ADRIAN, Mich.- The Adrian College Men’s Hockey team had a daunting task in front of them this past weekend when the NCHA South Division leading Lake Forest Foresters were in town for a two game set.
On Friday night it was sophomore defenseman Brandon Marinelli and senior Vinny Post each scoring two goals to help power Adrian to a 4-1 victory Friday evening. Bulldog goalie Cameron Gray played well between the pipes, posting 22 save to improve his season mark to 9-4-1.
For the Foresters, goaltender Boyd DiClemente tried to keep LFC close by making 37 saves on 40 shots faced. The loss Friday night was only his second on the season (15-2-1).
The Bulldogs held a commanding 41-23 edge in shots and also won 42 of 77 face-offs.
Saturday afternoon was a different story for both teams. After an Adrian 4-1 win Friday, the Foresters bounced back and played a tight and competitive game.
Lake Forest held a 1-0 lead after a power play goal at 6:09 of the first period.
Adrian scored three unanswered goals in the second period after falling behind 2-0. Vinny Post scored a goal at 2:01 to get Adrian on the scoreboard. Then Dean Hewines and Dino Balsamo scored 17:41 apart to give the ‘Dawgs their first lead at 3-2.
In the third period, Lake Forest tied it 3-3 at 6:18 before sophomore defenseman Matt Eller found the back of the net 3:01 later on a shot from the point through traffic, and Adrian went ahead 4-3.
Lake Forest tied the contest later on in the third period, which eventually sent the game into overtime. Just 65 seconds into overtime, Freshman Zachary Heintz scored the game-winner on the power play. Goalie Cam Gray posted 22 saves to up his record to 10-4-1. Senior defenseman Joey Colatarci assisted on three goals in his final regular-season home game. The Bulldogs outshot the Foresters 31-26 on Saturday, while improving their lifetime record against LFC to 30-1-1. AC has now equaled their longest winning streak of the season (five games).
The 5-4 victory on Senior Day gave the Bulldogs a series sweep over the NCHA leading Foresters. Adrian now trails Lake Forest by just two points with four games left for both nationally-ranked teams.
Updated Records: Adrian Bulldogs, 13-5-3 overall (11-3-2 NCHA-South); Lake Forest Foresters, 16-4-1 overall (13-3 NCHA-South).
*Information from the Adrian College Sports Information Dept.*