ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Adrian College Men's ACHA Division 1 hockey team hosted the Illinois State Redbirds at the Arrington Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs took game one by a 6-2 score, and then tied the Redbirds on Saturday, 4-4. Game two went to overtime where both teams were held scoreless, followed by a three-man shootout, with ISU winning, 1-0.
The Bulldogs and Redbirds faced off at the AIA on Friday night for Adrian's first Division 1 series of the season. With the Redbirds opening the scoring early, the Bulldogs answered back with six goals of their own to go up 6-1 late in the game before the road team added one more.
Matteo Turrin potted Adrian's first goal, while
Justin Jamer,
Cash Regan,
Chad Noetzel,
Braidan Simmons-Fischer, and
Ethan McLaughlin provided the remainder of the home scoring. Goaltender,
Peyton Trzaska, turned aside 24 shots in the victory. Noetzel added two assists in the game for Adrian, as did
Alex Schaumburger.
In game two, the Bulldogs found themselves in some heavy penalty trouble. Illinois State opened the scoring on the powerplay for the second straight game early in the first before Adrian's,
Griffin Zaske, scored his first career college goal on the powerplay with sixteen seconds remaining. ISU scored twice in the second period to make it 3-1 after two, sparking a final frame comeback attempt for the Bulldogs. With twenty minutes remaining, the Bulldogs did exactly that, scoring three goals to take the lead, 4-3.
Sebastian Smith and two goals from
Hunter Allen had the home team in front with less than five minutes remaining, but with only 1:27 left on the clock, the Redbirds tied it up to force overtime. Adrian out-shot Illinois State, 4-0, in the sudden-death frame but to no avail as the game ended in a tie before a shootout commenced. Trzaska made 31 saves in the game, while
Matthew DiCesare collected two helpers.
The MD1 Bulldogs will now prepare for a highly-anticipated rivalry series with top-ranked, Liberty University, at the Arrington Ice Arena next week. The Bulldogs and Flames will battle at the AIA on Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 PM and Friday, October 11 at 7:00 PM. Tickets to both home games can be purchased on the Adrian College Athletics website.
