ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Adrian College Men's ACHA Division 2 hockey team hosted the Illinois State Redbirds at the Arrington Ice Arena this weekend. The Bulldogs came out with the sweep, downing ISU on Friday and Saturday by 5-3 and 3-1 scores.
In a tight affair on Friday afternoon, the Bulldogs and Redbirds jawed back and forth to open the series.
Nolan Baldrica opened the scoring for Adrian just twenty seconds into the contest, putting the Bulldogs up one. Just twenty seconds later, the Redbirds tied it at 1, kick-starting an exciting first period. Later in the frame,
Gabe Vijuk and
Willie McGuire notted goals for the Bulldogs, sending their team into the intermission up 3-1. Illinois State found the back of the net in the second period, setting up for a thrilling third period with Adrian up by one. Shortly into the third stanza, ISU tied it at 3-3, but it wasn't long after that the Bulldogs exploded for two goals to take the lead and secure the 5-3 victory on home ice.
Griffin Clark and
Shaun Potts netted goals in the third period to earn Adrian the opening win. Goaltender,
Matthew Ryynanen, saw 26 shots on net and turned aside 23 in his fifth win of the year.
After coming in at No. 12 in the ACHA Central Region national rankings earlier in the week, the Bulldogs were eager to send a message and begin their climb of the mountain. Adrian, who had previously swept four of their opponents already this season, entered Saturday with plans to extend that number to five with a sweep of Illinois State. Fortunately for the home team, they did just that as Adrian piled on a goal in the first period (Vijuk) and a goal in the second period (
Jack Waldo) to go up 2-0 after two periods in game two. Illinois State added a goal in the third frame, but it wasn't enough as
Greg Obrycki sent a puck into a yawning Redbird cage with 38 seconds to go to end the game 3-1 in favor of the Bulldogs. Goaltender,
Alexander Herman, made 23 saves for his second victory of the season and earned an assist on the Obrycki goal.
The MD2 Bulldogs will play only one game this coming week as they head to Miami (OH) for a contest against the Redhawks on Friday, November 22. Puck drop at 8:40 PM at the Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio.
