Adrian, MI – Senior goalie Cameron Gray posted 40-plus saves in a game for the second time in as many outings, but visiting Bowling Green used a four-goal second period to distance itself from Adrian College in a 5-0 non-conference men’s hockey victory on Saturday evening.
For Adrian College…
- Sophomore Alessio Luciani led all centermen with 11 wins and 20 draws in the face-off circle.
- Gray finished with 41 stops for a career high.
- Junior Zach Goberis won seven of 11 face-offs and had two shots on goal.
- Classmate Rex Moe led the Bulldogs with three shots.
For Bowling Green State University…
- Alex Barber and Max Johnson led BGSU with a pair of goals.
- Zack Rose stopped all 16 shots he faced for the shutout.
- Ethan Scardina led Falcon centers in the face-off dot, where he was 7-for-11.
- Brandon Kruse, a 2018 NHL draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, and Connor Ford both had two assists.
A breakdown of the game…
- For the second straight meeting, Adrian proved its mettle against BGSU by trailing only 1-0 after 20 minutes.
- Johnson gave the Falcons all the offense they would need at the 8:45 mark of the first period when he got a feed from Kruse, and wristed a shot from the right face-off dot over Gray’s glove inside the right post.
- Despite just six shots on goal in the opening period, Adrian had two prime scoring opportunities by junior Andrew Bellant at the top of the crease that Rose turned aside with under a minute remaining. Freshman Connor May also had a solid scoring chance from close range earlier in the period.
- Bowling Green opened up a 3-0 lead early in the second period when Cameron Wright and Barber scored 1 minute and 26 seconds apart, beginning at the 3:04 mark.
- Barber added an insurance goal while on the power play at 8:12 and Johnson wrapped up the scoring with his second of the night at 14:59.
- The Falcons outshot the Bulldogs 46 to 16, as Gray stopped all 12 shots–including several outstanding saves from close range–in the third period to help keep AC in the game.
Other notes…
- Adrian falls to 1-2 all-time versus NCAA D-I competition. The Bulldogs doubled up Alabama-Huntsville on the road, 4-2 on Jan. 4, 2013, in their first-ever meeting against such an opponent.
- Bowling Green leads the all-time series 2-0, including the first meeting, 6-2, back on Nov. 13 in Bowling Green, Ohio.
- May leads the Bulldogs in goals (4) and point-scoring (5).
- Gray’s 41 saves are the most by a Bulldogs goaltender in five years and ties James Hamby (41 at Lake Forest College on Feb. 13, 2015) for third-most in AC single-game history.
- The Falcons are the first NCAA D-I team to visit Arrington since the building opened for the 2007-08 campaign, where the Bulldogs have won more than 80 percent of their home games.
Up next…
- Adrian is trying to replace a cancelled series at Utica College (Nov. 27-28) and reschedule a Dec. 4 matchup at Trine that has been postponed.
Updated Records: Adrian Bulldogs, 2-2 overall (0-0 NCHA); Bowling Green Falcons, 2-0 overall (0-0 WCHA)
*Featured Image: Dawson Ellis tries to elude two Bowling Green State University Falcons in a Nov. 21, 2020 game. (Action photo by Mike Dickie)*
*Other media courtesy of Adrian College and their Sports Information Department*