Adrian, MI – Adrian College’s NCAA Men’s and Women’s hockey teams have positioned themselves into the driver’s seat to win the regular season championships in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.
Both teams were playing a weekend series at the Arrington Ice Arena against NCHA opponents, but the ‘Dawgs found themselves outside of first place when the puck dropped.
On the men’s side, the Bulldogs were sitting in second place in the conference, behind Aurora University. The Spartans had been beaten only once in league play, and came into the series ranked #7 in the country. Adrian College maintained their #3 status nationally despite three NCHA losses. Adrian has been near, or at the top, of the national rankings in terms of goals per game…and it showed this weekend. The Bulldogs netted 16 goals, split evenly between the two games… winning Friday 8-4 and Saturday 8-2.
Adrian jumped Aurora in the NCHA standings, and hold a 1 point lead over rival #14 Saint Norbert College. The Bulldogs travel to battle the Green Knights this weekend, with an opportunity to win the Peters Cup (the NCHA regular season championship).
The #6 Adrian College NCAA Women’s team only has one NCHA loss this season, yet heading into the weekend, they found themselves in third place in the standings. The ‘Dawgs took care of the visiting Concordia University-Wisconsin Falcons by sweeping them 7-0 and 5-1. One of the nation’s best offenses certainly showed up for the black and gold.
The Bulldogs will claim the Kronschnabel Trophy (the NCHA regular season championship) if they win their final four games of the regular season. They will play the current 1st and 2nd place teams back-to-back weekends on the road. First they will head to the Chicago area to face 2nd place RV Aurora University, then head north to take on #13 St. Norbert to end the regular season.
*photos courtesy of Adrian College Athletics*