ANGOLA, Ind. – With the regular season in their rearview mirror, MSOE men's hockey knew they had a battle on their hands as they opened up the Harris Cup Playoffs with a road series at (RV) Trine. The Raiders were up for the challenge though, getting timely goals and coming up big on the defensive end in a 2-1 victory in Angola on Friday afternoon.

FINAL SCORE
No. 5 Seed MSOE RAIDERS – 2
No. 4 Seed (RV) Trine – 1

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Hockey playoff games usually boil down into defensive battles and that is exactly what happened this afternoon between fifth seeded MSOE (15-11) and fourth seeded (RV) Trine (17-8-1). The Raiders lit the lamp first however when Cole Beilke and Brennan Dickey set up Kevin Paganini at 10:35. The Thunder answered back though and tied the game with four minutes left before the intermission.
• The contest's next goal would also be it's last. The senior trio of Kyle Herbster, Hayden Dalton, and Christian Sabin earned the game winner with Sabin taking credit with his 17 strike of the season just 3:40 into period number two.
• However, it wasn't an easy path to the victory. Trine peppered the Raiders net with 41 shots throughout the contest (compared to just 22 for MSOE) but freshman netminder Austin Schwab stepped up with 40 big saves in the Red & White's quarterfinal opening victory.

RAIDER REMARKS

• Neither team scored on the power play, going a combined 0-6 on the afternoon.
• Austin Schwab's stellar performance pushed him past the 500 save mark on the season.
• MSOE won the battle in the faceoff circle 45-40.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Shots – Three with three
Goals – Christian Sabin & Kevin Paganini (1)
Assists – Four with one
Saves – Austin Schwab (40)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon starting at 4:00 pm which would advance them to the NCHA Harris Cup Semifinals. However, a loss would force them into a mini game that would take place immediate following the conclusion that contest at approximately 6:30 pm.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.