ANGOLA, Ind.-- A five-goal fourth quarter pulled Hope away from Trine late, as the Flying Dutchmen earned a 9-5 victory over the Thunder in MIAA-action Saturday afternoon at Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium.
The big final period turned a one-goal Dutch advantage into as much as a five-goal cushion, which proved too much for Trine to overcome. Gunnar Elder scored all four of his goals in the fourth quarter and added an assist to lead Hope. Elder entered the game as the leading scorer in the conference. Paul Carlquist (Downers Grove, Ill/Downers Grove South) scored three goals and added an assist to pace the Thunder attack. Carlquist has scored three or more goals in a game four teimes this season. Trine fell to 2-6 overall, 0-1 in the MIAA with the loss. Hope is now 4-6 overall, 1-0 in conference play.
The Thunder outshot the Flying Dutchmen by a 62-34 margin, but Hope netminder Seth McCall formed a wall between the pipes. McCall made a school-record 21 saves for the Dutchmen. The Thunder also held a 41-29 edge in ground balls. Carlquist led Trine with seven ground balls.
Jake Ahearn (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) and G.T. Youpel (Chicago Ridge, Ill./St. Rita) each added goals for the Thunder, while Jordan Lelito (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) notched an assist. Lelito had a strong day on the draw, winning 11-of-13 faceoffs. Travis Lores (Kildeer, Ill./Lake Zurich) made 10 saves in net for Trine.
The two teams combined for seven goals in the first three quarters before a combined seven-goal outburst in the fourth. Youpel scored Trine's first goal of the game on a rush, finding the back of the net off a pass from Carlquist. The Dutch tallied two goals in the first to take a 2-1 lead.
Hope won the second quarter by the same margin, with Carlquist scoring the lone Thunder tally of the period. Ahearn ripped a shot from the right wing to beat McCall in the third quarter to cut the score to 4-3.
The Dutch scored the first two goals of the fourth before Carlquist's second tally cut the score to 6-4. The junior won a ground ball off a long scramble for control off a face-off, turned and scored from in tight.
That was as close as the Thunder would get the rest of the way however, as Elder scored the next three goals to increase the Hope advantage to 9-4. Carlquist added a late goal for the final margin.
Trine returns to action Wednesday, Apr. 8 as the Thunder host Alma in another MIAA contest. Face-off is slated for 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear white to the game in support of a "White-Out" as part of NCAA Division III Week.