Feb. 23, 2008

Stats

ADRIAN, Mich. - Eric Miller scored a natural hat trick in the second period and Rob Hodnicki scored his first goal of the season as the #8 Adrian College Bulldogs beat the Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons 9-1 to advance to the Harris Cup Four in Milwaukee next weekend.

The Falcons were up to the challenge of battling the top-seeded team in the MCHA Tournament early on Saturday. The pressure was on the Bulldogs first as the visiting Falcons intercepted a pass on a penalty kill in the neutral zone and got on the scoreboard first with a short-handed goal on a two-on-one opportunity. Adam Krug continued his solid weekend and helped gain momentum back in favor of his team by responding just over two minutes later with a goal six seconds into a power play opportunity. Despite the rest of the period being closely played by both teams, the Bulldogs notched another power-play goal late in the period, with Shawn Skelly netting the goal to put the Bulldogs up 2-1 at the end of one period.

The Bulldogs settled in on their home ice in the second period and took control of the game. Eric Miller opened up the period by scoring the Bulldogs' third straight power-play goal 40 seconds into the frame. Miller struck twice more in succession, netting an even-strength goal and a short-handed goal at 4:34 and 6:36 for the natural hat trick. Less than a minute after Miller completed the hat trick, Skelly lit up the scoreboard for the second time of the game with a short-handed effort of his own to put the Bulldogs up 6-1.

The Bulldogs held the five-goal lead until the 7:00 mark into the third period when Krug finished a two-on-one short-handed opportunity to put his team up by six. Samuel Kuzyk added his 16th goal of the season just 48 seconds after Krug's goal to push the home team's lead to 8-1. After a slashing call against the Falcons, the Bulldogs struck for their final goal when Rob Hodnicki's shot from just outside of the crease slid past the Falcons' goalie for his first goal of the season.

Bryan Scott picked up his sixth win in goal while making 13 saves between the pipes for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs advance to the Harris Cup Four next weekend for the Semi-Finals of the MCHA Tournament, which is being hosted by the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The #1 seeded Bulldogs will have to wait until the completion of first round games on Sunday to see who they will play in the first game of the semi-finals at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 1.

Notes: Eric Miller scored the Bulldogs' seventh hat trick in the past four games against the Falcons... the Bulldogs have had four straight games with a hat trick, which is a first for the program... Miller currently leads the nation (regardless of Division) with 37 goals on the season... with his game-winning goal in the first period, Shawn Skelly leads NCAA Division III players with seven game-winners this season (currently tied for overall lead regardless of Division with Ryan Jones of Miami University)... Adam Krug leads the nation in assists (regardless of Division) with 46... Saturday was the 24th time this season that Adam Krug, Skelly, and Miller have scored at least one point each in a game... it was the eighth time this season that the line each scored at least one goal... also, it was the sixth time the three have had at least one goal and one assist each... 214 goals on the season puts the Bulldogs in ninth in NCAA Division III hockey history for the highest number of goals scored in a season... 330 assists also puts the Bulldogs in the nine spot for assists in a season in D-III history... 544 points is currently good enough for 11th on the NCAA Division III list for points scored in a season... 12 short-handed goals ties the Bulldogs with Concordia-Moorhead for 15th all time in Division III history for short-handed goals in a season... three short-handed goals in a single game ties the Bulldogs for seventh place in Division III history with five other teams... the overall 18 game winning streak ties the Bulldogs for the fourth-best winning streak in Division III history with Plattsburgh State and Oswego State