Trinity Men's Ice Hockey Seniors Close Careers With New Rink's First Playoff Win

Hartford, Conn., Aug. 6, 2009 - Trinity, under Head Coach David Cataruzolo (2nd Season), finished the 2008-09 season with a record of 16-9 overall record and 12-7 mark in the NESCAC.  The 2008 NESCAC Champion Bantams won the first-ever, men's post-season game at the Koeppel Community Sports Center, 3-1, against Connecticut College in the NESCAC Quarterfinals, but lost their bid for a second straight league crown with a 3-0 loss at Amherst in the semifinals.  Trinity finished second in the NESCAC in scoring offense with 3.60 goals per game, second in scoring defense at 2.48 goals allowed per game, and second killing penalties with a .874 percentage (118-135). 

Sophomore forward Adam Houli (Howell, N.J.) played in 24 games, leading the Bantams in scoring and tying for the team lead in both goals with 10 and assists with 11 for 20 points with two gamewinners.  Freshman forward Paul Jaskot (Methuen, Mass.) tied Houli with 10 goals and added 10 assists (T2nd on team) for 20 points with three power-play goals, a pair of short-handed goals, and two gamewinners in 24 games, while senior co-captain forward Ryan Masucci (Winthrop, Mass.) added nine goals (3rd on team) and 11 assists (T1st on team) for 20 points with two gamewinners in 23 games, and senior forward Chris Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.) had seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 22 games.  Junior forward Richard Hollstein (Pembroke, Mass.) registered six goals and eight assists for 14 points with two short-handed goals in 22 games, senior forward Riley Hicks (Calgary, Alberta) contributed six goals and eight assists for 14 while playing in all 25 games, sophomore forward Egor Petrov (Novokuznetsk, Russia) added four goals and seven helpers for 11 points with two gamewinners in 19 games, and first-year forward Sean McCarthy (Duxbury, Mass) recorded five goals and five assists for 10 points in 15 games.  Masucci, Powers, and Hicks tied for the team lead in power play goals with four apiece, while Hicks was selected to the all-tournament team at the Assumption Holiday Tournament.  For his career, Masucci totaled 22 goals and 40 assists for 62 points in 87 games, while Powers had 25 goals and 34 helpers for 59 points in 100 games in his four years, and Hicks amassed 20 goals and 25 assists in 81 games as a Bantam.

Senior co-captain Chris Diozzi (Belmont, Mass.) was the top scoring defenseman with six goals and 10 assists (T2nd on team) with three power-play goals for 16 points (8th among defenseman in NESCAC), while freshman blueliner Michael DeMayo (Seaford, N.Y.) added seven goals and eight assists for 15 points (9th among defensemen in NESCAC), and junior defensemen Ryan Crapser (Paxton, Mass.) had five goals and six assists for 11 points with a pair of gamewinners in 24 games.  Senior William Burns (Livonia, Mich) had three goals and three assists, sophomore Derek Sandberg (St. Lazare, Quebec) notched four assists in 10 games, sophomore Regnars Alksnis (Talsi, Latvia) collected three assists in 17 games, and junior Michael Mortimer (Spencer, Mass.) registered one assist in 14 games from the blue line.  Diozzi, DeMayo, and Burns each saw action in every game this winter, while DeMayo received NESCAC Player of the Week honors once, was selected to the all-tournament team in the Roberts Thanksgiving Tournament, and earned MVP honors in the Assumption Holiday Tournament.  For his career, Diozzi totaled 17 goals and 35 assists for 52 points in 100 games, while Burns had three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 78 games as a Bantam.

Sophomore forward Justin Letizia (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) played in 15 games and totaled four goals and four assists for eight points, while senior forward Naoto Hamashima (Tokyo, Japan) appeared in all 25 games with three goals and five assists for eight points, and senior forward Josh Rich (Palmyra, Pa.) saw time in 21 games with two goals and four assists for six points and led the team in penalty minutes with 48.  Freshman forward Joe Tierney (Reading, Mass.) notched a goal and four assists in 16 games, junior Zach Wissman (Guilford, Vt.) scored twice and added two assists in 24 games, senior forward Chris Oetting (Katonah, N.Y.) had two assists in 11 games, and sophomore forward Ben Shellington (Hanover, Mass.) had two helpers in 17 games.  Hamashima, Trinity's representative on the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team, finishes his career with 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 68 games, while Rich closes his Bantam career with seven goals and 12 assists for 29 points in 65 games, and Oetting completes his two-year career with two goals and four assists for six points in 24 games. 

Sophomore goaltender Wesley Vesprini (Lexington, Mass.) totaled 501 saves for a .916 save percentage, 46 goals allowed for a 2.34 GAA with a 13-6 record and two shutouts in 22 games and 1,178 minutes in goal in 2008-09.  Vesprini was ably backed up by junior Joseph Hanson (Weymouth, Mass.), who added 101 saves for a .910 save percentage and 10 goals allowed for a 2.40 GAA with a 3-2 record in five games and 250 minutes in goal.

Diozzi and Houli each graced the 2009 All-NESCAC Second Team, while Diozzi was a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon Award as the best American-born college hockey player in New England at the Division II/III level, and Houli was also selected for the Jewish Sports Review Division III All-American Team.  Burns graced the 2009 ESPN The Magazine At-Large Academic All-District First Team and joined Powers, Hamashima, and Hanson on the 2009 NESCAC All-Academic squad.