ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Trine University men's hockey team traveled to face national number one and Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) regular season champion Adrian College in the semifinal round of the Harris Cup Playoffs. After entering the second period in a 1-1 tie, the Bulldogs pulled away and the Thunder fell by the score of 5-2.
Adrian scored in the first ten seconds of the contest, taking the opening faceoff win and turning it into a quick goal.
Trine didn't blink at the quick strike, scoring their own early goal under a minute later. The team forced a turnover in the offensive zone off of a errant pass from the corner of the ice. Sophomore Thad Marcola (Almont, Mich.) came up with the puck and fired a pass in close to the net, where junior Brett Piper (Cartier, Manitoba) was able to poke the puck into the back of the net to tie the game at one.
The Thunder would face down 14 total shots on goal in the first period but held onto the tie score heading into the first intermission. A late penalty meant that the team would start the second period on the penalty kill and the home team cashed in on the opportunity in the 32nd second.
The next three goals would also belong to the Bulldogs as the built a 5-1 lead in the 19th minute of the period.
In the waning seconds of the period, the Thunder looked to start their comeback attempt before the intermission. Senior Garrett Hallford (McKinney, Texas) got just enough of an Adrian pass in the offensive zone to leave the puck free in front of the net. Junior Justin Meers (St. Charles, Mo.) collected that puck and fired two shots on net, the first rebounding back to him and the second going directly into the goal over the outstretched stick of the goalie.
A manic third period featuring 12 total penalties ensued following the final intermission. The two teams spent most of the period either on the penalty kill or power play due to the penalties but neither team would score and the game would end with Trine on the losing end of the 5-2 score.
The loss drops the Thunder to 19-9 overall and eliminates them from Harris Cup competition. The team which continues to boast a strong Pairwise ranking, currently sitting at 14th in the USCHO.com estimation of the metric has an outside chance at making the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship Tournament as an at-large selection. The selection show is scheduled for Monday, March 7 at 10 a.m.