ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University men's hockey team came up short against national-ranked Adrian College following a wild third period by the score of 7-5.
The Thunder started the scoring in the game with a goal in just the fourth minute of the contest as freshman Garrett Hallford (McKinney, Texas) came away from a scrum in front of the net with the puck and put it behind the Bulldogs' goalie, Kevin Entmaa. The team would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Trine added to that lead in the third minute of the second period with another unassisted effort, this time from freshman defenseman Trent Wydrowski (Bellevue, Wash.). Wydrowski intercepted a pass along the boards in his offensive end and fired a heater from the point to collect his first goal of the season and give Trine the 2-0 lead.
Adrian finally tallied their first goal of the game with a power-play opportunity in the fifth minute of the period. The goal from senior Trevor Boyd pulled the team within one of Trine at 2-1.
But the Thunder responded with a goal of their own just three minutes later. Sophomore Ryan Dumond (Woodstock, Ga.) poked checked the puck away from the Bulldogs' offense, where sophomore Corey Robertson (South Lyon, Mich.) collected it. He would go the length of the ice to score the goal and give Trine a 3-1 lead.
The Thunder put the Bulldogs firmly on upset alert just four minutes into the third when they pulled ahead by three behind a 5-on-3 goal from sophomore defender Blake Robertson (South Lyon, Mich.). The goal came as Trine expertly worked the puck through the point to Robertson who slapped the shot over and through the Adrian defense. Both Daunte Suffredini (Shelby Township, Mich.) and Jon Doyle (Livonia, Mich.) recorded assists on the play.
The 4-1 lead for Trine was their largest of the day and they looked poised to win the game until the Bulldogs' went on a stunning five-goal run starting in the ninth minute of the period and ending in the 16th. Four of the scores came with Adrian having a man advantage, as Trine picked up five penalties in the final 13 minutes of the contest.
Following the run of goals, the Thunder trailed 6-4. They mounted a comeback attempt of their own when they pulled back within one behind another steal in their offensive zone. This time freshman Brent Jones (Brighton, Mich.) came up with the steal and once again Hallford cashed in. The goal brought the score to 6-5 with just over four minutes remaining in the period.
The score remained the same when, with under a minute remaining in regulation, the Thunder pulled junior netminder Brett Young (Livonia, Mich.) in favor of the extra attacker. Adrian quickly punished the team by picking up an empty-net goal to seal their 7-5 victory.
Despite allowing six goals, Young played spectacularly for most of the night. He finished the game with 46 saves.
Trine falls to 2-5-1 overall and 2-4-0 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) following the loss. They will travel to face Northland College for another NCHA contest on Friday, Nov. 30. The puck is scheduled to drop at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.