ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Adrian College ACHA Men's Division I hockey team returns to the ACHA National Tournament this weekend at the Centene Community Ice Center. The Bulldogs enter the tournament with a 28-6-2 record and finished 10-2 in Great Lakes 6 (GL6) play, capturing both the GL6 Regular Season and Conference Tournament titles.
Adrian earned the No. 9 seed in the 24-team national tournament and will open play against No. 24 West Virginia University in the first round. The top eight teams in the tournament received a bye into the second round, which will take place Friday and Saturday.
The Bulldogs have been led this season by senior captain Sebastian Smith. Smith leads the team with 45 points, including a team-high 24 goals. Eli Reimer has also made a significant impact after transferring to Adrian from NCAA Division III UW–Eau Claire. Reimer has totaled 44 points this season while leading the team with 31 assists.
Blake Wideman ranks second on the team with 19 goals, followed by Matteo Turrin and Dylan Gajewski with 18 goals each. Ethan McLaughlin has recorded 23 assists on the season, while Keegan DeCaluwe has added 22 and Smith has contributed 21.
In net, Adrian has relied on a strong tandem of Peyton Trzaska and Dylan Eliason. Trzaska holds a 20-3-1 record with a 1.96 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage, totaling 626 saves. Eliason sits at 8-3-1 on the season with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage with 278 saves. The Bulldogs have combined for eight shutouts this season, including five from Trzaska and three from Eliason.
As a team, Adrian has scored 192 goals this season, averaging 5.2 goals per game, while allowing just 69 goals for an average of 1.8 goals allowed per game. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 29.66 percent power play and an 85.12 percent penalty kill.
With a win over West Virginia, Adrian would advance to face No. 8 Jamestown in the second round. In the Bulldogs' side of the bracket, the top seed is Minot State, who Adrian could potentially face in the quarterfinals scheduled for Sunday. If Adrian advances to the national semifinals, the remaining teams will be reseeded, with the highest remaining seed facing the lowest remaining seed.
Adrian's opening game against West Virginia is scheduled for Thursday, March 12 at 8:00 p.m. CT. Fans unable to attend the tournament can watch the game live on FloHockey with a paid subscription. Tickets for fans attending the event can be purchased by clicking HERE.
