Stevens- (Murtha, Langella) 1:24, N-Dominick Dawes (Aucoin) 10:14, TC-Brendan Timmins (Dan Gyllstrom) 19:55.

GOALIE SAVES
TC- Doug Kisielius 33
N- Michael Shimek 18

PENALTIES
TC- 11/30, N- 9/18

POWER PLAY
TC- 2/4, N- 1/5