Trinity Women's Ice Hockey Hosts Connecticut College in NESCAC Quarters
Hartford, Conn., Feb. 27, 2009 - The Trinity College women's ice hockey team will host the Connecticut College Camels on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament at Williams Rink in the Koeppel Community Sports Center. Trinity is the No. 3 seed in the New NESCAC Tournament, after posting a regular season record of 13-9-2 and finishing in third place in the league with a conference mark of 8-7-1. The Bantams, coached by the 2007-2008 NESCAC Coach of the Year Andrew McPhee (7th Season), qualified for the league tourney for the third year in a row and for the fourth time in the last five years, and will be hosting a post-season game for the second consecutive year. No. 6-seeded Connecticut College finished the year 6-8-2 overall and 8-13-3 in the league, including 3-1 and 4-0 losses at home to Trinity on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14.
The winner of the NESCAC Championship Tournament will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Top-seeded Amherst (19-4, 16-0) hosts No. 8-seeded Hamilton (9-13-2, 3-11-2), No. 2-seeded Middlebury (16-3-4, 12-2-2) hosts No. 7-seeded Williams (8-15-1, 6-9-1) and No. 4-seeded Colby (11-10-3, 7-7-2) hosts No. 5-seeded Bowdoin (11-10-1, 7-8-1) in the other first round games Saturday.
Trinity went 6-4 in their final ten games, which included the two wins over the Camels, and closed the regular campaign over the weekend with a split at league rival Colby (6-4 win and 3-2 OT loss). Bantam sophomore goaltender Isabel Iwachiw (New York, N.Y.) finished with a total of 73 saves and collected NESCAC Player of the Week honors for her performance in the Connecticut College series, while junior forward Britney McKenna (Rye, N.H.) and sophomore defenseman Laura Komarek (Plymouth, Minn.) combined for five goals to lead the offensive attack. Freshman forward Celia Colman-McGaw (Manchester, Conn.) had four goals on the season's final weekend, including a hat trick in the win at Colby, and leads the team with three game-winning goals on the season.
Trinity is third in the NESCAC in scoring defense, allowing just 2.33 goals per game, and tied for third in the league in power play (16.7%). Sophomore forward Kim Weiss (Potomac, Md.) powers the Bantam offense with 11 goals (8th in NESCAC) and 11 assists (14th in NESCAC) for 22 points (6th in NESCAC). Komarek is second on the team in scoring and leads the league in points by a defenseman with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points. McKenna is tied for the team lead in goals with 11, while sophomore forward Jill Roloff (West Seneca, N.Y.) has six goals and 11 assists for 17 points. Komarek and Roloff each joined Iwachiw as NESCAC Players of the Week honors during the season. Senior co-captain forward Michelle Chee (San Francisco, Calif.) is Trinity's all-time career leader in goals (41), assists (43), and points (84) after adding three goals and six assists to her resume this season.
Iwachiw has 541 saves in 20 games and 1,208 minutes in goal for a league-leading .921 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA, three shutouts, giving her nine in her career, and an 11-7-1 record between the pipes. Trinity's strong defensive unit has allowed 120 less shots on goal than the Bantams have taken this winter. The unit is led by Komarek, freshman blueliner Dominique Di Dia (Studio City, Calif.), who has been a factor on the offensive end as well with three goals and 11 assists, and senior co-captain Kelley McCarthy (Kingston, Mass.).
