The Adrian College men's ACHA DI hockey team had a huge weekend ahead of them and it started with Davenport University. The Bulldogs had yet to beat the Panthers this season, but tonight that was about to change.
Early in the first period the Bulldogs found themselves on the penalty kill.
Tristan Musser came up huge sacrificing his body to stop a shot. They killed the penalty, but the Panthers got on the board after with a goal coming from Jeff Slusser to take a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs would go on the power play later and had plenty of opportunities, but could not get past Panthers goalie Phil Graveline. The Bulldogs would go in after the first period down by one.
In the second period the Bulldogs started to step up the pressure and throw the puck at the net looking to get a good bounce. On a delayed penalty,
Jordan Spear took a shot and it was blocked by Graveline, but he left a rebound and it was picked up and backhanded by
Darrell Boldon to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs continued to pressure the net and got even more firepower when coming off the face-off
Ryan Bachman skated into the zone and fired in a slap shot that hit Graveline's glove then the inside pipe and into the back of the net. That goal gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead and they weren't done there.
The Bulldogs went on the penalty kill later in the period, but that wouldn't stop them from scoring. Bachman and Paul Conte were working the point on the kill. Bachman picked up a loose puck and was on the breakaway. No one would catch him as he beat Graveline stick side high for a short-handed goal.
Not too much later Matt Zaremba skated in and had a shot that has blocked and rebound by Keven Sunde who put it in the net. The Bulldogs would go into the locker room after two periods ahead 4-1.
Between periods a quick interview with
Erik Wentzel was conducted. When asked about what sparked a four-goal period he said "coach told us they were playing good and to just keep playing. The bounces would eventually come their way and they did." When asked about his personal play he said "coach wanted him to just keep playing and get under their skin and keep working."
The third period started with the Bulldogs on the power play, but they could not set up the offense. Both teams were trading blows as it was back and forth hockey. Later on the Bulldogs started to pressure the net continuously. Bachman continued to show that he was hungry for more and kept working hard. Sunde sacrificed the body to block a shot on the penalty kill. The Panthers could not recover from the second period and had no counter for the intensity of the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs controlled the whole period and never let the Panthers set up anything offensively. The game ended with the Bulldogs on top and beating the Panthers for the first time this season, 4-1.
Starting goalie
Matt Anderson had a solid day between the pipes for the Bulldogs giving up one goal on 28 shots, giving him 27 saves in the game. He was asked to come up huge a number of times and he shut the door on the Panthers each time.
After the game an interview with head coach Dan Phelps was conducted. When asked about what sparked the four-goal second period he said "they were playing well and the bounces would go their way soon. They just needed to be patient and keep working." When asked about the youth on the team he commented that "they were young and had a new system in that everyone needed to adjust to. He talked about how the intensity needed to be there day in and day out and to just keep getting better everyday. They need to stay focused."
