ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team held on for a 3-2 victory over the visiting Milwaukee School of Engineering. Brendan Hill played hero in front of the near capacity crowd, scoring the game winner in the final five minutes of the third period.
The Thunder built a struck first in the contest. Logan Furstenau came out of a scrum near the defensive blueline and took the puck to the other end of the neutral zone. He passed it to Jack Cooper who moved into the offensive zone and into the high slot. Rather than taking a shot he passed it back to Furstenau in the near circle. The sophomore's shot deflected off a sliding defender and into the back of the net.
It took 20 minutes of game time, but the team doubled their lead in the tenth minute of the second period. This time the defense for Trine was put to the test, with the team facing down a flurry of shots. It was a long possession for the Raiders, that finally ended when they attempted to pass the puck back to the point from the near side corner. Ethan Janda tipped the pass causing it to skip past the defender and into the neutral zone. Janda followed up with a pure hustle play, outpacing the opposition up the ice and eventually firing a shot on goal that once again went off a defender and into the net.
MSOE began their comeback attempt in the waning minutes of the second period. They scored with just 1:20 remaining to enter the last intermission with the score 2-1. They tied the game in the 15th minute of the final stanza, looking ready to force overtime or snag the win. In fact, the visitors found better offensive success throughout the contest, outshooting Trine 28 to 14.
Just a minute later, Hill played his role to regain the lead for the final time. It wasn't without help, with Sean Henry gaining possession of the puck in the defensive zone and firing a pass through the middle of the neutral zone to give Hill the breakaway chance. The junior paid off the pass with a goal in the top shelf.
Kyle Kozma picked up another win in net, playing all 60 minutes of the game. He finished with 26 saves.
The Thunder improve to 6-0-1 overall and 4-0-1 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play. The Raiders fall to 2-4-1 overall and 2-3-0 in NCHA play. They will finish the weekend series tomorrow, Saturday, November 23. That game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
