"Born under a bad sign, been down since I began to crawl.
If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all."

While there's a few teams who can relate with blues legend (not the St. Louis kind) Albert King, -- UIndy, IPFW -- others were thanking their lucky stars.  The luck of the Irish was with Notre Dame this weekend, Indiana Tech got lucky in final ticks of overtime, and some teams didn't need luck (EKU).

So without further ado, here's the roundup for Lucky #7...

Trine 0, Finlandia 2

Trine 5, Finlandia 1

Girls across Indiana were celebrating their luck this weekend, as Trine University officially launched the last of its teams -- the NCAA D3 Women.  For the past few years the only women's program in the state belonged to Notre Dame (ACHA D2), and few -- if any -- even knew about it.  No offense to the Irish (we love ya, gals!) but having an NCAA team raises the level of women's hockey in the state to new heights!

There was a palpable buzz at the Thunder Ice Arena on Friday -- and not just because the college kids were getting 'primed' for the game.  History was made Friday night as the Trine University Thunder kicked off their inaugural season against Findlandia University.  Having won only a single game last season, the Lions arrived in Angola with a seasoned squad looking to change their fortunes against the young Thunder.  First game jitters were prevalent early on - passes missed their mark, and penalties and turnovers kept Trine on the defensive much of the opening period.  Yet the Thunder’s high energy combined with some solid net play from freshman Ryan Harth kept the score 1-0 at the break.  Finlandia would double their lead at 1:06 into the second period, but the Thunder would settle in and start to shift the momentum in their favor shortly thereafter.  Despite outshooting the Lions 51-32, Trine would be forced to wait at least one more day before recording that historic first goal.

That first tally would come at 5:11 into the first period of Saturday’s rematch.  Briana Carlson wrote her name in the record books, with some help from Olivia Coyne and Sula Argyris.  Five minutes later, the three would team up again to put the Thunder up 2-0.  This time, it would be Argyris getting her first NCAA goal, while Carlson and Coyne would each earn their second points of the season.  Trine would strike once more just before intermission, as Sierra Westner scored their first power play goal with 1:20 remaining with Kailey Cameron and Bailey Goodwin pitching in.  Westner would score the only goal of the second period, and the Thunder took a commanding 4-0 lead into the locker room.  Pacing the team with three points each, Carlson assisted on Argyris on her second goal of the game to close out the scoring for Trine.  The Lions managed to snap the shutout with 2:25 remaining, but the Thunder still sent the fans home happy celebrating the first win.

Trine (NCAA Women) face Adrian in a home and home.  Game one will be held at Thunder Ice Arena, and the puck drops at 7pm.

E. Kentucky 9, IPFW 3

E. Kentucky 8, IPFW 2

If anyone happened to record Friday's tilt between the Colonels and the Mastadons, please send it to us!  While we expected this series to be a beastly matchup, it was for completely different reasons.  Like a number of other clubs did this past offseason, EKU made the drop from ACHA D2 to D3, and took Xavier's place in the ICHC.  The Colonels definitely have some talent and are a well-coached bunch, but given the lack of depth they have to contend with for the first half of the season, we figured they would struggle until after the new year.  And while they have in some cases, they certainly didn't this time.

IPFW fielded one of the nation's most potent offenses last season, coming in at #3 in Division 3.  Yet it was Eastern Kentucky who nearly made the goal lamp operator waive the white flag.  Friday's contest was an absolute slugfest, as the two teams combined for an unholy 129 shots.  Taylor Amborn (IPFW) may have stopped one more than Johnathan Johnson (EKU) did -- 59 to 58 -- but let in 9 of the 68 shots he faced, whereas Johnson only allowed 3 of 61.

While both teams came out swinging, it was the 'Dons who were on the ropes early.  Lead by Gabriel Bahn's four points (3g, 1a), the Colonels had connected six times before Tony Wren landed the first blow for the Mastadons.  By the time Bahn delivered his knockout punch, half a dozen Colonels had done some damage.   Cristian Purdom struck first at just 1:33 into the game, and tacked on another in the third.   Ryan Gustafson and Timothy Muhsman each recorded a goal and two assists.

