Adrian, Michigan โ Adrian College's men's hockey team will return to the NCAA Division III men's hockey tournament this year after winning one of the at-large bids. The Bulldogs will host the first round game, taking on UW vs. Stevens Point. Saturday night will be a rematch of last season's NCAA quarterfinals, where the Bulldogs won 3-2 in overtime to advance to the Frozen Four. The winner of Saturday night's contest will advance to the quarterfinals and face the winner of St. Norbert and St. Olaf.
In the latest pairwise rankings, the Bulldogs are ranked 3rd and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is ranked 8th. Adrian owns a 22-6-1 record thanks to a 16-2-0 NCHA regular season record. The Bulldogs lost to St. Norbert in the NCHA Harris Cup final, but are looking for revenge and a chance to advance to the national tournament. Stevens Point finished 13-2 in the conference and 22-5-1 on the season, earning an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the WIAC championship.
Adrian has averaged 4.6 goals per game this season while allowing just 1.8 goals. The Bulldogs have scored at least four total goals in 10 of their past 12 games. Adrian has a power play success rate of 24.2% and a penalty kill success rate of 85.0% this season.
The Bulldogs have seven double-digit scorers, so the team's scoring has been spaced out this season. Adrian also has five players who score over 30 points a year. Matthew Redding He led the team with 45 points with 16 goals and 29 assists, followed by Zachary Heinz He had 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points. jayden shields Leads defense with 10 goals, 26 assists and 36 points. bradley summers There are 35 points, jacob suede Total of 30.
Darshaan Stewart He was Adrian's top guy in goal all season. Stewart has a record of 18 wins, 6 losses, 1 loss and 5 shutouts on the year. He has a 1.81 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.
As a team, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is averaging 3.6 goals and allowing 2.4 goals per game. They struggled a bit on the power play, converting 18.1%, but held the penalty kill to 86%. Stevens Point was on a five-game winning streak heading into the WIAC tournament, but was defeated in the first semifinal game with a 4-4 tie.
The Pointers had four double-digit scorers, led by Fletcher Anderson, who led the team with 30 points with 13 goals and 17 assists. Four Stevens Point players have scored 20 or more points on the season. The team is led by a solid defensive core that blocked 276 shots on the year, with team leader Brett Humberstone blocking 41.
The Pointers will look to score Saturday night from Alex Proctor, who has an 18-4-2-1 shutout record on the year. Proctor allowed 2.10 goals against on the season and had a save percentage of .924. Proctor held the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to one goal and made 41 saves in last weekend's WIAC Tournament Championship.
The Bulldogs and Pointers will drop the puck at Arlington Ice Arena on Saturday, March 9th at 7pm ET. Gates to Saturday's contest will open an hour before puck drop. Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased by clicking here.