ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University men's hockey team rebounded from last night's setback by flipping the script and defeating visiting Lake Forest College by the score of 3-1 on senior day.
The start of the contest looked just as rocky for the Thunder as yesterday's outing. The lone goal of the first period belonged to the Foresters giving them a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission.
Despite the slow start the tide started to shift in the second part of the first period as Trine started to spend more time in the offensive zone. The biggest shift in momentum came in the defensive zone when in the final minutes of the period a vicious hit by Lake Forest ended with a five-minute major, letting the home team start a man up in the second period.
One shift for the top power play line in the second minute of the second period completed the momentum swing. In that shift, junior Frank Trazzera (Keller, Texas) scored a pair of goals to give the team their first lead of the weekend.
The first play started with freshman Bobby Price (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) passing the puck back to the point from his position near the board son the goal line. That pass found senior Hunter Payment (Monroe, Mich.) who fired a shot toward the goal, which Trazzera was able to deflect home for the first goal.
With the major penalty staying on the board and the power play remaining, the Thunder won the ensuing faceoff and moved back into the offensive zone. They proceeded to set up the offensive again. This time Payment would pass the puck to the right faceoff circle where classmate Garrett Hallford (McKinney, Texas) settled it before passing it toward the crease. Once again Trazzera put it home giving the team a lead at 2-1.
Trine continued to apply pressure through the rest of the period but were unable to crack the back of the net again and took the 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
The team kept up the pressure in the third but remained with just the one goal lead until the 14th minute. It was then that Price made a great play to keep the puck in the offensive zone before moving behind the net. From there he passed it back to just outside the crease where Hallford struggled with defenders to put the puck on net. Saved, the rebound came out wide and sophomore Thad Marcola (Almont, Mich.) was able to put it quickly past the goalie to increase the lead to 3-1.
The Thunder defense continued to play stanchly through the rest of the game, including the final two minutes where Lake Forest pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. Sophomore Shane Brancato (Lake Villa, Ill.) led that defensive effort from in goal. He came up with a few crucial saves in the final half of the game to keep the lead intact and secure his tenth win of the season. He finished with 18 saves.
Trine, who has secured at least a spot in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Harris Cup Playoffs, gain a boost from today's win keeping them safely in the hunt for a top four finish which would earn them their first home playoff contests.
They finish the day with a 15-7-1 overall record and a 9-6-1 record in NCHA play. They will finish the regular season by traveling to face Lawrence University next weekend. The first game is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 11.