ADRIAN, Mich. – The Trine University women's hockey team will embark on their tenth campaign looking to prove the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) coaches wrong after being selected eighth in the preseason poll.
The association's coaches voted for the poll with the high point total receiving the top spot. Coaches could not vote for their own team. The Thunder totaled 30 points in the poll to finish in the eighth spot. Adrian College was selected to top the league with 95 points and seven first-place votes. Concordia University Wisconsin took second with 87 points, St. Nobert College came in at third with 81 points and Lake Forest College was fourth with 66 points. All three teams received one first-place vote.
Last season Trine finished with a 3-14-1 record in NCHA play, garnering 11 points in the standings and securing the eighth spot in the NCHA Slaats Cup Tournament. It was the sixth-straight season that the team went to the postseason tournament. Overall, the Thunder finished with a 7-18-2 record.
The team graduated just two members from the 2025-26 squad and return the top six point-scorers from the team. Chloe Downey and Hannah Lambers led the way with 14 points each last year. Downey led the team with nine goals while Lambers led the way with nine assists. Cassandra Biblow finished third with ten points during the season.
The Thunder return three goalies with experience in the net. Annie Kindseth led the team in most stats but was sidelined by injury early in the year. Zsuzsa Révész and Claire Schmaltz split most of the rest of the season with Révész leading the way.
The tenth season of hockey at Trine includes a full slate of 25 games and two exhibitions. The team will host 14 regular season contests while traveling for the other 11. The team opens the year with two exhibition contests, hosting McKendree University's ACHA D1 team on Friday, October 23 before heading to Adrian on Saturday.
The season proper begins on Friday, October 30 when SUNY Morrisville will come to town for two games, including the Teddy Bear Toss contest during the home opener. They follow up another home weekend by hosting Concordia College Moorhead.
The remainder of the 2026 portion of the season takes place inside of NCHA play, including away series against Lawrence University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering, both in November, and home doubleheaders against Aurora and Marian University.
They begin 2027 with a meeting with Hiram College on Friday, January 8, the first half of a doubleheader in Ohio. Trine then returns to NCHA play four the next four games, two road games against Concordia Wisconsin and a home series against the Green Knights.
After hosting a non-conference tilt against the Bulldogs on Tuesday, January 26, the team finishes the season with three NCHA series. First, a home one against the University of Dubuque feature both Alumni and Senior Night. They travel to the Foresters on Friday, February 5 and then finish the season with a home-and-home against Adrian. The final regular season game is scheduled for Saturday, February 13 in the Thunder Ice Arena.
