DE PERE, Wis. -- The Trine University women's hockey team fell behind early but stormed back to tie the contest in the final moments of the game, but the comeback was cut short when St. Norbert College put the game away with a final goal winning 5-4.
The Green Knights scored the first three goals of the game, starting with a pair in the seventh minute of play and finishing with a final first period goal in the 18th minute.
The Thunder finally responded in the 15th minute of the second period. Senior Brandi Wilson (Fenton, Mich.) came up with the puck along the boards and passed it toward the goal where freshman Payton Hans (Johnson Creek, Wis.) who forwarded it along to the top of the other faceoff circle. There Senior Natasha Strbiak (Renton, Wash.) fired a shot into the net cutting the score to 3-1.
Unfortunately, the only other goal of the second belonged the St. Norbert who pulled back ahead in the 17th minute at 4-1.
Trine wasted no time in the third scoring their second goal of the game. Following a win in that faceoff, senior Kirsten Vandenheuvel (Denton, Ontario) passed the puck forward toward the offensive zone where freshman Kailey Mleko (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) was able to carry it in before passing it on. Wilson went the rest of the way and beat the goalie to put the team back within two at 4-2.
The Thunder cut the lead further when they caused a turnover in the defensive zone before quickly moving into the offensive side of the ice. Junior Sara Martino (Arlington Heights, Ill.) ended up with the puck behind the St. Norbert net and fired the puck to the front. Junior Grace Canty (West Bloomfield, Mich.) redirected the pass to the center where senior Theresa DiMaggio (Shelby Township, Mich.) was able to settle and fire a blistering shot into the net.
Down 4-3 the comeback attempt looked doomed to fail when Trine took a hooking penalty giving the opposition a power play opportunity with under three minutes remaining.
That changed when a weak pass by the Green Knights came to a stop right in front of Wilson who worked her way passed a final defender a scored a diving goal to tie the game at 4-4 with 1:51 remaining in regulation.
The celebration was short lived as the Green Knights converted on the power play just under 30 seconds later retaking the lead at 5-4. They would then hold on to win.
The Thunder fall to 5-12-1 overall and 2-6-1 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play following the loss. They will take on St. Norbert again tomorrow, February 5 with the game set to start at 4 p.m. ET.
