APPLETON, Wis. -- A stretch of less than four minutes Saturday broke the game open as the Lawrence University men's hockey team dropped a 7-2 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association decision to Trine University at the Appleton Ice Center.
    The Vikings trailed 2-1 when Trine scored four times in a span of 3:33 to stretch the lead to 6-1. 
    Lawrence (10-11-4, 8-8-2 NCHA) was down 2-0 when Jack Michels raced to the net and beat goaltender Elias Sandholm with 2:50 left in the opening period. That cut the lead to 2-1 heading to the second.
    The Thunder (17-8-0, 11-7-0) then scored just 52 seconds into the second and added three more goals by the 4:25 mark to pull out to a five-goal advantage. 
    The Vikings cut the lead to 6-2 when Ivan Galaguzov scored on the power play off an assist by Kyle Gierman at the 13:39 mark of the second. Lawrence went 1-for-4 on the power play, and Trine was 2-for-4.
    That's as close as Lawrence would get as Trine completed the scoring with a goal early in the final period.
    Lawrence played all three goalies, Alex Mosquera, Brian Tallieu and Kyle McNair, who combined to make 34 saves. Sandholm finished with 22 saves for Trine.
    Lawrence will travel to Trine in the quarterfinal series of the NCHA Harris Cup playoffs next weekend.