ADRIAN, Mich. – In a top-ten battle, the tenth ranked Trine University men's hockey team were defeated by third ranked Adrian College by the score of 6-2. The loss eliminates the Thunder from regular season title contention and puts them in position to need help to secure the second seed in the upcoming Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Harris Cup Playoffs.
The Bulldogs scored the only goals of the first period with tallies in both the sixth and 14th minutes. They took the 2-0 lead into the intermission, but quickly made it 3-0 in the opening minutes of the second.
Then with six minutes remaining in the second, Blake Tierney came up with a loose puck while skating back toward his own defensive zone. He fired a beautiful backward pass along the boards that somehow found its way through a scrum in front of the benches and to the stick of Sam Antenucci. The sophomore carried the puck into the offensive zone all alone and scored stick side on the goalie.
Adrian had the last laugh in the period pulling back to a three-goal deficit in the final minutes of the period. The score was 4-1 for the second intermission.
The Bulldogs pulled away in the third, scoring the first two goals of the period. The first came in the opening minute with the second coming in the 14th minute giving them a 6-1 lead.
With just over three minutes remaining in the period, Adrian finished off a penalty kill with a clear to the other end of the ice. Beau Binnie eventually dug the puck out of the corner and was able to pass it the top of the faceoff circle where Tyler Blanchard collected it before moving through the neutral zone. He passed behind the defenders a trailing Sean Henry who found an open shot on net. The final goal of the game mad the score 6-2, which eventually went final.
The Bulldogs secure the top seed with the victory, while the Thunder fall to third in the standings for the moment. Elsewhere St. Norbert College moved into second after a 3-0 victory over the University of Dubuque. Trine is currently two points back from the Green Knights. The Thunder need a win and help from the Spartans to catch up in the standings, but they would own the tiebreaker should then end tied with St. Norbert.
Trine falls to 13-4-0 in NCHA play and 18-6-0 overall following the loss. They will look to end the regular season on a high note when they host Adrian for the second half of the weekend doubleheader. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, February 10.
