ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's hockey team dropped in both national polls after bowing out of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Harris Cup Playoffs with a 5-1 loss to St. Norbert College. The team is now 13th according to DIII Hockey News and 14th in the USCHO.com rankings.
The Thunder lost 62 points in the DIII Hockey News voting, finishing in the 13th spot with 48. They sit just behind Babson College and one spot ahead of Oswego State University. Aurora University leads the NCHA teams in the polls sitting in second. Adrian College fell to fifth and the Green Knights held steady at sixth.
Trine finished with 45 points in the USHCO.com poll, down 60 from last week. They sit 14th, just ahead of Norwich University. They are directly behind Oswego State. Aurora again leads the NCHA in second with St. Norbert sitting in fourth. The Bulldogs are currently sixth in the poll.
The worst news comes in the National Power Index (NPI) rankings where the Thunder lost two spots to finish 17th. Used to determine seeding and at-large selections to the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship tournament, the NPI favors top ten teams for at-large selections. Currently seventh-ranked Aurora is predicted to have that final of the four at-large selections. The new Harris Cup favorites from St. Norbert sit at 11th in the rankings while the regular season champions from Adrian are seen as the first team out in the tenth spot.
With a berth in the NCAA playoffs out of reach, the Thunder finish the season with an 18-8-2 record. That total is tied for the fourth most in a season for the program. It also makes five straight years that the team has reached 18 wins.
