ADRIAN, Mich. -- The No. 2 ranked Adrian College NCAA men's hockey team is set to host the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Raiders on Friday and Saturday in a NCHA conference series. The Bulldogs look for revenge against the Raiders after being knocked out of the Harris Cup Playoffs last season on their home ice. Last season, MSOE and Adrian tied the first game 3-3 followed by a 3-1 Raider win the next day to knock Adrian out of the playoffs. In Adrian's last 40 games against Division III schools the Bulldogs are 36-3-1 with one loss to Utica to begin the 2021-22 season, and the other two and the tie coming against MSOE last season.
The Bulldogs come into the weekend with a 7-1 record on the year, and are 4-0 in conference with a sweep over Marian University and Trine University. The Bulldogs have taken down a group of touch nonconference opponents in No. 3 Utica College, No. 10 Trinity College, and RV Wesleyan University. MSOE comes into the weekend with a record of 2-4-2 with wins over No. 15 ranked Saint John's to begin the year, and a 3-2 win over Lawrence University in conference play.
Friday night will mark the 55th time in series history that Adrian and MSOE will play each other with the Bulldogs leading the all-time series with a record of 41-8-5 dating back to 2007. The Raiders have always played Adrian tough with six of the eight losses and all of the ties coming at the Arrington Ice Arena.
The Bulldogs this season enter the weekend with 3.9 goals per game while allowing 2.0 goals per game. Adrian is 8-of-29 on the power play this season while the penalty kill has only allowed three goals in 34 total attempts. Adrian is coming off a very successful Thanksgiving trip to Connecticut where they defeated RV Wesleyan University by a 7-1 score, and 1-0 win over No. 10 Trinity College the next day with the help of a
Cameron Gray shutout which eventually led to the NCHA Defensive Player of the Week award.
Rex Moe leads the black and gold in scoring with five goals on the year followed by four from
Hunter Wendt and four from
Mathew Rehding.
Alessio Luciani has contributed a team-high nine assists to go with a team-high 11 points and a +6 on the year to also lead the team.
Sam Ruffin follows in assists with five giving him six points on the year sitting behind Luciani and Wendt, and tied with
Ryan Pitoscia and
Ty Enns.
Gray holds a 4-0 record in goal on the season averaging just 1.75 goals against on the year with 103 saves and a shutout.
Nic Tallarico and
Dershahn Stewart combine for a 3-1 record in goal with 111 saves and an average goals against of 2.25.
MSOE on the season has averaged 2.88 goals per game while allowing 2.75. The Raiders are just 6-for-40 on the power play, but is backed by a solid penalty kill that has allowed only a pair of goals.
Nick Stofcheck and Darius Bell have split starting time in goal for MSOE combining for a save percentage of .881. Matt Hanewall leads the team in scoring with six goals followed by five from Garrett Gintoli.
Adrian will look to keep its 7-game winning streak alive and continue to remain perfect in NCHA play with another sweep on the weekend. The series will begin on Friday night at 7:00 PM from the Arrington Ice Arena with the series wrapping up on Saturday, December 4 with a game at 3:00 PM.
