Saturday, March 15, 2003
TRINITY MEN’S ICE HOCKEY STUNNED
BY NORWICH IN NCAA QUARTERS
Hartford, Conn. – Junior defenseman Dominick Dawes (Utica, N.Y.) capped off a four-goal, third period with the game-winning goal at the 13:54 mark to lead the Norwich University Cadets to a 5-4 victory over the visiting Trinity College Bantams in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championship Tournament this evening at Kreitzberg Arena. Trinity finishes the season with a 19-6-2 record, while the Cadets improve to 25-3 with their fifth straight win and advance to the semifinals next weekend.
Trinity held leads of 2-0 after one period and, 4-1, at the end of the second period, before a power play goal by Norwich junior forward Phil Aucoin (Chelmsford, Mass.) at the 3:01 mark started a furious rally by the home team that concluded with the game-winner by Dawes. The Cadets tied the score at 4-4 seven minutes into the third period on a pair of goals just 12 seconds apart by junior forward Matt Schmidt (Markham, Ontario) and sophomore forward Paul Mattucci (Petersborough, Ontario).
Bantam sophomore forward Ryan Stevens (Concord, N.H.) started the scoring 8:08 into the contest, beating Cadet freshman netminder Mike Boudreau (South Weymouth, Mass.) on an unassisted breakaway. Trinity sophomore forward Joseph Ori (Niles, Ill.) put in a rebound off a shot by freshman defenseman Brendan Timmins (Arlington, Mass.) to make the score, 2-0, with 5:21 left in the first period. Trinity dominated play in the opening stanza, outshooting Norwich, 14-4.
The Cadets closed to within a single goal at 8:37 in the second frame, but Bantam freshman forward Cameron Finch (Acton, Mass.) converted on a pass from Ori just 31 seconds after that to push the lead back to two scores at 3-1. Trinity junior forward Steve LaBrie (Springfield, Mass.) netted another Trinity goal with 2:50 remaining in the second period for a 4-1 Bantam advantage. The Cadets pulled Boudreau with 16 ticks on the clock to take advantage of a late face-off in the Trinity zone, but it nearly backfired as the Bantams stole the puck and shot it off the post of the open net.
Norwich switched goalies in favor of senior Randy Hevey (Chicopee, Mass.) to start the third period, and the move energized the Cadets although Hevey was not forced to make a save until after the game was tied. Norwich pummeled Trinity sophomore backstop Doug Kisielius (Park Ridge, Ill.) with 20 shots in the third period, and Kisielius finished with 29 saves. Boudreau stopped 17 shots in almost two periods and Hevey made eight saves over the second half of the final stanza.
| Teams | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Trinity, Conn. (19-6-2) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Norwich (25-3) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
PENALTIES
TC- 8/16, N- 5/10.