ADRIAN, Mich.--The No.6-ranked Adrian College Division I ACHA men's hockey team avoided an upset bid by No. 25 Midland University (Neb.) by scoring four unanswered goals to storm from behind for a 4-3 overtime win in a matinee contest at Arrington Ice Arena.

Adrian fell behind 2-0 in the first period as the Warriors outshot the Bulldogs 13-8 in the first 20 minutes, getting goals from Blair Seitz and Kyle Whipple.

Midland's Bradley Hepler was whistled for a hooking penalty six minutes into the second period and things went from bad to worse for the Bulldogs, as Sam Turner scored an unassisted, shorthanded breakaway goal to put Midland up 3-0.

But, spurred on by an enthusiastic throng of over a hundred 3rd graders from Lincoln Elementary who had assembled for the afternoon affair, Adrian's Brad Kobryn connected on the back end of Hepler's penalty to cut the lead to 3-1.

Adrian then took advantage of a two man advantage, as Andre Rakas slid a pass to fellow defenseman Josh Hosking, who let go a blast from the left point which beat Midland net minder Jarin Aden and pulled the Bulldogs within one at 3-2 after two periods.

Midland held their lead for most of the 3rd period despite a heavy barrage of attempts from the Bulldogs.  Nick Goettel pushed the equalizer through for the Bulldogs with just 1:50 remaining in regulation time with assists from Eric Alden and Tyler Duarte.

Once the game moved to overtime Adrian brought the contest to a quick conclusion, as Goettel and Ted Anstett found Kobyrn all alone about 15 feet in front of the Midland net and he blasted a shot by Aden for the game winner on the first shot of overtime, just 29 seconds into the extra period.

The Bulldogs outshot the Warriors 42-18 in the contest as Adrian's Austyn Roudebush made 15 saves to earn the victory.

The two teams will conclude their two game series on Saturday night December 5, when they face off at 7:00 p.m. at Arrington Ice Arena.

--David Van Geison, Special to AdrianBulldogs.com