ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team twice held a lead against nationally-ranked St. Norbert College but ultimately fell by the score of 4-2.
The Thunder seemed to dominate time of possession early in the contest, holding the puck in the offensive zone for much of first period. It finally paid off for the team in the 16th minute. After a defensive zone takeaway, senior Brendan Prappas moved the puck away from the corner and passed it forward to sophomore Drew Welsch who skated the length of the ice and in close to the net. Rather than shooting he passed the puck back to the edge of the faceoff circle where senior Brett Tierney was waiting to fire a shot into the top portion of the net.
The 1-0 lead lasted for just over two minutes before the Green Knights, who were ranked 12th in the latest USCHO.com poll where the Thunder are receiving votes, tied the game with a goal of their own. The 1-1 score held the final few minutes of the period and through much of the second.
Just as a power play opportunity ended for the team, freshman Evan Carroll ended up with the puck behind the net in the offensive zone. He sharply passed it to classmate Sam Antenucci who was waiting in the near faceoff circle. Another sharp pass moved the puck to senior Garrett Hallford who was sitting on the far faceoff dot. His shot struck true into the open backdoor giving Trine their second lead of the night at 2-1.
St. Nobert tied and then took their first lead in an eleven second stretch in the 17th minute of the same period. Both goals came in transition, the first off of a neutral zone takeaway and the second off of a center ice faceoff. The visiting team took the 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
Neither team scored through much of the third period, but a pair of penalties in the final five minutes of the game gave the Green Knights a 5-on-3 opportunity which they converted for the 4-2 lead. Trine ended the game down a man due to a five-minute major.
Trine falls to 12-7-1 overall and 7-6-0 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play following the loss. They will look to salvage points tomorrow, Saturday, January 28 with a second game against St. Norbert. Opening puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Thunder Ice Arena.