Liam Feeney recognizes that he’s part of a special group.
It’s not just that his Trinity College team held the No. 1 ranking in Division 3 hockey as January wound down. Or that, as one of six seniors on the team, he’s been a key part of a class that’s kept the Bantams on the national scene and at the top of the NESCAC after the program’s national title in 2015.
No, it’s because he’s one of a robust group of two-way defensemen who not only have helped Trinity allow fewer goals per game than all but three teams in the nation, but also are producing at a rate that would make any opposing coach envious.
“The most we’ve had here, without a doubt,” said ninth-year Trinity coach Matt Greason (North Bridgton, Maine).
The Bantams (14-5-1) are trying to finish first in the NESCAC and again steer the final rounds of the league tournament to Hartford, Conn.
And the defensemen? They’re making some good points.
Feeney (Foxboro, Mass.) has amassed 73 points from the blue line in his career, 63 on assists. Junior Michael Grande (5-11-16) is averaging nearly a point per game and ranks fifth in team scoring.
Junior Tim Weinstein (Norwood, Mass.) was second on the team in assists as a rookie. James Callahan, another junior, plays bigger than his size at both ends. Senior Nick Fiorentino, at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, skates well for a big man and covers all kinds of ice.
Thanks to that group, and top-producing forwards Barclay Gammill (New Canaan, Conn.) and Lucas Michaud (South Portland, Maine), the Bantams also have a potent scoring offense.
“It definitely makes my life a lot easier knowing you’ve got a very solid ‘D’ core that can move the puck out,” said senior goalie Tedy Loughborough (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), who has a 1.94 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. “It gives you more confidence back there.”
With upperclass players filling the top five slots on the blue line — the sixth slot is filled by a mix of freshmen and sophomores — the Bantams have been able to successfully defend their own end while lending a hand to the goal output.
“If you look at analytics in the NHL, the teams that are successful have older ‘D’ cores,” said Greason. “That trickles down to college.”
For all their production — the five upperclass blueliners collectively had amassed 180 points in their careers through late January — their entry points to the program all began with defense.
“Everything we teach here for the first few weeks is all defense,” said Greason. “If you want to win championships at any level, you have to have great defenders. Your offense starts with your defense getting pucks out of your end.”
As they grasped those concepts early in their careers, reinforced by upperclass players who had been there, done that and won games, the offensive opportunities opened up.
“Yeah, there’s a learning curve,” said Grande. “Our coach always tells us we’re not to break out ourselves; we have to join the rush.”
“Everyone wants to score goals,” said Feeney, “but at the end of the day, if you don’t have the puck in the offensive zone, you can’t score goals.”
One weekend in January illustrated the group’s importance.
In a 4-3 win over Middlebury, Callahan scored twice. In a 3-2 win over Williams a day later, Grande scored the third-period game-winner, with Weinstein collecting one of the assists.
“It’s important,” said Greason. “You’ve got to manufacture goals in every way and they’ve got to be manufactured on the blue line, too. We’ve been lucky with the skill-set (of the group).”
The players came to Trinity from different points on the hockey map, each liking what he saw: a top-tier Division 3 program that had proven it could play with anyone, with a winning culture and strong academics, to boot.
“You know all about the NESCAC schools and the great academics,” said Grande, who grew up in West Chester, Pa. “When I decided I wanted to go Division 3, I decided I wanted the best of both worlds.”
The Bantams are hoping they’re good enough to take the final steps that last year’s team couldn’t. Despite a 16-game unbeaten streak late, one that helped produce NESCAC regular-season and tournament titles, they were bounced by the University of New England on home ice in the NCAA quarterfinals, getting shut out for the first 50 minutes in a 2-1 loss.
This year, the motivation and talent levels are both high. And they start on the blue line.
“I definitely don’t think it’s a surprise,” said Feeney. “Right from the get-go, the first week of school, we were having captains practices and lifts, and everybody was excited to see what we could do.”
@MikeZhe603
