Men's Varsity Sweeps St. Scholastica to Advance to Harris Cup Final

The Men’s Varsity team played host to the Saints of the College of St. Scholastica this weekend in a two game NCHA Quarterfinal series February 26th and 27th at Arrington Ice Arena. The Bulldogs needed at least a win (2 points) and a tie (1 point) to advance to the Harris Cup Finals next weekend.

The Bulldogs dominated the first period on Friday night, outshooting the Saints 16-4 in the first twenty minutes of play. Freshman Brian Bachnak scored the lone goal of the first at the 2:28 mark. Bachnak’s goal was assisted by fellow freshman Cory Dunn. After one, the Bulldogs were up 1-0.

Junior Austin Hervey gave the Bulldogs a more comfortable 2-0 lead at the 5:36 mark of the second period. Hervey’s goal was assisted by senior Chris Leone. Less than a minute later, junior Daniel Lisi received the first penalty of the game. The Bulldogs, however, did not play as if they were shorthanded, winning the faceoff in the defensive zone with sophomore Taylor McCloy carrying the puck end to end, getting a shot on goal. McCloy would have another beautiful shorthanded breakaway during the same penalty kill, however, would not find the back of the net. The Bulldogs went back to the locker room for the second intermission up by a score of 2-0.

Freshman Trevor Boyd gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead at the 7:16 mark of the third period, the lone assist on Boyd’s goal would go to sophomore Kyle Brothers. St. Scholastica would notch their first goal of the game at the 9:41 mark of the third period and then pull within one five minutes later. The Bulldogs found themselves with only a one goal lead heading into the last five minutes of the game. Boyd would be the hero, sending the puck into the empty net with 13 seconds left in the game. Leone would grab the assist on the empty net goal.

Final score of the first game would be 4-2. Kevin Entmaa would turn away 21 of the 23 shots he faced and the Bulldogs would send 37 shots at Saints goaltender Tyler Bruggerman.

Austin Hervey would begin the scoring on Saturday afternoon, scoring the first goal of the game at the 3:48 mark of the first period. Hervey’s goal would be assisted by Chris Leone and Jeremy Olynik. Leone would grab a goal of his own on the powerplay at the 12:40 mark of the first. Leone’s powerplay tally would be assisted by Cory Dunn and Kyle Brothers. The Saints would cut the Bulldogs’ lead down to one at the 17:19 mark of the first with their own powerplay goal. Score after one was 2-1 in favor of the home team.

The Saints would grab the only goal of the second period to tie the game at two a piece. After two, the Bulldogs and Saints were deadlocked 2-2.

Brian Bachnak would be the hero at the 16:29 mark of the third period, scoring what would be the game-winning goal. Bachnak’s goal would be assisted by Jeremy Olinyk and Cory Dunn. The Saints would once again pull their goaltender, however, Austin Hervey would notch his second of the night, hurling the puck into the empty net from the middle of the circle with one second left in the game. Final score would once again be 4-2 and Kevin Entmaa would pick up his 14th win in his 14th game of the season.

With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the Harris Cup Finals for the 8th time in 9 seasons. The Bulldogs will host St. Norbert next Saturday, March 5th at 7:00pm for the Harris Cup game at Arrington Ice Arena. Ticket information will be available at adrianbulldogs.com.

***3 Stars of the Weekend***

1*Austin Hervey: Hervey seems to have taken off this season, specifically this latter half of the season, scoring 10 goals and grabbing 6 assists in 16 games this semester. Hervey had two goals in the second game, the first of the game and the goal that would seal the deal. Hervey has also found a place on the Bulldogs’ powerplay, centering Mat Thompson and Kyle Brothers.

2**Taylor McCloy: McCloy did not get on the scoresheet this weekend, however, didn’t need to to make an impact in both games. McCloy took a beating during both games but didn’t stop whether he was being slashed, hacked, or pinned up against the boards and never ceased to make crucial and important plays.

3***Brian Bachnak: Bachnak grabbed two goals in two games this weekend, including the game winning goal on Saturday afternoon to send the Bulldogs to the Harris Cup Finals. Bachnak has proven that he can score and has already proven earlier in the season that he can be a physical presence as well.