ADRIAN, Mich.--It was like the Adrian College men's hockey team was in class during this spring break, solving a mathematical formula that yielded an A-plus on Saturday night.

300...That's the number of program victories for the Bulldogs since their founding in 2007-08.

13...a Baker's Dozen winning streak by Adrian.

3-2...the final score over visiting St. Norbert to give the Bulldogs their first Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Harris Cup title since 2016 and the eighth conference tournament championship in team history.

THE BASICS
= Final Score: Adrian College 3, St. Norbert 2

= Location: Weston Rink at Arrington Ice Arena; Adrian, Mich.

= Updated Records: Adrian Bulldogs, 21-5-3 (No. 1 NCHA Overall Seed); St. Norbert Green Knights, 17-10-2 (No. 4 NCHA Overall Seed)

= NCAA Division III National Rankings: Adrian is No. 6 (209 points) by U.S. College Hockey Online and No. 5 in the PairWise; St. Norbert is No. 11 by USCHO.com (91) and No. 16 PairWise

TOP 'DAWGS
= Sophomore Rex Moe scored two goals, including the game-winner in the third period.

= Junior goalie Cameron Gray improved to 18-4-1 on the season after making 35 of 37 stops.

= Senior Dino Balsamo, who had an assist, won 19 of 35 face-offs to tie for game-high honors in both categories. 

THE OPPOSITION
= Peyton Frantti scored a goal and was 19-for-35 on face-offs, leading St. Norbert with six shots on goal.

= Keegan Milligan also scored for the Green Knights and went 10-for-16 in the face-off dot.

= Colby Entz (L, 12-3-2) had 42 saves on 45 shots faced.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 
= Moe broke a 2-2 tie with 8 minutes and 48 seconds left in the game when he took a feed from junior Joshua Owings and beat the goalie under the paddle of his stick.

= The Green Knights pulled Entz under the 2-minute mark for 1:19 and got off five shots on goal from prime scoring areas--but Gray was equal to the task to keep the lead intact.

= After the teams skated to a scoreless first period, Adrian built a 2-0 lead with goals in the second period by senior defenseman Joey Colatarci on the power play at 4:16 into the frame and Moe scored his first on the night at 10:39. Colatarci's shot came from the blueline and through a screen, while Moe potted his scoring chance in the back of the net on a nice no-look, backhanded feed by freshman Alessio Luciani.

= St. Norbert, however, came back with two goals of its own early in the third period to make the AC faithful uneasy. Milligan and Frantti scored 17 seconds apart by the 6:53 mark. Milligan was in front of the goal when he redirected Keenan Spillum's wrist shot from above the left face-off circle inside the right post. Off a SNC face-off win, Frantti sent his shot from the right point that found its way through a maze of players and through Gray's pads.

= Adrian was 1-for-4 on the power play while SNC was 0-for-3.      

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= The Bulldogs are 34-6 lifetime in the conference playoffs.

= Adrian owns a 13-game winning streak--the team's longest since reeling off 16 during the 2017-18 campaign.

= St. Norbert leads the all-time series over Adrian, 13-10, but the Bulldogs took the season series 2-1. The teams have met in the postseason nine times, including the last six NCHA Harris Cup title games.

= The Green Knights were the three-time defending tournament champions while the Bulldogs won crowns in 2015 and '16 as well as tonight during that six-year stretch.

= The NCHA All-Tournament was comprised of forward Kurt Black, SNC; forward Rex Moe, Adrian (Most Valuable Player); forward Andrew Bellant, Adrian; defense Brendan Aird, SNC; defense Joey Colatarci, Adrian; and goalie Colby Entz, SNC.

= Balsamo now has a team-leading 40 points on the season (19g, 21a) to become the first Bulldog to reach that plateau since Kyle Brothers (24+25=49) in the 2014-15 season.

= Adrian has amassed a 300-57-20 record (.822) since its debut on Oct. 19, 2007, becoming one of the quickest teams in NCAA men's hockey history to reach that win-milestone.

UP NEXT
= Adrian earns the NCHA's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship. Stay tuned to AdrianBulldogs.com, as well as NCAA.com, and socials for pairings, ticket information and updates. The NCAA Selection Show will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.

#TheBrotherhood #AdrianBulldogs #GoDawgs #BulldogProud #TraditionNeverDies