ATHENS, OH. -- The Adrian College Men's ACHA Division 1 hockey team battled with rival Ohio University on Thursday and Friday night in a home and home series, with both nationally ranked teams coming out with road wins.
The Bulldogs and Bobcats met at the Arrington Ice Arena on Thursday night in front of a heavy crowd, but it was the Bobcats who set the tone early, scoring three unanswered goals in the opening frame. The Bulldogs answered back in the second period on two goals from
Nash Hatcher, while Ohio also added one more while shorthanded to go up 4-2 after two periods. A tight third period led to a late pushback by Adrian in the final minutes when
Sebastian Smith pulled the Bulldogs back within one with just under two minutes remaining, though it was the Bobcats who held on for the 4-3 victory. Captain
Matteo DiGiulio finished with two assists for Adrian and goaltender
Noah Decottignies made 24 saves in the contest.
On Friday night in Athens, the Bulldogs were hopeful of a bounce back effort against their rival opponents. Adrian opened the scoring in the first period on a goal by
Jordan Comilla before Ohio tied it up with less than a minute remaining in period one. The second period ended up being the major difference in the game as the Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders, scoring six goals in the first eight minutes of the middle frame. Smith,
Cyrus Toth,
Blake Wideman,
Matthew DiCesare x2, and
Sam Spaedt all tallied for the road team before the Bobcats added one more, making the score 7-2 going into the final stanza. The home team would only add one more in the third to finish the game 7-3, securing the bounce back win that the Bulldogs were looking for on the road. Freshman goaltender,
Peyton Trzaska, was stellar in goal for the Bulldogs, stopping 30 of 33 shots faced.
The MD1 Bulldogs now sit at 10-2-0 on the season and will face off next against the University of Toledo Rockets in a home and home conference matchup next week. The newest members of the GLCHL will visit the Arrington Ice Arena on Thursday, November 2 at 7:30 PM, followed by Adrian traveling to Toledo on Saturday, November 4 at 7:30 PM.
