ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine men's ACHA D2 hockey team retook the third spot in the central region of the fourth edition of the American Collegiate Hockey Association's (ACHA) national rankings, released on Wednesday.
The Thunder finished off the 2017 portion of this season's schedule with a pair of wins over Oakland University. On Friday, Dec. 1, six different skaters tallied goals for Trine on the way to a 6-2 victory. Junior forward Braeden Pearl (Orignal, Ontario) led the team on the night with three points including a goal and two assists. On Saturday, Dec. 2, the Thunder offense was just as diverse with four different members tallying a goal in the 4-2 victory.
The Thunder continue to display a dominant offensive attack averaging 8.5 goals per game and a 6.7 average margin of victory. Freshman forward Brandon Bornkamp (Fort Wayne, Ind.) leads the team with 41 points (16 +25) so far this season. Six other members of the team have 20 or more points.
In goal, the Thunder boast two different netminders with over .900 save percentages. Junior Tyler Hough (Mount Airy, Md.) leads the team with a .932 save percentage and a 1.87 goals against average. Freshman Adam Conkling (Fort Wayne, Ind.) comes in second with a .924 save percentage and adds a 2.31 goals against average. Both have secured a 6-0 record in the first 20 games of the season.
This is the second season that the ACHA has utilized computerized rankings for their men's Division 2 teams. The rankings determine the top 20 teams from four regions (Central, Northeast, Southeast and West).
The season's final rankings are used to determine which teams receive invites to the national championship tournament. Four teams from each region receive an invite to the national championships which take place in Columbus, Ohio. The top two teams in each region receive an automatic bid to the national tournament, while teams ranked 3-12 compete in a regional competition for the final two slots.
The Thunder will return from their midseason break with a home-and-away doubleheader against the University of Toledo. They will travel to Ohio for the 9:45 p.m. contest on Friday, Jan. 12 before returning to the Thunder Ice Arena for their first home contest of 2018 on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.