ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team moved up one spot in both national polls after sweeping Marian University this past weekend. The Thunder are now 11th in the DIII Hockey News rankings and 12th according to USCHO.com.
The team gained 14 points for a total of 96 in the latest DIII Hockey News poll. They take over 11th in the poll, one spot ahead of Babson College and just behind Oswego State.
The Thunder moved back into 12th according to USCHO.com. They gained 10 points for a total of 83. They are one spot behind Babson and just ahead of SUNY Geneseo.
Three other members of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) are currently featured in both polls. Adrian College sits atop the group, second according to DIII Hockey News and third in the USCHO.com rankings. Aurora University is fourth in both polls and St. Nobert College comes in fifth according to USCHO.com and sixth in the other poll.
In the second edition of the NCAA National Power Index (NPI) rankings the Thunder sit 20th, two spots down from last week. The NPI are used to determine seeding and at-large selections to the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship tournament. The last at-large spot to the tournament is usually around ten in the index. Adrian sits sixth, Aurora is ninth and St. Norbert is 11th to round out the NCHA.
With one weekend left in the conference slate, the top four seeds are still undecided. The Bulldogs lead the pack with 42 points and can finish no lower than second in the standings. The Thunder are second with 36 points. The Green Knights sit third with 35 points and the Spartans have fallen to fourth with 33 points.
Trine can finish first to fourth in the standings depending on results from this weekend. They would need to win both of their upcoming games against Adrian in regulation to secure a share of their first Peters Cup and the top spot in the upcoming Harris Cup Playoffs. Short of that, they will need to match points with St. Norbert to hold on to second with the Green Knights holding the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Thunder. With the regular season series ending in a split, tiebreakers against Aurora are more complicated and would be determined by this week's results.
The Thunder are set for a home-and-home with Adrian this weekend. Game one is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, February 13 with the Bulldogs hosting. The regular season finale is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 14 inside Thunder Ice Arena.
