In this weekend's NESCAC hockey semifinals, all eyes will be on No. 6 Trinity after its 5-2 upset of the No. 3 Bowdoin Polar Bears last weekend.
In order to advance to Sunday's championship, however, the Bantams will have to make it past the No. 1 Colby Mules, who come into the game riding a four-game winning streak.
Though the odds are against them, the Bantams have at least one thing going for them: They were the last team to beat Colby. A 2-1 victory on Feb. 15 proves that Trinity has more than a fighting chance to pull out the big win. In addition, the Bantams, who last captured the NESCAC title in 2003, have won each of their three previous playoff contests against Colby.
The game will be decided within the confines of the crease, as the matchup pits the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked goalies in the conference against each other. Colby freshman Cody McKinney is ranked first in both goals-against average and save percentage, while with Trinity freshman Wesley Vesprini is right behind him in both categories.
The second semifinal will feature No. 2 Middlebury against No. 4 Amherst. It will be a tough task for the Lord Jeffs, who lost to the Panthers by a score of 4-2 in their regular season matchup on Feb. 22. Middlebury is also riding on the coattails of a dominating performance against Williams last weekend in the quarterfinals, where the Ephs fell 6-0 to the overwhelming offensive firepower that Middlebury puts forth on a consistent basis.
However, Amherst also excels on the offensive side of the game like the Panthers. In 25 games so far, Middlebury has not scored fewer than two goals in a game. The Lord Jeffs are one step ahead, though, scoring a minimum of three goals in all but two of their games this season.
With both teams primed for the offensive, the game will likely come down to defense and goaltending. Ironically, these two teams have identical goals-against averages of 2.48, putting them in a second-place tie behind Colby. Amherst, however, has a far superior penalty-killing defense, at 85.7 percent compared to Middlebury's 77.3.
In order to avenge its regular-season loss, Amherst will have to play smart and come out firing on all cylinders. Middlebury, the four-time defending NESCAC champion, has the talent and experience to adjust to whatever the Lord Jeffs can muster.
