ANGOLA, IND. -- In the eleventh American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 2 rankings of the season, the Trine men's ACHA D2 hockey team made was ranked first, for the first time this season.
The season's final rankings are used to determine which teams receive invites to the national championship tournament which will take place in Columbus, Ohio. Four teams from each region receive an invite. While teams ranked 3-12 compete in a regional competition for two of the slots, top two teams receive an automatic bid.
This is the second week in a row that the Thunder find themselves inside the top two spots and looking at the possibility of the automatic bid.
Trine's move to first place comes after a weekend sweep of fellow regionally-ranked opponent the University of Michigan. The victories increased the team's strength of schedule and ADG. With the pair of wins, the Thunder improves to 23-0-2. They are one of only two teams in the division who remains unbeaten on the season.
Trine's success can be attributed to a potent offensive attack. The team continues to average more than eight goals per game. Freshman forward Brandon Bornkamp (Fort Wayne, Ind.) leads the team in all offensive categories with 51 points including 24 goals and 27 assists. Nine other Thunder skaters have totaled over 20 points at this point in the season.
Four different goalies have seen time for Trine with all four achieving a goals-against average under three. Both freshman Adam Conkling (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and junior Tyler Hough (Mount Airy, Md.) lead the team with eight wins a piece, they both currently own a .922 save percentage.
The Thunder finish off the home portion of their schedule with a contest against Davenport University on Saturday, February 3, with puck drop scheduled for 5 p.m.