ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey scored two goals in the final three minutes of regulation to complete a comeback victory over nationally-ranked St. Nobert College. Senior Brendan Prappas force overtime and then secured the 3-2 win 1:10 into the extra period.
The Green Knights, who were ranked 12th in the latest USCHO.com poll, dominated the first period of the afternoon. They scored a pair of goals on 13 shots to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Neither team would score in the second. St. Nobert kept Trine away from the net and Cristian Wong-Ramos kept the home team in the game. The sophomore took over duties in goal for the beginning of the second period and played spectacularly through the final 41 minutes.
The third period seemed to be heading in the same direction as the first two, with the Thunder failing to score through the first 16 minutes.
In the 17th minute the shape of the game changed. Just as four-on-four hockey ended, giving the Green Knights a man advantage, sophomore Tyler Fox chipped the puck up the ice to senior Garrett Hallford who skated into the zone and toward the near faceoff dot. He then passed the puck to the opposite faceoff circle where sophomore Drew Welsch was waiting to fire a shot into the back of the net.
The goal pulled the team back within a goal at 2-1 with just under three minutes remaining. The Thunder killed off the rest of the St. Norbert power-play and then pulled their goaltender for the extra skater. The gambit worked with Prappas scoring his first goal of the game to tie the score at two. Freshman Josh Wright and senior Justin Meers added assists on the goal.
Trine's defense led by Wong-Ramos secured extra time, turning aside a final flurry of attack by the visitors. The Knights recorded six shots in the final 15 seconds of regulation but were unable to score the goal with Wong-Ramos making two saves and senior Brett Tierney making a crucial block.
In overtime, Wong-Ramos came up big again, presenting a big body to the charging St. Norbert skater and forcing the shot into the side of the net. Prappas was able to settle the rebound and poke it past the defender to give himself a breakaway opportunity. He converted with a shot that glanced off the crossbar and into the back of the net. The game winner gave the team the 3-2 victory.
Wong-Ramos finished his two periods and change with 19 saves and the eighth win of his season.
The Thunder improve to 13-7-1 overall and 8-6 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play. The overtime win earns them a pair of points toward the league standings. The team will continue their season when they travel to face Lake Forest College next weekend. The doubleheader is set to begin on Friday, February 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
