ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team toppled nationally ranked Adrian College in a home non-conference matchup. The Thunder trailed in the first period before notching four unanswered goals to win 4-1.
The Bulldogs, who were featured at third in both national polls this week, struck first with the only goal of the first period. That tally came in the final minute of the period and sent the contest to intermission with a 1-0 score in favor of the visitors.
Aside from the lone mark on the scoreboard, which came with an opponent blocking his vision of the shot, Kyle Kozma played a strong first period, that turned into a stellar game. Kozma faced 16 shots in the first and finished with 15 saves. He ultimately finished with 40 saves with just the one goal against.
The game began to shift in the fifth minute of the second. Sam Antenucci just missed on a pair of shots with the second ricochetting off the boards and onto the stick of Jack Cooper. The senior carried the puck to the corner before slapping it back up the boards to Drew Jeffers who was situated above the far circle. Jeffers fired a slap shot from long distance that weaved through teammates and defenders alike before finding the back of the net.
Alexander Babich gave the team a lead in the 14th minute of the period. He intercepted an Adrian pass that was intended to clear the puck into the neutral zone. Babich swept through the far faceoff circle and across the face of the net. His shot went five-hole and at first it seemed the Bulldog goalie was up for the save, but the puck snuck across the line. The team held the 2-1 lead for the second intermission.
The Thunder scored again in the fourth minute of the third period, building the lead to 3-1. After the team carried the puck carefully into the offensive zone, Logan Furstenau fired a hard shot from the high slot that was blocked just in front of the net. The rebound went to the top of the near faceoff circle and onto the stick of Aleksa Babic, who quickly fired a shot toward the net. Babich deflected that shot toward the near side of the net faking out the goalie and giving Furstenau an open look at the net.
Babich finished his three-point game with the final goal of the game. In the tenth minute of the period, Babich blocked a shot from the point with the rebound going out of the zone. He followed it into the neutral zone before gaining possession at center ice. He converted the breakaway by going over the stick of the Bulldog goalie.
Trine's defense held up under the final pressure form the opposition, including the final four minutes of the game where Adrian played with an empty net for two and a half minutes.
The Thunder improve to 8-5-2 overall after the win. They will travel to face the United States National Team Development Program for an exhibition contest on Saturday, January 10. The U18 team will host the contest in Plymouth, Mich. with a 7 p.m. start. The next counting contest comes on Friday, January 16 when Trine travels to face Lawrence University. That Northern Collegiate Hockey Association contest is set to start at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT.
