EXCELSIOR, Minn. – For the fourth consecutive week, the Trine University men's hockey team is one of the best 15 teams in the country according to the USCHO.com NCAA Division III coaches poll, finishing this week in 14th.
The idle Thunder gained 13 points for this week's edition of the rankings, finishing with 48 and in sole possession of the 14th spot. Last week the team was tied with Trinity, who fell to 15th this week. Adrian remains the only other member of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) to be ranked, dropping to fourth this week. St. Norbert continues to receive votes.
The Thunder finished the fall portion of their schedule on the first weekend of December sweeping visiting Marian University. The team remains the only member of the NCHA to have reached a double-digit win total for the season thus far, sitting at 10-2-0 overall.
Nationally the team sits highly ranked a in a few categories. On the offensive side of the ice they boast the 11th best scoring offense in the country averaging four goals a game. They are 12th in team points with 125 and 15th in both assists (77) and scoring margin (1.75).
Defensively, goalie Kyle Kozma highlights the lineup, sitting in third nationally in the shutouts category. Overall the team is 26th in scoring defense allowing 2.25 goals per game.