ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine University men's hockey team tied the game in the final seconds of regulation and tallied the game winner in overtime to win 3-2 over visiting Lawrence University. The victory advances the team to the semifinals of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Harris Cup Playoffs.
The Vikings struck first in the contest scoring in the 13th minute of the first and second period to take a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
For those first two periods the Thunder face a brick wall in net fending off all 27 of the team's shots on goal. But the barrage of shots continued into the third period and finally started to wear down the opposition.
Trine received a power play opportunity in the seventh minute of the period. Running the offense with the advantage, sophomore Jackson Clark (Fort Mill, S.C.) passed the puck to the other player along the blueline. Junior Brett Piper (Cartier, Manitoba) received the puck and passed it forward into the left faceoff circle where sophomore Thad Marcola (Almont, Mich.) was waiting to fire a shot into the back of the net cutting the score to 2-1.
It looked like the series was headed to a tiebreaking mini-game with the scoring holding into the final seconds of regulation. The Thunder pulled their goalie for an extra attacker just over a minute remaining and spent most of that final minute pressuring the Lawrence defense. With nine seconds remaining on the clock, Clark fired a shot toward the goal from near the blueline. The puck would bounce off of Marcola in close to the crease and a mad scramble erupted for the loose puck. Freshman Drew Welsch (Trenton, Mich.) won that scramble and poked the puck home to tie the game at two.
The teams headed to overtime, with the Thunder needing at least a tie to advance to the semifinals. Following a shot that went wide of the net, Marcola looked to reset the offense and waste tie by carrying the puck all the way back into the defensive zone. He would pass it off to classmate Chase McCardle (Southgate, Mich.) who had just entered the game and stood along the boards. After drawing the defender away, McCardle passed it back to Marcola, who raced up the ice and ended the game with a single shot.
The Thunder improve to 19-8 following the victory. They will hit the road for the semifinal round of the Harris Cup Playoffs next Saturday, Feb. 26. Their opponent is yet to be determined but will most likely be top seeded Adrian College.