Men's NCAA Ice Hockey | 11/11/2021 5:24:00 PM
ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College NCAA men's hockey team opens NCHA conference play on Friday on the road at Marian University. The Bulldogs will take on the Sabres in a two-game road series. Adrian ranks fifth in the USCHO National Week 2 Poll after a weekend off of play. Although the Bulldogs dropped in the national rankings, they managed to record a first place vote.
The Bulldogs begin the year with a 1-1 record after splitting opening weekend on the road at No. 3 Utica College. The Bulldogs went on to play the USA U18 NTDP in an exhibition game which resulted in a 4-3 loss. The USA game featured some players that were missing during the Utica series due to COVID-19 protocols.
Sam Ruffin recorded a pair of points against USA with a goal and an assist with five total shots on goal in his first appearance of the season.
Rex Moe and Zach Heintz went on to score the other two Adrian goals.
Cameron Gray made his first start of the year against USA allowing four goals with 39 saves.
On the year so far, the Bulldogs are led by
Ty Enns and
Hunter Wendt who lead the team in points after one weekend. Enns had a goal and three assists against Utica, and Wendt finished with a goal and two assists.
Chase Spencer lead the Bulldogs in goals scoring two of the team's six.
Ryan Pitoscia managed to win 24 face offs against Utica in his first appearances as a Bulldog.
Adrian holds the all-time series lead against Marian with a 28-4-2 record. The Bulldogs are on a three game winning streak against the Sabres and are 11-2-2 on the road. In the last matchup between the two teams, Adrian came away with a 5-1 victory on its home ice. Moe and Ruffin recorded goals for Adrian along with
Jaden Shields and a pair from
Alessio Luciani. Gray recorded the win making 17 saves.
The Sabres hold a record of 1-1 on the season after a road series split to Concordia-M'head. Marian lost its first game 4-1, but battled back the next day with a 3-2 overtime win. In the NCHA preseason poll, the Bulldogs were tabbed to win the league with 80 points of voting while Marian was tied to finish fourth with 55 voting points.
Friday will begin the series in the central time zone. The Bulldogs will take the ice for an 8:30 PM EST. start time. Adrian will look to grab a win on Friday and follow it up with the sweep during Saturday's game that begins at 5:30 PM EST.
