ANGOLA, Ind. – In just their fifth season of competition, the Trine University men's hockey team has received their first votes in the USCHO.com NCAA Division III national poll.
All told fifteen teams are ranked in the poll, which is based on votes of members comprised of coaches, scouts and media members. Three members of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) are currently ranked by the poll. Adrian College currently sits in second and receiving five of twenty first place votes with Aurora University in eighth and St. Norbert College in 13th.
Trine is the only other member to receive votes.
The Thunder have had their best start to a season in the program's short history mounting a 9-3 start to the season, the best record through 12 games for the team, surpassing the 2019-20 season that started 6-6.
The team is fresh off a weekend sweep of visiting Marian University, with the team posting a 6-3 victory on Friday and a 4-3 victory on Saturday. The sweep extends the team's winning streak to four.
The team also finds itself tenth in the USCHO.com PairWise Ranking a statistical tool designed to approximate the process by which the NCAA selection committee decides which teams get at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. Although the NCAA selection committee does not use these rankings as presented by USCHO.com, the PairWise Rankings have been accurate in predicting which teams will make the tournament field.
The tenth-place seat is second highest of Northern Collegiate Hockey Association members, behind only top ranked Adrian. Upcoming opponent Aurora University currently sits in 11th on the rankings and St. Norbert College currently sits in 12th.
The team is set to face off with Aurora this upcoming weekend. The first game is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. ET.