Saturday's rematch was a more competitive early on.  The Colonels took leads of 2-1 and 4-2 at each of the breaks, and finally wore the 'Dons down in the third.  Dylan Sturgell put EKU out in front just two minutes in, but IFPW had an answer in Tyler Grunden.  Cristian Purdom closed out the first with his goal at 18:06, while Muhsman and Alex Anderson stretched the Colonels lead in the second.  Derek Moss found the back of the net with 18 seconds left in the middle frame to keep the score respectable, but Bahn got things rolling in the third, adding a goal to go with three assists on the day.   Anderson would strike twice to complete his hat trick and share the points lead with Bahn at four.  Johnson had a comparitively easy day in net, stopping 25 of 27 shots faced, while Amborn would face 47 shots in the loss.

Eastern Kentucky is back home for a non-conference series with Augustana, while the Mastadons continue ICHC play against Purdue.

Notre Dame 4, Ohio State 1

Notre Dame 3, Ohio State 2

After spending the last four weeks in the comforts of home, the Irish eagerly hit the road to open Big Ten Conference play against Ohio State.  Having fallen into a bit of a rut lately by dropping the first game of a series against an inferior opponent, Coach Jeff Jackson made sure his boys were ready to play.  Each team controlled the flow in a particular period, with the Buckeyes dictating the action in the first and the Irish directing the second.  Neither team was able to find the net though, until Cal Burke struck in at 2:03 in the middle frame.  Dylan Malmquist double the lead in the sixth minute of the third period, but the Buckeyes would have an answer three minutes later.  Cam Morrison restored the two-goal advantage with some help from Andrew Peeke and Colin Theisen.  Theisen tacked on the empty netter with 35 ticks left to close out the win.  

Having played so well the night before, Coach Jackson opted to stay with Cole Morris between the pipes instead of alternating with freshman netminder Dylan St. Cyr as he had done in previous weekends.  Jackson's hunch paid off, as Morris had the hot hand once again, stopping 39 of 41 shots on the night.  The two teams played through a scoreless first period and most of the second until Cal Burke finally broke through for the Irish.  Dylan Malmquist and Jake Evans tallied 34 seconds apart in the third period to push Notre Dame in front 3-0.  Pulling Sean Romeo out for the extra attacker, the Buckeyes managed to close the gap to a single goal with just under two minutes to play, but the Irish would bend no further.  Morris improved his record to 5-1-0 and seems to have a taken a firm grip on the starting position.

Notre Dame continues with Big Ten play and returns to Compton Family Ice Arena to host to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday (7:35pm) and Saturday (7:05).

Indiana Tech 4, Lawrence Tech 0

Indiana Tech 2, Lawrence Tech 1 (OT)

The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season last week after running off seven straight.  The weekend brought a chance for redemption, along with the opportunity to jump ahead in the WHAC with a two-game home series against Lawrence Tech.  Indiana Tech dominated the action from the opening whistle, outshooting the Blue Devils 43-19.  Mike Tish and Nick Papandrea gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead after one period, which was more than John Slavik would need.   Joe Molfetta added a power play goal in the second and Ryan Attwood tacked on a late third period score as the Warriors ran away with this one.

Indiana Tech would expand the shot differential in game 2, but LTU netminder Austin Petty had an answer for just about everything.  Despite launching an incredible 85 shots at him, only  Adam Jonak was able to sneak one past him in regulation.  Zach Larson almost made it stand up, but the Blue Devils managed to tie things up with 28 seconds to go.  Petty would continue to play brilliantly in the extra frame until NAIA's leading scorer Jace Childs would beat him with just two seconds to spare.  Larson would stop 15 of 16 to keep the Warriors unbeaten streak alive.

Tech (9-0-1) returns to action on Friday, November 17 as they host NAIA Division foe Waldorf. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. from the SportONE/Parkview Ice House. 

Marion 9, Trine 2

Lawrence 6, Trine 2

Having come up short in their season opening series last weekend, the Thunder NCAA Men hit the trail in search of their first victory.  The first stop would be in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to take on the Adrian Sabres.  This one was all Sabres, racking up four goals through the first and early part of the second before Lucas Bombadier would finally get the Thunder on the board.  Adrian tacked on two more early in the third, but Alex Johanson showed the Thunder weren’t ready to give up just yet.  The Sabres, though, had no intention of letting Trine get back in the game and added three power play goals in the final six minutes to slam the door shut.  The Thunder were limited to 18 shots on the night while surrendering 37 to the Sabres.  Brett Young took the loss, giving up 5 goals on 21 shots before giving way to Aaron Brickman in the last few minutes of the second period.  Brickman stopped 12 of 16 shots during his time in net.

