ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team won their final game of the regular season, taking down fellow nationally ranked Adrian College 3-2 on their home ice.
The Thunder, who are ranked 11th and 12th in the national polls, struck first in the contest taking advantage of one of a myriad of power play chances. The goal came in the third minute of the second period. As the team worked the special team offensive in the forward zone, Douglas Andersson passed the puck through the point to Brody Simko who quickly made a second pass of his own. Josh Wright received the puck in the high slot and hammered a shot into the back of the net from midrange.
The Bulldogs, ranked second and third in the national polls, responded eight minutes later to tie the game but it was a short-lived celebration. Simko carried the puck into the offensive zone before passing it off to Jack Cooper who battled through the defense along the boards. The senior went around the back of the net before passing back to the top of the far circle. Drew Jeffers received that pass and skated forward a few strides before going high on the glove side of the goalie for the goal.
Trine scored one more time in the period, two minutes later. This time Michael DiPietra kept the puck in the zone before passing back to the top of the far circle. Jeffers, rather than taking a long range shot, made a hard pass to the high slot. Brendan Finn simply redirected the puck into the back of the net for the 3-1 lead.
Adrian scored a shorthanded goal in the third period but were unable to score another and the game ended with the 3-2 final.
Kyle Kozma earned the win in net for the Thunder. He finished with 32 saves.
The team finishes the regular season with a 16-7-2 overall record having gone 12-4-2 in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) play.
Elsewhere in the NCHA, Trine received help from the University of Dubuque who forced overtime against Aurora University. The loss of a point in the standings allowed the Thunder to secure third place in the final standings of the season.
The Thunder also learned their opponents for the first round of the upcoming NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs. Marian University finished sixth in the standings and will come to Angola for next week's first round. The opening round is a best of two format with a tiebreaking mini-game set to follow game two if necessary. Game one is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, February 20 inside of Thunder Ice Arena.
