ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Saint John's University finished off a sweep of the visiting Trine University men's hockey team, handing them the second loss of the weekend by the score of 4-2.
The Johnnies struck first, scoring just over a minute into the game and taking the early lead.
The Thunder responded late in the same period, taking advantage of a penalty by the home side. Just after moving into the offensive zone, Douglas Andersson ended up with the puck at the point before quickly handing it off to Aleksa Babic. Babic skated forward and toward the near side, just into the faceoff circle, before passing it through the slot to the far side of the crease where Keiton Klein was set for the easy backdoor goal.
Trine took a lead in the seventh minute of the second. This time the goal play started with Sam Antenucci who fought his way to the high slot before taking a contested shot toward the goal. The puck went wide and bounced off the boards toward the near corner. Max Marquette chased it down before firing a pass back to the crease. Brody Simko was in position to rip a shot into the goalie and then again to collect the rebound and score the goal.
The 2-1 lead lasted for just over six minutes, before Saint John's went on a back-to-back run, scoring twice in 90 seconds to retake the lead for themselves in the 15th minute of the period.
For the second day in a row the Thunder outshot the opposition in the contest but failed to convert a third goal. They doubled up the Johnnies in each period for a total of 48 to 18 shots on goal. Saint Johns scored on an empty net in the final minute of the game to secure the 4-2 victory.
Trine falls to 7-5-2 overall after the loss. They return to action on Thursday, January 8 when they host Adrian College for a non-conference tilt. The Bulldogs are currently ranked second in the nation ahead of the contest. Opening puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
