Trinity Men's Ice Hockey Defeats Salem State For Fifth Straight Victory
Hartford, Conn. - Sophomore goalie Wesley Vesprini (Lexington, Mass.) made 34 saves to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 4-2 win over the visiting Salem State College Vikings in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)/Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East men's ice hockey action this afternoon at Williams Rink. Trinity improves to 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the NESCAC with its fifth consecutive victory, while the Vikings fall to 6-5-1 overall and 2-5 in the ECAC East.
Trinity senior Chris Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.) opened the scoring seven minutes into the game, getting his stick on a shot by junior defenseman Ryan Crapser (Paxton, Mass.) and changing the direction of the puck enough for it to duck through the legs of senior goalie Ryan Hatch (Medway, Mass.). The Bantams added a second goal in the first frame on a wrist shot from the right wing by senior co-captain blueliner Chris Diozzi (Belmont, Mass.) with 6:21 on the clock, but Salem State pulled within a goal on a hard shot from the left face-off circle by junior forward Jeff Teller (Chicopee, Mass.) with 2:25 left before the first intermission.
Bantam sophomore forward Adam Houli (Howell, N.J.) netted the eventual gamewinner at 11:13 of the third period. Hatch stopped Houli on a breakaway and denied the rebound attempt by freshman forward Paul Jaskot (Methuen, Mass.), but Houli knocked the puck in on the third try. Trinity added an insurance goal with 1:35 left in the game when a shot by junior defenseman Richard Hollstein (Pembroke, Mass.) inched its way over the line. Salem State scored in the final minute on a shot by junior forward Chris MacInnis (Waltham, Mass.) that caromed off a Trinity player. Hatch finished with 43 saves for the Vikings.
