ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team made the most of their first ever NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship tournament game, defeating visiting Oswego State University of New York by the score of 4-1. The Thunder advance to the second round of the tournament where they will face Hobart College.
"It just awesome to not only get our first win, but to have been able to host our first tournament game here," said head coach Alex Todd after the victory, "In the game, I give all the credit to the boys for sticking with it. We were a bit behind at the end of the first, but the boys worked hard and eventually capitalized on their mistakes and scored some goals."
After what felt like an even start to the game where both teams were feeling the other out, the Lakers did end up building some momentum heading into the first intermission. They ultimately took a 10-8 advantage on shots into the second period and built on that lead early in the second.
"Early in the game I think we were playing our hockey, but then in the second half of the first period they really started playing their style of hockey," continued Todd, "But in the second period we established our forecheck and started to tire them out."
At first huge chance for the Thunder didn't pay off. At the midway point of the second period, the team had three consecutive shots against a beleaguered Oswego goalie, but none forced a save, all going just wide.
Then in the 15th minute of the period, Tim Organ made a spectacular pass through the neutral zone, finding Alexander Babich wide open on the offensive blueline. After settling the puck, Babich broke toward the goal, passing at the last minute to his left where Drew Jeffers was ready to fire the shot into the near side of the net.
It only took two more minutes on the clock for the team to double their lead. Josh Wright settled the puck in near the defensive blueline before throwing a pass off the near boards. The bounce was perfect leading Brendan Finn into the offensive zone, onside, and giving him a breakaway chance on goal. Just in front of the net, he faked to the near side before pulling the puck across the net and backhanding it home.
Just out of the second intermission the Thunder struck again, building their lead to 3-0. This time Babich fired the puck around the back of the net, finding Sam Antenucci in the far corner. The junior chipped a pass back to the top of the faceoff circle where Sean Henry was waiting. Henry fired a long shot that ricocheted off the goalie and into the back of the net.
With the commanding lead, Trine started to rely on their defense to close out the contest. Freshman Ronnie Petrucci anchored that effort in goal. He finished the game with 26 saves. In front of him the defense added 13 blocked shots to keep the game in hand.
The Lakers did capitalize on a penalty in the later portion of the third period. That play started when a shot went wide of the net and bounced hard off the boards. Petrucci's reaction to the attempt left him in a bad position to deal with an Oswego skater who had been hanging out near the redline and ultimately banked the puck off the goalie's leg.
The Thunder held off the surging Lakers and sealed the game in the waning seconds. The visitors pulled their goalie to look for the two shots they needed to force overtime. Brendan Hill caused a turnover near the blueline and battled for possession in the neutral zone. Eventually he was able to skate toward the offensive end of the ice and pass around the final defender to give Tyler Fox a look at the empty net. The goal gave the team its final 4-1 lead and the victory.
Trine improves to 21-6-2 overall following the victory. The 21st win represents the new program best for a single season. They also remain a perfect 13-0 on their home ice.
The team will now hit the road, traveling to face the Statesmen in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 22.
