ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College Men’s NCAA Hockey Team played host this weekend to the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) Under-18 squad, and came away with at 4-1 win.
Senior Dino Balsamo led the Bulldogs attack with two goals on the night. Junior goalie Cameron Gray started and was credited with the win after making 18 saves on 19 shots faced in the first 31 minutes and 20 seconds of action, followed by freshman Nic Tallarico who stopped all 17 shots he faced in the final 28:40.
For Adrian College, the victory on Saturday night was their first win over the USNTDP U-18 squad since the 2011-12 season.
Freshman Zachary Heintz had two points (one goal and one assist) for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Sam Ruffin recorded a goal… and he led AC in the face-off circle with 13 wins on 28 attempts.
Matthew Beniers scored the loan goal for the USNTDP U-18 team in the second period. Ty Smilanic was 8-for-11 on face-offs, followed by Thomas Bordeleau (13-for-20) and Chase Yoder (11-for-20). Bordeleau led Team USA with five shots on goal.
Adrian led 1-0 after 20 minutes on Balsamo’s goal at the 12:32 mark of the opening period. Senior Matt McNair forced a turnover and then fed Balsamo for the goal. The Bulldogs took a 3-1 advantage after two periods. Ruffin and Beniers scored 21 seconds apart to make it 2-1 Adrian. Heintz found the back of the net with 43 seconds left with assists going to senior Vinny Post and sophomore Matt Eller.
Balsamo gave Adrian an insurance goal with the Bulldogs on the power play and against an empty-net with 1:45 remaining in the third period. The Bulldogs successfully killed off a 5-minute Team USA power-play chance in the first period with carry-over to the second, clinging to a 1-0 lead at the time. Gray had three saves and the AC defense came up with three blocked shots during that stretch.
Team USA outshot Adrian 36 to 28, including 16-10 in the first period when Gray made all 16 saves and 12-3 in the third when Tallarico made all 12 stops to preserve the win.
Team USA leads the all-time series 8-4; before tonight, Adrian’s last victory came on Oct. 28, 2011, by a 6-4 score, also played at home. The Americans fall to 2-7-1 against NCAA teams this season, but the Bulldogs are the first Division III program they faced. All but one of Team USA’s players are Division I-scholarship commitments.
Adrian is No. 7 (166 points) by U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO.com) for NCAA Division III.
The Bulldog skaters will take a break for the Christmas holiday and return to the Arrington on New Year’s Eve to host Northern Collegiate Hockey Association foe Trine in a non-conference game, beginning at 5:05 p.m.
*Information from the Adrian College Sports Information Department*