ANGOLA, Ind. – Senior Brett Tierney scored a third period goal to force overtime but the Trine University men's hockey team was unable to pull off the comeback victory, falling 2-1 to visiting Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The first period was evenly matched with the visitors posting seven shots to the Thunder's six. Trine was able to kill off the first penalty of the game which came in the ninth minute of the stanza.
It looked like the game would remain scoreless into the first intermission, but a shot wobbled its way over the shoulder of the home goalie giving the Raiders a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute of play.
Trine started the second period with three straight power play opportunities, spending nearly the six minutes with a man advantage. The opposition's goalie was up to the task turning aside all of the Thunder's shots.
Trine faced four minutes on the penalty kill themselves starting in the 11th minute of the period and they also kept the score the same, led by freshman Kyle Kozma in net.
Finally, in the sixth minute of the third period, the Thunder found the back of the net. The play started in the defensive zone where senior Justin Meers received a pass from behind the net skating up to the blueline before firing a rocket up and across the ice to Garrett Hallford. The fifth-year senior carried the puck along the boards and into the offensive zone before passing back to Tierney who had trailed the puck. Tierney skated in close to the net and put the puck past the goalie.
The 1-1 score held through the final 14 minutes, despite a strong performance by the Thunder offense which outshot the visitors 8-3 in the period and played a strong power play after a penalty in the 16th minute.
Trine threatened first in overtime, putting a pair of shots on goal in the opening minute but neither struck true. The counter attack by the Raiders did though, and the game ended 2-1 in their favor.
The Thunder fall to 11-6-1 overall and 6-5-0 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play. They do earn a lone point for the overtime appearance, moving them to 20 for the season so far. They will look to bounce back tomorrow, Saturday, January 14 again against MSOE. Opening puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.
