-- Recap courtesy of Trinity Athletic Communications --
HARTFORD, Conn. – Senior forward Walker Harris of the Wesleyan men's hockey team joined the 100-point club on Friday night as he recorded a hat trick and dished out an assist to help lead the Cardinals to a 4-1 win at No. 7 Trinity in game one of a home-and-home series.
With the win, Wesleyan improved to 12-10-1 overall and 8-8-1 in the league play. The Bantams (16-6-1, 11-5-1 NESCAC) had a flurry of chances in all three frames, but 16 penalty minutes didn't allow for any breathing room.
After an aggressive opening ten minutes of action, the Cardinals were able to capitalize on just its fourth shot attempt of the night. Sophomore Jake Lachance fired a shot from just outside the near faceoff circle; Harris was able to get the slightest tip on the shot, pushing it over the head of sophomore netminder Jonah Capriotti to take the lead.
Wesleyan continued to pile it on in to start the second period, scoring two goals inside a span of 10 seconds. After a wrister from Harris found the back of the net 40 seconds into the period, he assisted Michael Kerbrat's tip at the 19:11 marker, earning his third point of the night and making it 3-0.
Three minutes later and during Trinity's first power play of the evening, the hosts got on the board. Junior James Calahan sniped home a shot from just inside the faceoff circle, being set up after a massive clapper from first-year Riley Prattson was blocked.
After six straight penalties were called, the Bantams were on the short end of a five-on-three. Junior Michael Zandi fed Harris, whose slapshot outside the far faceoff circle sizzled home; the senior's third goal of the game put Trinity down 4-1 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the second.
Neither team found the back of the net for the remaining 30 minutes, despite 17 shots on net from the Bantams in the final frame. Trinity had a handful of powerplay opportunities, but Wesleyan netminder Tim Sestak produced 46 saves in the win.
The two in-state NESCAC rivals return to the ice tomorrow to face off in Middleton, Connecticut at 3 p.m.
