Following a 19-5 regular season, PNW’s Division 2 Hockey team’s winning streak was cut short Sunday when the Marian Sabres edged them 4-3 in overtime to win the NCHL Championship.
It was the second year in a row that Marian squeaked past the Pride at the championship match. This is Marian’s sixth Hap Cup.
The Pride took the ice in the final round after beating Marian twice in season-opening games. The team had advanced in the playoffs by beating University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 8-0 on Friday and Marquette University 3-2 on Saturday.
Just seconds into the game, the Pride went into a powerplay that led to an early score, but Marian sprung back and, by the 20-minute mark, was leading the game 2-1. PNW bounced back, scoring twice in the second half, taking the lead. But Marian scored with 20 seconds left on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Players were disappointed by the outcome. “Winning … was a big goal after being so close last season,” said head coach Carl Trosien. “Regionals [were] just a few weeks away and qualifying for that for the first time ever [was] a huge deal,” he said. Despite the loss, Trosien praised the team for its strong performance this season. The D2 Pride finished the season 21-6 overall.
“We have to be pleased with the performance,” said Trosien. “They set a new standard for what that team wants to look like, how they want to play hockey and set a new team high in wins. I am very pleased with the consistency they showed over the course of the season.”
There were even strides made off the ice.
“I am very pleased with the consistency they showed over the course of the season and they had their best team GPA to date,” said Trosien
The coach said he is optimistic about the future.
“We all see the potential of what hockey could be here at PNW,” Trosien said. “We are a very young program. I think for us the challenge is trying to fight off any complacency and continuing to push to get better. I think it’s about developing that mentality of continuing to move forward and get better.”
