DE PERE, Wis. – The Trine University men's hockey team were eliminated from Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Harris Cup contention after falling in an overtime thriller against second-seeded St. Norbert College by the score of 4-3.
The Knights scored first in the contest with the lone goal of the first period giving them a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.
After the break, the Thunder came out firing, scoring a pair of goals in the opening six minutes of the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
The first goal came after Sean Henry dumped the puck from just inside the blueline to the far corner. It landed just ahead of the wall and Bobby Price made a spectacular backward pass off the bounce, throwing the puck between his legs and past multiple defenders to the high slot. Sam Antenucci collected it there and went bar down for the goal.
The second goal was a singular effort by Thad Marcola. The senior caused a turnover in the defensive end of the ice before stiff-arming past the same defender to reach the loose puck near center ice. He skated quickly in for a breakaway chance that he cashed in on for the 2-1 lead.
St. Norbert tied the game again in the second period and then retook the lead in the opening minute of the third.
The Thunder had an odd-man rush in the ninth minute of the third, after Jackson Clark caused a turnover in the defensive end. Clark passed the puck to Drew Welsch at the top of the faceoff circle before he forwarded it quickly to Antenucci. The sophomore went right to the goal and fired a shot which was saved. The rebound ended up just outside the crease where Price was able to send it home.
Both teams killed off power plays over the final ten minute of regulation to keep the score tied at three and force a deciding overtime period. With playoff rules the two teams took a 15 minute intermission before the sudden death extra time. The Thunder had an offensive push out of that intermission, but the home team caused one turnover and took advantage of the breakaway opportunity to seal the win at 4-3.
Trine finishes the season 20-8 overall, the most wins in program history. Their third-place finish during the NCHA regular season is also a program best.