MEQUON, Wis. – The Trine University men's hockey team opened Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play with a 5-3 victory over their hosts from Concordia University Wisconsin. Brendan Finn led the way on offense netting a hat trick in the game.
The Thunder struck first in the contest with the only goal of the first period. After a turnover by the Falcons, Nick White carried the puck into the offensive zone along the near boards. He passed it back to the blueline where Michael DiPietra was waiting to fire the puck toward net. It ended up being a pass instead of a shot, ending up on the stick of Sam Antenucci who skated across the face of the net and made a diving backhanded shot that snuck by the goalie.
The team added to their lead in the opening minutes of the second, once again with a play that started with a takeaway on defense. This time Max Marquette ended up on a breakaway and fired a shot on goal that was saved. Both Sean Henry and Finn joined Marquette in the crease, but Finn ultimately took the shot that scored the goal.
Finn scored his second seven minutes later, once again in transition. Drew Jeffers came up with a loose puck in the neutral zone, handing it quickly to Brody Simko who carried it over the blue line and into the near faceoff circle. He placed a spectacular pass through the slot to the far circle where Finn was ready to receive. The junior came across the net in a slow deke that gave him the easy goal.
The team scored once more in the stretch, with 6:15 remaining in the period, building a commanding 4-0 lead. After a turnover by the Thunder, Logan Furstenau took the puck away from the Falcons in the neutral zone turning around and firing a quick pass to Alexander Babich as he crossed back over the blue line. Babich crashed to the net and forced the puck home.
The home side made things interesting over the last 25 minutes of the game. They scored three unanswered goals, cutting the lead to 4-3 in the 14th minute of the final period. That score held into the waning minutes of the game when Concordia Wisconsin pulled their goalie in search of the equalizer. The plan backfired with Babich coming away with a steal and finding Finn behind the defense for his third goal of the game. The tally iced the contest and gave Trine the 5-3 victory.
Peyton Grainer played the game in net for Trine and turned aside 34 shots. He earns his second win of the season with the performance.
The Thunder improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in NCHA following the victory. They will face the Falcons again tomorrow, Saturday, November 7. The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT.
