ANGOLA, Ind. – In a battle of nationally-ranked teams, the 14th ranked Trine University men's hockey team upset visiting fourth ranked Adrian College in an overtime thriller by the score of 5-4. Tyler Blanchard came up with the game winner in the third minute of the extra period.
The Thunder came out strong in the contest, but it didn't show up on the scoreboard until the tenth minute of play. It was then that Sam Antenucci passed the puck to Jack Cooper who fired a shot just wide of the net that bounced back hard off the boards. Bobby Price was waiting to bury the rebound in the back of the net.
The team added to the lead a few minutes later. This time Drew Welsch brought the puck into the offensive zone before passing it off to Chace McCardle who fired his shot from the near faceoff circle. Once again, the Bulldog goalie was there to make the save and once again a Thunder was ready to capitalize on the rebound. Blanchard scored the goal from the far circle to give the team a 2-0 lead.
Adrian scored their first goal of the game in the final minutes of the period on a slapshot from the point. They tied the game in the opening minute of the second with a shot from the high slot.
With the score tied at 2-2 both teams would benefit from major penalties in the middle portion of the second period. Back-to-back penalties by the visitors in the third minute of the stanza gave Trine a 5-on-3 opportunity followed by three minutes more of powerplay on the major penalty.
With the two-man advantage, Jackson Clark came up with the goal to retake the lead. Josh Wright and Evan Carroll added assists on the goal.
A few minutes later in the same power play, Welsch threw the puck toward the net from the far redline. Rather than letting go on net, Brendan Finn forwarded it from the crease to the near circle. From their Logan Furstenau was waiting to put the puck in the back side of the net. His first goal of the season gave the team another two-goal lead at 4-2.
Trine was called for their own major penalty in the 11th minute of the period and Adrian took advantage by scoring a pair of goals that tied the game at four.
The third period saw both teams play lockdown defense, with neither team scoring a goal. Both goalies came up with great saves in the period to aid the defenders. The period capped a strong game for Kyle Kozma who got the start for the Thunder. He finished the day with 24 saves and the victory.
The teams spent two minutes feeling out each other in the 3-on-3 overtime period. Near the end of the third minute the puck was tied up in front of the team benches. Clark was able to poke the puck free where Blanchard received it and skated toward the net from the neutral zone. He muscled his way past the final defender and shoved the puck home for the game winner.
With the win the Thunder improve to 12-3-0 overall. They will return to Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) when they next take the ice. They are set to travel to face the Milwaukee School of Engineering for a pair of games beginning on Friday, January 12. That game is set to start at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT.