HUDSONVILLE, Mich. – The No. 2 Adrian College Men's ACHA Division 1 hockey team wrapped up its regular season agenda on Friday night, as the Bulldogs split their series with No. 15 Grand Valley State University.
The Bulldogs hosted the Lakers on Thursday night at the Arrington Ice Arena in front of a hefty crowd for the final home game of the regular season. Adrian would come out hot in the first period, taking a 1-0 lead on a power play goal from
David Dell and out-shooting GVSU, 15-4. The two teams would then trade goals in the second period before Adrian would add another in the final five minutes to go up 3-1 after two periods of play.
Nash Hatcher and
Chad Noetzel collected the tallies in the second period for the home team. A scoreless third period then resulted in the 3-1 triumph for the top-ranked Bulldogs. Goaltender,
Noah Decottignies, made 12 saves on 13 shots in the victory.
The series completed on Friday in Hudsonville at the Griff's Georgetown Ice Center where the Lakers would come out on top in a tight 3-1 battle.
Blake Wideman provided the lone tally for Adrian, assisted by
Ethan McLaughlin and
Jordan Comilla. Decottignies made 21 saves in the defeat. Friday's loss was Adrian's first conference regular season defeat since the 2016-17 season.
No. 2 Adrian finishes the 2023-2024 regular season with a 27-4-0 record and a 13-1-0 conference record. A successful regular season journey has landed the Bulldogs their eighth straight and twelfth regular season championship in program history and gives them the No. 1 seed in this year's GLCHL conference playoff tournament, which kicks off this coming Wednesday.
To begin the playoff tournament, the Bulldogs will host an opponent yet to be determined (No. 8 seed) at the Arrington Ice Arena on February 14 at 7:30 PM. Barring a win, the team will then advance to the semifinals on Friday, February 16 at Farmington Hills Ice Arena in Livonia, Michigan.
The winners of the two semifinal games will then advance to the championship game, which will take place the following day, also in Livonia. Puck drops for the semifinal and championship games would both go for 5:30 PM EST.
For more on the Adrian College Men's ACHA Division 1 hockey team and updates regarding the upcoming GLCHL conference playoff tournament, visit their page on the Adrian College Athletics website, or follow them on social media, @AdrianMD1Hockey.
