The Adrian College ACHA Division I men's hockey team experienced an unpleasant beginning to the 2015 portion of their schedule as the No. 4 ranked Bulldogs fell twice to No. 9 Minot State in Minot, North Dakota over the weekend 4-2 and 4-0.
Power plays proved to be the difference in Friday night's game as the Beavers scored a pair of power play goals on their way to a 4-2 victory in a penalty marred affair which saw 17 penalties handed out for a total of 53 minutes between the two squads.
After a scoreless opening twenty minutes, the Beavers' Brett Nespor scored a pair of power play markers in the second period to give Minot State a 2-0 advantage going into the third period.
Adrian tried to fight back in the third period, but the Bulldogs could not quite get the game tied up, as each team traded a pair of goals in the third period. Matt Zaremba (Gaylord, Mich.) and Bobby Bodette (Garden, Mich.) scored for Adrian while Lyndon Lipinski and Austin Yano added goals for the Beavers.
Adrian goaltender Austyn Roudebush (Toledo, Ohio) made 30 saves in the Bulldog net, while Beaver netminder Riley Hengen stopped 38 shots from the Bulldogs.
In Saturday's Game, Hengen was even more spectacular for the Beavers, shutting out the Bulldogs despite facing 39 shots. Yano gave Minot the lead just 30 seconds into the game and Lipinski scored a pair of goals to lead the Beavers to the win. Graig Fournier also scored for Minot.
Matt Schnoes (Plymouth, Mich.) and Roudebush split time in goal for Adrian as the Beavers outshot the Bulldogs 54-39.
Adrian will return home to Arrington Ice Arena to try to rebound on Thursday night, January 16, when they start a two game home-and-home series with the Western Michigan Stallions starting at 7:00 p.m.
