Jackson Brewer said he was too tired to be nervous when he was rewarded a penalty shot — the first of the Trinity senior’s career — late in Saturday’s first period.
He deked Plattsburgh goalie Brady Rouleau and put the puck stick-side for a 1-0 lead. The goal wasn’t necessarily the dagger, but it gave the Bantams some early momentum, and they went on to a 5-1 win in an NCAA men’s hockey quarterfinal at Koeppel Community Sports Center.
“Right away, I knew what I was going to do,” Brewer said of the penalty shot that came after an interference call on a breakaway. “It felt nice to get that first goal for the team because that can set the tempo for the whole game.”
No. 7 Trinity (23-3-1) advanced to the Division III final four, ending Plattsburgh’s season in the process.
The third-ranked Cardinals (20-6-2) got back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012, but the hardest part might have been the two weeks between earning the bid and playing their quarterfinal. The game was moved from Plattsburgh to Hartford because of a scheduling conflict.
“Our guys have been through a devastating two weeks,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “They were given something and taken it away. It was real hard for them.
“It was a cloud hanging over our head. And I think the leadership of the team did a great job getting through it. But when you don’t play, you get rusty.”
Plattsburgh held a 27-21 lead in shots on goal by the end of the second, but still had not been able to solve Trinity goalie Nathaniel Heilbron. Rouleau made a terrific glove save while off-balance with just over six minutes to go in the period to keep the Bantams to one goal.
But 2:45 into the third, Elie Vered made it 2-0.
Plattsburgh captain Brandon Beadow said the Cardinals stayed upbeat after the first goal and felt like they were still in it after the second.
Trinity took control in a 1:09 span in the middle of the third period, however.
Tim Shea took a nice feed from Connor Coveney and put the puck in the open left side of the net at 10:56. Then Brewer scored on a long shot from the left circle for a 4-0 advantage.
“I think it was probably the third goal (that permanently tilted the momentum),” Beadow said. “I know we talk about all the time, the third goal kinda takes the wind out of your sails. And I think we definitely felt it when they scored that third goal.”
Vered added an empty-netter, and then Plattsburgh’s Connor Toomey tallied with two seconds left.
Heilbron made 40 saves for the Bantams, who will meet Adrian in next week’s semifinals.
“This was our most consistent and persistent 60-minute effort of the year,” Trinity coach Matt Greason said. “I feel they were the best team we played this year. And we needed to play our best, and we did.”
Rouleau stopped 25 of the 29 shots he faced.
Emery said the Cardinals played pretty well in the first and had their best period in the second. But he said not playing last week really affected them.
“I thought we played as hard as we played all year; I thought our game plan was good,” he said. “And it was like we were a little bit behind every rebound, a little bit slow getting pucks off in prime areas. I just don’t think we were crisp.”
he Cardinals finished with a very similar record to last year’s 19-5-2 mark, but Emery said this year’s group found ways to win some big games at the end of the season. He added that the biggest difference was in the locker room.
“We had some guys that really stepped up,” Emery said. “I just told the guys it was a real fun team to coach. And great leadership, led by Brandon (Beadow), who is like one of our best leaders we’ve ever had in all my years at Plattsburgh. He got that locker room together.”
—
Trinity 5, Plattsburgh 1
Plattsburgh 0 0 1 — 1
Trinity 1 0 4 — 5
First period- 1, Trin, Brewer (penalty shot), 18:52. Penalties: PSU, Beadow (interference), 18:52.
Second period- Penalties: Trin, Cole (boarding), 3:30.
Third period- 2, Trin, Vered (McKilop, Coveney), 2:45. 3, Trin, Shea (Coveney, Flynn), 10:56. 4, Trin, Brewer (Johnson), 12:05. 5, Trin, Vered (McKilop), 18:58 (ENG). 6, PSU, Toomey (Constantine), 19:58.
Plattsburgh 15 12 14 —
41
Trinity 13 8 9 —
30
Goaltenders (shots-saves): Rouleau, PSU, 29-25. Heilbron, Trin, 41-40.
Power play (goals-opportunities): Plattsburgh 0-3, Trinity 0-0.
Attendance: 2,231.
Email Courtney Lewis: clewis@pressrepublican.com
Twitter: @sportsCourt
