Andrew Bellant scored twice, and Trevor Coykendall scored what proved to be the game-winner in the second period, to lead the Adrian men’s hockey team to a 5-2 win over visiting Lawrence on Saturday afternoon.
Junior goalie Cameron Gray posted 27 saves to improve to 8-4-1 on the season. Sophomore Sam Ruffin led Adrian in the face-off circle with 14 wins in 24 draws and added an assist. Bellant also had an assist to match senior Dino Balsamo (1g, 2a) with a three-point game. Zach Lodes led the Vikings with a pair of goals. Evan Cline made 47 stops in goal. Tyler Jensen (11-19) and Jake Drinkard (10-20) led Lawrence at the face-off dot.
Adrian dominated in shots on goal to the tune of a 52-29 advantage. With the game tied 1-1 in the second period, Adrian forged a 3-1 lead as senior Bryce Van Horn and Coykendall scored 38 seconds apart beginning 4 minutes and 23 seconds in. Bellant added an insurance goal at 5:55 of the third period with Adrian on a five-minute power play. Adrian led 4-1 at the time.
FINAL: @ACbulldoghockey finishes with a 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 5-2 win over Lawrence inside of the Arrington. Full contest can be rewatched on @AdrianCollegeTV. Thanks for tuning in for @AdrianBulldogs hockey on @ACSportsNet #actv #bulldogs #d3hky #godawgs #adrian #tv #livetv #sports pic.twitter.com/AFSVdTQFD7
— Gabriel Schray (@schrayguy) January 25, 2020
Lodes scored his second goal of the day on the power play about 10 minutes later to pull LU within 4-2. Lawrence pulled Cline in favor of an extra attacker with 2:15 left in the game, but could not get a shot on goal. With 31 seconds remaining, Balsamo tapped in an empty-net tally on a pass from Bellant below the goal line and Adrian iced the win.
Lodes staked Lawrence to a 1-0 lead on a feed from Ivan Galaguzov with 5:53 to go in the first period. Adrian tied it 1-1 3:49 after capitalizing on a LU turnover in its defensive zone. Balsamo intercepted a bad clearing pass and fed Bellant for his first goal in the contest.
FORESTERS / BULLDOGS BROADCAST INFO:
NCAA Regular Season Conference Contest
Lake Forest Foresters @ Adrian Bulldogs
Date: Friday, January 31st | Time: 7:05 pm ET
Location: Arrington Ice Arena – Adrian, Michigan
TV: Adrian College Television | Radio: 107.9 WVAC-FM
Adrian leads the all-time series 24-0-3 over Lawrence, including a 15-0-1 home mark versus the Vikings. Junior Michael Rounds recorded a primary assist on Coykendall’s goal for his first point in a Black and Gold jersey since transferring from Ohio State as a spring semester addition. Balsamo made his 100th appearance in a Bulldogs uniform today and he is the team’s active career leader in goals (41), assists (56) and total points (97).
Three of the NCHA’s top four scorers reside in Adrian: No. 2 Bellant with 12+17=29; No. 3 Ruffin with 8-20-28; and No. 4 Balsamo with 12+14=26.
Adrian will close out its regular season home schedule next Friday (7:05 p.m.) and Saturday (3:05 p.m.) for a pivotal NCHA showdown against South Division leader Lake Forest. The Foresters own a six-point edge over the second-place Bulldogs.
Adrian College NCAA Hockey HC Adam Krug discussing the weekend sweep of Lawrence and what's next for @ACbulldoghockey#godawgs #bulldogs #adriancollege #adrian #d3hky #hockey #actv #livetv #streaming #tv https://t.co/nvq6tfWsWw pic.twitter.com/vDLh9FbYkq
— Gabriel Schray (@schrayguy) January 25, 2020
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.
