ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University men's hockey team came up just short in their home opener, dropping the contest by the score of 4-2. Two newcomers tallied the goals for the Thunder.
Trine struck first in the contest taking advantage of a first period 5-on-3 opportunity. Just 18 seconds following the penalty that gave the Thunder the two-man up opportunity, the team brought the puck back into the offensive zone and worked it to the point. Freshman forward Gianni Vitali (Grand Rapids, Mich.) took the long distance shot and put it past the goalie for his first goal of the season. Both freshman Jon Doyle (Livonia, Mich.) and sophomore Henry Hearon (Chicago, Ill.) picked up assists on the goal.
The Thunder took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission of the game.
In the second, Marian came away with two straight power-play goals to take the 2-1 in the 11th minute fo the period.
Trine got the equalizer in the 16th minute of the contest. Following a Thunder shot from the side, the team worked the puck back out from behind the net, where freshman defenseman Nick Magill-Diaz (Clawson, Mich.) was waiting to finish off the play. The goal was the first of his career. Both senior Chris Timm (Dublin, Calif.) and sophomore Michael Meisenbacher (Basking Ridge, N.J.) came away with assists.
The teams would enter the final intermission tied with a score of 2-2.
The Sabres took the lead again in the 13th minute of the final stanza, once again with a power-play goal. the lead forced the Thunder to pull their goaltender with just under two minutes remaining in the contest. Marian iced the game with an empty-netter just half a minute later to take the final 4-2 lead.
Junior Brett Young (Livonia, Mich.) got the start for the Thunder in net and came away with 20 saves.
Trine falls to 0-2-1 overall and 0-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) following the loss. The win is Marian's first of the season.
The Thunder will take their home ice again tomorrow when they host NCHA opponent Lawrence University who fell to 0-1 in the NCHA following a loss to Adrian College tonight. The game tomorrow, November 3, is set to start at 5 p.m.