Trine showed more fight in Saturday’s game against Lawrence.  Jackson Tucker evened the score with two minutes to play in first after falling behind early, but Lawrence would capitalize on a power play chance with just 14 seconds left in the period.  Lawrence added another score three minutes into the second, but Tanner Bennett tallied his own late period goal to cut the deficit to one going into the break.  Penalties once again were the Thunder’s downfall, as Lawrence came through three times with the man advantage.  Brett Young would go the distance in this one, stopping 33 of 39 shots in the losing effort.

The Thunder NCAA Men continue their road swing still in search of their first win.  Friday at St. Norbert (8:00 pm) and Saturday at Finlandia (5:00pm)

Indiana 1, Davenport 5

Indiana 4, Davenport 2

The Hoosiers managed to snap their skid on Saturday after running it to ten straight with the loss to Davenport on Friday.  Scott Berger was the lone bright spot for Indiana in game 1, cutting the Panthers lead to 3-1 halfway through the second period.  Berger's tally would be the only one Davenport would allow, tacking on two more in final 23 minutes to account for the final score.  Stephen Gasior would have a busy game in net for the Hoosiers, surrendering five goals on a whopping 63 shots.

Davenport had something in common with Indiana, as both teams only win prior to this series came against Louisville.  In a case of role reversal, it would be the Hoosiers who jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Austin Eng, Matthew Herbst, and Trent Kunas would all tally in the opening period.  The Panthers would get one back nearly eight minutes into the second, but Everhett Grimes added a goal to go with his two assists to stretch the lead back to three.  Davenport picked up the only goal in the final frame, and Joseph Stebbins stopped the remainder of the 46 shots he would face to  break the slide.

Indiana continues their home stand as they face Adrian College on Friday and Saturday.  Game times are 9:15pm and 3:15pm at Frank Southern Arena.

Trine 3, Dayton 3 (OT)

Trine 10, Bowling Green 2

The Thunder (D2 Men) kept pace with the Indiana Tech Warriors (NAIA), running their unbeaten streak to 14 games.  Trine needed a bit of luck Friday as Joe Longo had an uncharacteristic off night, allowing 3 goals on just 16 shots.  Brandon Bornkamp gave the Thunder the early lead at 9:33 in the first, while Luka Znidarsic scored on each side of the break to put Trine up 3-0.  Dayton would cut the lead down by one in the second, then tally twice in the final frame to send the game into overtime.  Neither team would score in the extra minutes, resulting in the official 3-3 tie.  Dayton gained the edge in the shootout, but it was only for bragging rights as non-league shootouts don't count in the standings.

Saturday's contest at Bowling Green would see little such drama.  Paced by  Michael Rand's four points (2g, 2a) and Brendan Werstine's hat trick, the Thunder saw the return of its nuclear-powered offense.  Six different players would contribute to Trine's double-digit output, while Adam Conkling and Tyler Hough would each allow a single goal during their 30 minutes of play.  Joe Laskero (2g, 1a) and Jake Hatten (1g, 2a) each picked up three points on the night.

Trine resumes conference play with a home and home series against the Michigan State Spartans.  Game 1 will be in East Lansing with game 2 at the Thunder Ice Arena in Angola.

UIndy 4, Ball State 8

UIndy 2, Ball State 8

The first snowfall of the season seemed to put Ball State in a winter mood, as they built a pair of snowmen in their weekend series with the fledgling UIndy Greyhounds.  Although he saw a slight decrease from the astronomical number of shots he faced last week, UIndy goaltender Weston Akard was still plenty busy as seven different Cardinals found their way to the back of the net on 48 shots.  Only Nick Ramsey managed to tally twice, his first pushing Ball State to a 4-1 lead in the second and then closing out the scoring at 18:13 of the final period.  Ramsey would add an assist to earn three points on the night, tying Ryan Beery, Riley Miller, Greg Lalioff, and Jacob Burke.  The Greyhounds would get goals from Robby Ballone, Tyler Gregory, and Joe Mann, but it wouldn't be enough to keep pace with the Cardinals.  Macklan Hayes would stop 26 of 30 to pick up the win.

