The Trine Thunder was one of three NCHA teams to play in the NCAA tournament last spring and look to build on last year’s quarterfinal exit in overtime to eventual champion Hobart. The new campaign began in the same state as the last one ended with a ten-hour bus trip to Canton, New York where the Thunder split their opening season games with the host Kangaroos and Misericordia.
“I think it is always different coming out of the pre-season work into real games and getting the flow at game pace,” noted Thunder head coach Alex Todd. “No matter how many game situations you try to replicate in practice, it is different in a game and particularly with the offense coming together to score goals. I thought our guys did a good job overall with structure and staying out of the penalty box, but we weren’t connecting on our chances in the Canton game and finally saw some rewards late against Misericordia.”
Two players that stood out on the scoresheet for the Thunder in the Misericordia game were junior Logan Furstenau (1g – 1A – 2 points) and Brody Simko (0G – 2A – 2 points) as Trine exploded for four goals in the third period after breaking the ice in the final minute of play of the second period against Misericordia. The multiple goals were a welcome sight after almost four periods of scoreless production that began in a 2-1 loss to SUNY-Canton.
“It was good to see some pucks go in the net,” said Todd. “We certainly had some chances against Canton opening with a good first period of play. We played a bad third period and it cost us. I like how Logan and Brody have started the season for us. Logan has shown some confidence in his game and believing in himself on the ice which will lead to some strong production this season if he keeps things going and Brody is a different kind of player for us who brings some offensive skills and silky hands to the ice. I think the offensive part of the game is the hardest to the season running with so we will be working to get our offense clicking and taking advantage of players who are clicking with each other.”
In the first eight games of the season, the Thunder play six on the road including this weekend’s two-game series with Concordia (WI) to open NCHA conference play. While the bus trip may be significantly shorter than last week’s trip to New York, the desired results carry a little more weight with the focus on league wins and points.
“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking with the opening schedule,” joked coach Todd. “This weekend is very important in starting conference play and getting wins against teams you may see again come playoff time. Our league is so strong with Adrian, Aurora and St Norbert but every team is a challenge, and we will need to take advantage of the positives that road trips bring early in the season like team camaraderie and group dynamics to bring positives on the ice.”
After this weekend’s games at Concordia, Trine will play its first home games with Dubuque before traveling to MSOE and opening the December schedule with a two-game series against St Norbert at home.