March 6, 2010

Final Stats

ADRIAN, Mich. - It was a nail-biter throughout on Saturday afternoon as the Adrian College men's hockey team attempted to make history by winning their third straight MCHA Harris Cup championship. In the end, the experience of the junior-laden Bulldogs showed through as they had a come-from-behind 3-2 win against a talented Marian University squad.

The Bulldogs have advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in school history and will await the official announcement of the pairings either late Sunday night or early Monday morning. It was not without more than a few tense moments for the second straight night for the Bulldogs. Adrian led 1-0 after the first period but fell back 2-1 until midway through the third period. The Bulldogs used a 5-on-3 situation to tie the game and sealed the win with 44 seconds remaining.

Eric Roman blasted a shot from the far left wing at 18:18 of the first to give Adrian a 1-0 lead. Roman's third goal of the season found its way through traffic and under the arm of goaltender Alex Bjerk. Brad Houston and Mike Dahlinger each had an assist on the play.

Brendan Hull scored the tying goal at 15:31 of the second period as he raced across the blue line and fired a missile past goaltender Brad Fogal above his left shoulder into the upper right of the goal. Hull's 21st tally of the year was assisted by Dakota Dubetz.

Marian used that momentum to take a 2-1 lead just 1:43 later as there was a huge mess in front of the net and Adam Freeman somehow pushed the puck across the goal line at even strength. Freeman's seventh of the season was assisted by Nick Henkemeyer and Nick Cinquegrani.

The tension built in the third period as Adrian was having a hard time cracking Bjerk. The freshman goaltender made one great save after another to preserve the one-goal lead for the Sabres. The key moment in the game came at 8:35 and 9:09 when Marian's Chris Thompson and Zack Fray each went to the penalty box giving AC a 5-on-3 advantage. The Bulldogs worked the puck into a position where Shawn Skelly used his marksmanship and tied the game on a one-timer between the circles at 10:22. Skelly's 21st goal of the season was assisted by Eric Miller and Chris Stansik.

The drama reached its boiling point after Adrian killed off a minor penalty by Zach Graham with 1:46 left. Adrian worked the puck behind the Marian net with under a minute left and eventually the puck squirted to the right side of the net where Miller jabbed at it and snuck it past Bjerk with just 44 seconds to go. The crowd and Adrian bench erupted and the Bulldogs could smell victory up 3-2. Graham was given an assist on the championship winning goal. Marian pulled Bjerk for just five seconds and could not get a shot on net down the stretch.

Miller was named MVP with a goal and assist today. It was back-to-back MVP's for the junior forward and the third time he has made the all-tournament team. Skelly had one goal and two assists for the tournament and was named to the all-tournament team. Jeremy Klaver also was named to the all-tournament team for the Bulldogs.

Fogal made 30 saves for Adrian while Bjerk had 43 saves for the Sabres. Adrian went 1-of-5 on the power play while Marian was 0-of-3. It was a fantastic tournament as all three games were decided by a single goal.