ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team has released their schedule for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
The Thunder have a full slate of games with 25 scheduled contests, 14 in Thunder Ice Arena and 11 on the road. The team begins the season with a four-game home stand, a two-game series against SUNY Fredonia before jumping right into Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) competition against Aurora University. Last season the Spartans finished just ahead of Trine in the final NCHA standings, making the series crucial for both teams.
The team hits the road for seven of the next eight games. They travel to Concordia University Wisconsin and Marian (Wis.) University each for a pair of games while splitting a series with Adrian College for the NCHA portion of the stretch. The Bulldogs highlight the group, finishing last season as NCHA and NCAA Division III National Champions. The team will also travel to New York where they will face both Utica University and Plymouth State University.
Trine bookends its holiday break with home games against non-conference opponents. Before break they face Stevenson University for a single game and then return with a pair of games against Hamilton College just before the new year, on Friday, December 30 and Saturday, December 31.
The rest of the season is split between home and away series with the rest of the NCHA opponents. The Thunder will host the Milwaukee School of Engineering, St. Norbert College and Lawrence University while traveling to face Lake Forest College and Finlandia University. The Green Knights finished second in the NCHA last season while the Vikings and the Raiders came in just behind the Thunder at fifth and sixth.
The 2021-22 season was a new high for Trine, as they shattered the previous program mark with 19 wins. It was the best offensive season for the team with new records in points (300), goals (114) and assists (186). The Thunder earned the fourth seed in the NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs, hosting the first postseason games in Trine hockey history and advancing to the semi-finals where they would lose to Adrian.
This year begins on Friday, October 28 in the first game against Fredonia. Opening puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.