The Greyhounds found themselves in a hole once more on Saturday following first period goals from Jacob Smulevitch, Sean Bird, and Miller.  Connor Heligren and Mann would bookend Beery's score in the second to trail by only a pair, but the final 20:00 belonged to the Cardinals.  Miller and Beery each picked up their second of the game, while Ramsey and Burke added tallies of their own.  Zach Betz would stop 21 of 23 to pick up his first collegiate victory, and Akard once again faced a multitude of shots (50) in the loss.

Ball State resumes ICHC play as they travel to Fort Wayne to take on the IPFW Mastadons.  The Greyhounds head north to Michigan in search of their second win, squaring off against Davenport University.

Trine 4, Ferris State 4 (OT)

Trine 2, Ferris State 3

After a bit of a slide, the ACHA D3 Thunder rode their short three-game winning streak into their weekend series with the Ferris State Bulldogs.  Trine fell into a 2-0 hole into the early part of the second, but Trenton Mulnix bailed them out with back-to-back scores in the latter half of the period.  Tyler Groth would have a hand in all four Thunder goals, assisting first on Michael Wiggins' tally at 4:06, then helping Adam Bedford knot the score at four after the Bulldogs had regained the lead.  Neither club would come through in the extra period.  Daniel Klaybor picked up the win with 24 saves on the night.

Trine's luck would run out in game 2, however, as FSU built a 3-0 through the better part of two periods.  Adam Crawford cut the lead down by one just before the second intermission.  Mulnix would pull the Thunder within one with sixteen minutes still remaining, but couldn't find the equalizer.  Colin Kaminsky would stop 27 of 30 in the losing effort.

The ACHA D3 Thunder have a one-game series versus Adrian College on November 19th at the Thunder Ice Arena (aka: Thunderdome!)

Notre Dame 3, Butler 1

Butler took their five-game winning streak to South Bend to square off against a rested and re-tuned Notre Dame.  The Irish had a couple of weekends off from competition, then returned to the ice last week in a one-game series with Trine.  Facing a team with fresh legs was unfortunate for the Bulldogs, who fell behind early and couldn't regain ground quick enough.  Tyler Greenberg put the Irish up in the first with his unassisted tally at 7:38 into the second, and Alec Asensio doubled the lead less than a minute later.  Jack Becker would cut the advantage in half with 10:33 left to play in the contest, but Matt Ebertin snuffed out any notion of a comeback with his score with four thirty remaining.  David Wendel would notch two assists on the night to lead the Irish.  Charles-Alexandre Rioux made 24 saves en route to picking up his second win of the season.  Jack Sigman would face 36 shots in the loss.

Butler has a one-game series with Denison University on Friday night before resuming conference play against EKU in early December.  The Irish face former ICHC member Xavier in a two-game road swing.

Lawrence Tech 2, Indiana Tech 1

Lawrence Tech 4, Indiana Tech 2

The ACHA D3 Blue Devils extracted a measure of revenge for their D2 counterparts by doubling up the Indiana Tech Warriors in a two-game set.  Hudson Sabin would put the Warriors in front in the second period Saturday, only to see Lawrence Tech tally twice in the third.  Despite outshooting the Blue Devils 27-13, Christopher Boyd would wind up with the loss.

Sunday's rematch would see Lawrence Tech draw first blood early in the second period.   Anthony Passarelli would strike back for the Warriors, and the two teams would head to the locker rooms knotted at 1-1.  The Blue Devils came out swinging, scoring within the first minute of the third period, then tacking on two more to go up 4-1 with less than ten minutes remaining.   Nick Janiszewski got one back for Indiana Tech at 11:35 but were shut out the rest of the way.  The Warriors would once again outshoot the Blue Devils by a substantial amount (44-24) but still come up short in the goal column.  Boyd took the loss in this one as well.

Indiana Tech looks to rebound this weekend as they square off against Adrian College in a home-and-home series.  The Warriors host game one on Saturday afternoon (1:45pm).