MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The Trine University men's hockey team came back to force a 2-2 tie with their hosts from Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) but dropped the final point with a 1-0 shootout loss.

The Raiders struck first in the contest, coming up with a goal in the 16th minute of the first period to hold a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission.

They quickly added to the lead with a goal in the second minute of the next period. The 2-0 lead would last through the 18th minute of the period.

The Thunder finally got on the scoreboard in the 19th minute of the period. Junior Hunter Payment (Monroe, Mich.) tallied the goal his first of the season. Sophomore Brett Piper (Cariter, Manitoba) and senior Corey Robertson (South Lyon, Mich.) added assists.

The prospects looked bleak for Trine as they still trailed in the final two minutes of regulation. But sophomore Justin Meers (St. Charles, Mo.) came up big with 110 seconds remaining to tie the game. Payment added an assist on the goal.

Five minutes of scoreless overtime sent the game to a shootout, the first of the season for the Thunder, to determine who would receive a second point toward the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) standings. 

Trine was held off out of the net in the shootout but gave up a lone goal to fall short of the extra point.

In goal, freshman Shane Brancato (Lake Villa, Ill.) came up with 40 saves despite the loss.

The Thunder sit at 3-6-1 overall and 1-2-1 in NCHA play following the loss. They will next face off with Marian University in a mid-week contest on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The away contest is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. EST.