ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine men's NCAA hockey team were unable to complete the third-period comeback against visiting Aurora University, losing the game 2-1.
Aurora was the first to find the back of the net. In just the fifth minute of the game sophomore forward Luke Picek received the long pass from his teammate and put it past the Thunder goalie. In the tenth minute of the second period, the Spartans added to the lead with a power-play goal from sophomore forward Drew Doyon. Aurora would take the 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
In the sixth minute of the final stanza, Trine took advantage of a power-play of their own to pull within one. Sophomore defender Dante Suffredini (Shelby Township, Mich.) received a pass at the point and transferred it along to freshman forward Niko Moulakelis (Prairie View, Ill.). Moulakelis moved around a defender and passed it to freshman forward Sammy Nardicchio who came out from behind the net and buried the attempt for his fourth goal of the season.
The Thunder were unable to score the equalizer in the remainder of the period and the game would end with the Spartans on top 2-1. Trine was frustrated throughout the contest by Aurora's freshman netminder Josh Boyko. The Thunder were held to the lone goal despite outshooting the opposition in each period and overall 38-19.
Sophomore Brett Young once again made the start for the Thunder and played the entire game, before being pulled in favor of the extra attacker with two minutes remaining in the game. He finished with 17 saves in the contest and falls to 4-8-2 on the season. The loss snaps a five-game unbeaten streak for the Thunder and they fall to 0-7-2 in the NCHA and 4-10-2 overall.
Trine will look to bounce back tomorrow, January 13 at 4 p.m. with another NCHA contest, this time against Lake Forest College. The Foresters come into the game after being defeated by Adrian College tonight, 5-2, falling to 8-8 overall this season and 5-4 in the NCHA.