ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Adrian College NCAA men's hockey travels to Aurora University this weekend for a two-game road series slatted to begin on Friday. For another consecutive week, the Bulldogs hold the No. 1 spot in the country in both the Pairwise Rankings and the USCHO Poll. However, Adrian is tasked with some competition this weekend as they take on the No. 12 ranked team in the country in the Aurora Spartans.
The Bulldogs extended it's winning streak to 20 last weekend during the two-game sweep over Concordia Wisconsin. Throughout the weekend, Adrian totaled 21 goals while only allowing one with the help of a shutout from
Dershahn Stewart. Head coach Adam Krug took over as the team's all-time leader in wins as a head coach with 168 passing previous coach Ron Fogarty.
Alessio Luciani also reached a milestone by recording his 100th career point against the Falcons.
As a team, Adrian leads the country in multiple categories including goals per game (6.00), total points (352), winning percentage (0.952), scoring margin (4.14), and total assists (226). The Bulldogs lead Utica College by 0.53 goals per game as Utica ranks second in the country. As individuals, Luciani ranks second in points per game in the country with 1.79 and third in assists per game with 1.16.
Cameron Gray is tied for first in goalie winning percentage as he remains perfect on the year.
Luciani has recorded 34 points with 22 assists and 12 goals for 34 points as he leads the team in assists and points. With 15 goals on the year,
Ty Enns leads the Bulldogs in scoring to go with 17 assists followed by
Rex Moe with 14 goals and 15 assists. Gray comes in with a record of 12-0 on the year allowing 2.27 goals per game and a save percentage of .907.
Nic Tallarico and
Dershahn Stewart have split time in net combining for an 8-1 record with two shutouts.
Aurora comes in with a record of 14-5 on the season and sits 9-4-1 in conference. The Spartans are currently on a four-game winning streak with wins over MSOE, Concordia Wisconsin, and a sweep over Marian University that includes a 2-1 overtime victory. Aurora has totaled 89 goals on the year while allowing 47 to opponents to go against Adrian's 126 goals on the year while allowing 39.
The Bulldogs have clinched home ice for the first round of the playoffs, but need to continue to win to pick up the No. 1 seed in the conference. The Bulldogs currently sit two points ahead of St. Norbert with games still to play.
Dating back to 2016, Adrian is a perfect 14-0 against Aurora including a 6-0 record on the road. The last games at Aurora that the Bulldogs played in were in 2019 with the Bulldogs coming away with a pair of 4-2 wins.
Friday's game will begin the series with an 8:00 PM EST. puck drop followed by game two at Aurora on Saturday scheduled for 4:00 PM EST.
