The Purdue Northwest Division II Hockey Team split its two-game series with Trine University, earning a 4–2 home win on Friday, October 31 before falling 5–3 on the road Sunday, November 9.

The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (9–3) | Trine University (4–4)
• Locations: Hammond, IN & Angola, IN
• Series Result: Split, 1–1

Game One
Inside the Numbers

• Goaltender Elias Johansson (Gothenburg, Sweden) was sharp in net for Purdue Northwest, turning aside 18 of 20 shots to earn the win.
• Offensively, Sam Snider (Johnstown, PA/), Owen Ott (La Porte, Ind./), and Collin Kozijn (Leduc, Alberta/) each found the back of the net, while Fynn O'Neill (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/) and JT Verdino (Rutherford, N.J./) recorded assists.
• The Pride capitalized once on ten power-play opportunities and were perfect on the penalty kill, shutting down all six Trine chances.
• Trine's Lucas Henderson faced heavy pressure throughout the night, stopping 46 of 50 shots in the loss.
• The Pride outshot the Thunder 50–20 and went 1-for-10 on the power play while keeping Trine scoreless on six opportunities.

The Breakdown

• Trine jumped ahead 1–0 midway through the opening period, but the Pride tightened up defensively and began controlling puck possession.
• In the second frame, PNW finally broke through when Snider converted on the power play to tie the game 1–1.
• The momentum carried into the third period as Ott put the Pride ahead less than a minute in, followed by back-to-back tallies from Kozijn to extend the lead to 4–1.
• Trine added a late goal, but Johansson and the PNW penalty kill unit held strong to seal a 4–2 home victory.

 
Game Two
Inside the Numbers

• The Pride offense came out strong but ran into strong goaltending from Trine's Kyle Diehr, who made 27 saves on 30 shots.
• PNW received goals from Gabriel Santa Maria, Jacob Behnke (South Elgin, Ill./), and another from Santa Maria for his second multi-goal weekend.
• John Hughes (Noblesville, Ind./) started in net for PNW, making 24 saves on 29 shots.
• Special teams played a pivotal role, with Trine converting 2-of-7 power-play chances, while PNW went 0-for-4.

The Breakdown

• PNW struck first late in the opening period when Santa Maria found the net to give the Pride a 1–0 lead. Trine responded early in the second on the power play to tie things up, setting up a tense finish.
• The Thunder stormed ahead early in the third with a pair of quick goals, but Behnke answered to pull the Pride within one at 3–2. Trine regained control with another power-play tally and added an insurance goal in the closing minutes.
• Despite outshooting Trine in the second and third periods, PNW couldn't complete the comeback, falling 5–3 to split the weekend series.

 
Up Next
The Purdue Northwest D2 Hockey team returns home next weekend for another two-game series as they host Illinois State University