ANGOLA, Ind. -- Three goals in the final three minutes of the contest lifted the Trine University men's hockey team to a 6-3 victory over visiting Marian University. The win marks a return to Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play following a week of non-conference games.
The Sabres built an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter with goals in the seventh and 13th minutes. Then the Thunder responded in the 14th minute with two goals in under thirty seconds of play to tie the contest.
The first goal came with tough play in the offensive end. Freshman Bobby Price (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) passed the puck along the board to the area behind the net where junior Justin Meers (St. Charles, Mo.) was waiting. Meers muscled the puck away from a pair of defenders and pushed a pass to the front of the net where senior Garrett Hallford (McKinney, Texas) was waiting to fire a shot into the back of the net.
The second goal came 25 seconds later. This time senior Hunter Payment (Monroe, Mich.) fired a shot from the point that landed on net, but was turned aside by the goalie. The loose puck ended up beside the net in the hands of Meers who passed the puck behind the goalie to Price who finished off the play with the goal, tying the game 2-2.
The Thunder continued to pepper the net through the rest of the first and much of the second but neither team was able to score until the 17th minute of the second. It was then that Trine carried the puck into the offensive zone and a player from each team ended up tied-up sliding into the goalie near the net. Junior Brendan Prappas (West Bloomfield, Mich.) was able to receive the puck in front of the net and take advantage of the tied up goalie to take the lead at 3-2. Sophomore Thad Marcola (Almont, Mich.) and junior Brett Piper (Cartier, Manitoba) were credited with assists on the goal.
Marian wasn't ready to go quietly and tied the game in the sixth minute of the third period, and in general applied ample pressure through most of the period. Sophomore Shane Brancato (Lake Villa, Ill.) was up to the task in net finishing the game with his best period, recording eleven saves to keep the the game tied. He would finish the game with 23 saves and his fifth win of the season.
The game looked headed for overtime when freshman Drew Welsch (Trenton, Mich.) came up with a steal at the defensive blue line. He went on to carry the puck the length of the ice and fire a shot on goal. The opposition's goalie made the save but left the puck loose right next to the goal, where junior Frank Trazzera (Keller, Texas), who had been trailing the play, rushed in to score taking back the lead at 4-3.
The Sabres pulled their goalie with over two minutes remaining and went for the next minute and 27 seconds on the attack with an extra forward on the ice. That ended when Marcola harried the puck handler in the neutral zone and came up with a steal and the empty net goal.
The Thunder truly iced the game with a sixth goal coming eleven seconds later. Sophomore Beau Binnie (Stouffville, Ontario) scored the goal with assists to freshmen Tyler Fox (Marshall, Mich.) and Tyler Shetland (Laguna Hills, Calif.).
The team improves to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in NCHA competition following the 6-3 victory. They will take on Marian again tomorrow, Saturday, December 4 at 5 p.m.
