ADRIAN, Mich. – The NCHA Harris Cup Playoffs return to Arrington Ice Arena on Feb. 20-21 as the No. 1-seeded Adrian College NCAA men's hockey team hosts No. 8-seeded Lake Forest College. The Bulldogs closed the 2025-26 regular season with an 18-6-1 overall record and a 14-3-1 mark in NCHA play, securing the NCHA Peters Cup for another conference championship.
Lake Forest enters the Harris Cup Playoffs as the eighth seed after finishing the regular season 6-17-2 overall and 6-11-1 in conference action. Adrian swept the Foresters in a two-game series at Arrington Ice Arena in January, earning 6-1 and 6-2 victories.
The Bulldogs have been dominant on both ends of the ice this season, averaging 4.8 goals per game while allowing just 1.9. Patrick Saini leads Adrian with 18 goals, followed by Bradley Somers with 14, Jacob Suede with 10, and Frank Tafelski with 10. Amsbaugh has dished out 34 assists to lead all of NCAA Division III and ranks second nationally in points per game.
Defensively, Adrian has remained strong throughout the year. Ben Loreto leads the team with 25 blocked shots, while Amsbaugh has 16 and Anthony Mollica has 15. In goal, Ryan Piros has posted a 1.86 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage across 21 appearances.
Elsewhere in the quarterfinal round, No. 2 St. Norbert will face No. 7 Concordia Wisconsin, No. 3 Trine will take on No. 6 Marian, and No. 4 Aurora will host No. 5 MSOE. The quarterfinals will be a two-game series with the first team to three points advancing. A regulation win is worth two points, while an overtime or shootout loss earns one point. If tied after two games, a 20-minute mini-game will determine who advances.
As the top seed, the Bulldogs will have home-ice advantage throughout the Harris Cup Playoffs and will look to bring the Harris Cup back to Adrian while earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Both games this weekend against Lake Forest are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at Arrington Ice Arena.
