It could have weighed them down. Instead, it gave them wings.
The 13 seniors on the Trinity College hockey team knew all season that the Division 3 Frozen Four would be held on their campus at the Koeppel Community Sports Center.
Every time they took their home ice for a practice or a game, that thought would find a way into their minds, either bidden or not.
“Going into this year we had a lot of pressure,” said senior forward Gerard Marretta. “All of us seniors were talking about it when we found out we were hosting. That was always in the back of our minds, from the first practice of the year.”
The Bantams (25-4-1) made it happen by crafting one of the best seasons in program history. Though it ended with a 2-0 loss to defending champion and No. 1 seed Hobart in the national championship game, they pushed the season as far as it could go.
“It’s been so special to be able to do this in our rink, with the support of our best friends, students and faculty,” said senior defenseman John Campomenosi, fighting back tears when it was over. “It means the world to us that they come out and support us, day in and day out.”
Though heavy on seniors, the team’s best player was sophomore goalie Devon Bobak, the NESCAC Player of the Year and winner of both the Sid Watson Award (best player in Division 2 and 3) and the Joe Concannon Award (top America-born player in Division 2 and 3).
After a strong freshman campaign that saw him win the starting job, post a .934 save percentage and record a 1.41 goals-against average (fourth-best in the nation), Bobak took his game to an even higher level this winter.
His 1.18 GAA and .946 save percentage ranked second and third, respectively, in Division 3. Only twice all season did he allow more than two goals in a game (a 3-2 overtime loss to Curry and a 5-3 win over Colby). He’s a big reason the Bantams ranked second nationally in scoring defense.
“We’ve got guys here that know what they’re doing,” said Bobak. “When you’ve got guys in front of you eating shots, making breakout passes, keeping shots to the outside, it’s really a simple man’s game.”
Seniors Ned Blanchard (West Hartford, Conn.) and Campomenosi were the leaders of that defense. Another senior, forward Kyle Tomaso (Newport, R.I.), also was an All-Conference selection, along with junior leading scorer Richard Boysen (11-11-22).
After finishing first in the regular season and cruising through the NESCAC tournament, Trinity earned a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament and blanked Elmira, 2-0, in the quarterfinals behind goals by junior Alexander Mozian and Marretta, and 35 saves from Bobak.
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Freshman Connor Sedlak set up a pair of early goals in a 2-1 national semifinal win over Adrian, but in the final, the Bantams ran into the best defensive team in the nation. Though they skated with Hobart (28-2-1) for stretches, they went 0-for-4 on the power play, managing just three shots. The second goal was an empty-netter with a minute left.
“We played well,” said Trinity coach Matthew Greason. “We didn’t lay an egg. We showed up. We weren’t caught off-guard by this moment. It’s a one-game series and we lost a hockey game.”
Trinity’s run to the Frozen Four was just one facet of a tournament that provided drama around almost every corner, at least for the New England teams.
Curry’s drama extended well into the night. After winning on the road at SUNY Geneseo in the first round, 3-0, the Colonels earned a quarterfinal at top-seeded and defending NCAA champion Hobart, the team that had ended their season emphatically in that round a year ago, 5-1.
This time Curry (21-6-1) quieted the fans by taking a 2-0 lead early in the second period. The teams traded momentum from there and headed to overtime tied 3-3.
Enter freshman goalie Shane Soderwall.
Soderwall, who had to overtake two upperclassmen to win Curry’s starting job early in the season, already had made 46 saves in regulation. He would make 52 more in the four overtime periods before Hobart’s Bauer Morrissey finished off a passing sequence for the game-winner.
“I mean, he’s incredible,” said Curry coach Peter Roundy. “He’s got a great demeanor about him. Nothing really rattles him. He’s just a heck of a goalie and we’re lucky to have him.”
The record of 98 saves had previously been set by Augsburg freshman Justin Lochner in his team’s four-overtime loss to Gustavus in 2010, the only D-3 game that lasted longer than Hobart vs. Curry. Soderwall topped the previous Curry record of 69 saves set by Mike Manganaro against New England College in 1996.
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Plymouth State (24-3-2) made history, too. After five previous trips to the NCAA tournament all resulted in losses, the MASCAC champs pulled away from Cortland State in the first round, 5-2, to earn their first NCAA win.
The run ended with a 4-1 loss at second-seeded Utica in the quarterfinals. Senior Colin Tracy (Concord, N.H.) scored the Panthers’ only goal, cutting their deficit to 2-1 in the second period, but they couldn’t produce an equalizer.
Trinity is no stranger to the national stage, though this was the first time in seven years it reached a Frozen Four. Greason also was the coach when the Bantams won the NCAA championship in 2015, and he was on the other side of the title game two years later.
“I’m sad,” he said. “I’m really sad. We came a long way and we’re a close team. Hobart was better.”
