Adrian, MI – The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) announced its preseason poll as voted on by the NCHA coaches. The men’s team was voted to repeat as NCHA Conference Champions with 97 voting points. The Bulldogs earned seven first place votes in the poll. The women’s team earned 78 voting points with seven first-place votes to find themselves as the preseason favorite, once again.
“It means we have a target on us, which we usually do, whether we’re the preseason favorite or not,” Adrian men’s hockey head coach Adam Krug said. “We’re accustomed to that and our guys embrace it.”
The Bulldogs won the 2022-23 Peters Cup last season on the road at St. Norbert College to lock up the regular season before earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating Aurora University in the Harris Cup Finals. Adrian finished the year with a 25-5-2 overall record and went 13-4-1 in NCHA play. The Bulldogs returned to the National Championship game where they fell in overtime to No. 1 Hobart College.
“We graduated a big group that went to back-to-back NCAA Championship games,” Krug added. “I think some assume we will take a step back because of the offense we graduated. This is a great opportunity for some of our maturing players to step up and take their turn in the spotlight. I’m confident in them and our whole group, really. So, yes, we’ll have some different personnel and we’ll have to play a little differently based on that but it’s always our goal to win the NCHA. It will be a tough task because it’s a great league.”
Adrian will host Simon Fraser University for an exhibition game on Friday, October 20 before opening up the regular season on the road at Utica University on October 27-28. The NCHA season will begin on the road at Marian University on November 3-4.
“It’s an honor to be voted by the league’s coaches as the preseason favorite in the NCHA this season,” Adrian women’s hockey head coach Shawn Skelly said. “After winning the league championship this past season, there is a large target on our backs and we have to be ready for every team’s best game playing as the league favorite.”
The Bulldogs finished the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 26-4-0 (14-2-0 NCHA) to rank No. 4 in the country. Adrian went on to win the Kronschnabel Cup as the NCHA Regular Season Champions. The Bulldogs went on to sweep their way through the Slaats Cup Playoffs allowing just one goal in the tournament. The Bulldogs earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost at home to Hamilton College in the quarterfinals.
“Our expectations for this season are to continue to get better each and every day as a team,” Skelly said. “We understand it’s a marathon to get to where we want to be. With lots of new faces in the program, we are excited to put our best effort forward each and every game in order to live up to the standard we have set from years past.”
Adrian will open its season on the road in a tournament hosted by Utica University on October 27-28. The NCHA season will begin at home on November 3-4 when Adrian hosts Marian University.
96.5fm The Cave will continue to carry an Adrian College Hockey schedule, which will be released shortly.
*media courtesy of Adrian College*