Adrian’s offense came from strange places at key moments in Saturday night’s 3-2 victory against NCHA rival St. Norbert College.
Of the three Bulldog goals, two of them were scored short-handed, and the third in overtime.
Sophomore goalie Cam Grey was solid again in net for Adrian College, saving 26 out of 28 St. Norbert shots.
After a back-and-forth scoreless first period, the Green Knights got on the board with a goal from Peter Bates at 8:17 of the second period. Adrian would respond with a 3-on-5 short-handed goal by sophomore centerman Sam Ruffin at 3:20.
Brendan Aird scored St. Norbert’s second goal of the contest at 2:21 of the second stanza, on the power play, making it 2-1.
There would be no scoring until there was 9:11 left in in the third period, when Joey Colatarci found the back of the net with a shorthanded goal.
Both teams would exchange chances for the last few minutes of regulation, with Cam Gray and St. Norbert goalie Colby Entz both playing well.
The overtime frame started well for the Green Knights, with a shot beating Gray, but not the post. On the ensuing possession for Adrian College, Senior Joey Colatarci found open ice in the slot area and fired home the game-winner 38 seconds into overtime.
With the win, the Bulldogs improve their overall record to 9-5-3 and jump to 7-3-2 in the NCHA. This also marks the first win of the calendar year for the team.
By earning a series split with St. Norbert, Adrian says near the top of the conference standings…behind only Lake Forest in the South Division of the NCHA. AC will play the Foresters at home in an upcoming weekend series.
Our three stars of the game were:
*** Defensemen Josh Ownings
**Goalie Cam Gray
*Joey Colatarci