DE PERE, Wis. – The seventh-ranked Trine University men's hockey team upset second-ranked St. Norbert College on their home ice, winning by the score of 4-0. It is the first time this season that the Green Knights have lost entering the contest 12-0-0.
Cristian Wong-Ramos played a crucial role in net during turning aside all 29 shots from the home side. It is the third shutout of the senior's season.
The Thunder posted a pair of goals in just over a minute of game time during the first period. Holding that 2-0 lead through all but the final seconds of the contest.
The first goal came in the 13th minute of the contest, with Bobby Price starting the run by carrying the puck into the offensive zone. Harried by a defender he was able to hand the puck to Max Marquette who skated around the back of the net and up the far boards, working past a few more defenders. The freshman then moved back toward the net before passing the puck across the face to Josh Wright who poked the puck home.
65 seconds later, the Thunder struck again. Sam Antenucci won an offensive zone faceoff back to Wright who was positioned near the blueline. The junior moved toward the center of the nice before passing the puck back to the top of the far faceoff circle. From there Sean Henry fired a bullet into the back of the net.
Neither team scored through the second or most of the third period, but not for lack of effort, especially by the opposition. St. Norbert recorded 18 shots on goal in the second and third periods to build a 29-16 lead in the category.
Still trailing late in the game, the Green Knights pulled their goalie with disastrous consequences. Alexander Babich caused the turnover and wasted a few seconds before scoring the game clinching goal with just eight seconds remaining.
The team's celebration was a bit to exuberant, drawing a bench penalty to give a last power play chance to the home team. Brendan Hill put icing on the cake despite the disadvantage, stealing the puck in the defensive zone and scoring on a long shot with just one second remaining on the clock to make the score 4-0.
The Thunder improve to 10-1-1 overall and 6-1-1 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play following the upset victory. They will finish off the 2024 portion of their schedule when they travel to face Buffalos State University for a pair of games. The Bengals are currently receiving votes in the same USCHO.com poll that had the Thunder seventh. Game one of the series is scheduled fro 7 p.m. on Friday, December 13.
