Freshman Alessio Luciani led Adrian with three points, junior Dean Hewines scored twice, and junior Cameron Gray stopped all 15 shots he faced, to lead the nationally-ranked Bulldogs to a 7-0 victory Friday over host Trine in a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association men’s hockey contest. Adrian extends its winning streak to eight games while snapping a six-game unbeaten streak for Trine.
Luciani recorded a goal and two assists. Gray chalks up his second career shutout with the Bulldogs, improving to a 13-4-1 record this season. Junior Joshua Owings, sophomore Grant Baetsen and freshman Zachary Heintz chipped in two assists apiece. Senior Dino Balsamo (10-for-19) and sophomore Sam Ruffin (12-for-22), who also notched an assist, led Adrian in the face-off circle.
Aaron Brickman eight saves while playing the final 12 minutes and 10 seconds. Frank Trazzera led the home team with two shots on goal. Garrett Hallford led all centermen with 13 face-off wins in 23 attempts.
Senior Bryce Van Horn and Hewines scored 35 seconds apart late in the second period to give Adrian some breathing room at 3-0. Sophomore Andrew Bellant made it 4-0 while shorthanded to start the third period scoring 66 seconds in. Owings forced a turnover below his goal line to the right of Gray and senior Matt McNair gained his blue line, where he flipped the puck up to Bellant behind the TU defense at the AC offensive blue line.
Bellant skated in free on goalie Brett Young (21 saves on 26 shots faced), beating him glove-side. Adrian dominated shots on goal, 36 to 15. Hewines, Balsamo and freshman Nick Lund finished up the scoring for the Bulldogs, who iced the win with four goals in the final period.
Luciani broke a scoreless tie midway through the opening stanza when he potted his 10th goal on assists from sophomore defenseman Andrew McCann and Baetsen.
The Bulldogs are 7-0 lifetime against the Thunder, including an 8-1 victory at home on New Year’s Eve. Adrian is 3-0 all-time at the TU Thunder Ice Arena. The Adrian third line of Luciani-Baetsen-Hewines accounted for seven of the Bulldogs’ 21 points (7 goals, 14 assists) tonight.
Ruffin takes over sole possession of first place on the team’s scoring chart with 33 points, including a NCHA-best 25 assists. Lake Forest defeated Concordia-Wisconsin, 6-3, on Friday, which means the Foresters and Bulldogs remain tied atop the NCHA overall standings with 30 points each.
Before tonight, the Thunder had gone 4-0-2 in their previous six games. During its eight-game win streak, Adrian has outscored the opposition 45 to 17.
This article was written using a press release and information generated by Adrian College’s sports information department and Patrick Stewart. It is nearly entirely a repost of the original press release. For more college sports, follow us on Twitter @MWSNsports or like our page on Facebook.
