See You in Columbus: MD1 Clinches League, Grabs Autobid to National Tournament
The Men’s ACHA D1 team took on the Warriors of Rochester College in a GLCHL League contest this weekend in a home at home series.
The Bulldogs played host first on Thursday night for Hockey Night in Adrian. Tyler Lepore would start the scoring for the Bulldogs, grabbing his third of the season at the 1:16 mark of the first. Lepore’s goal would be assisted by Dominic Moore and Marcus Rose. Rainer Glimpel would grab his first of the night 9 and a half minutes later at the 10:38 mark. Glimpel’s goal was assisted by Chris Derochie and Marcel Kottek. Ted Anstett would extend the lead to 3-0 at the 12:32 mark of the first, burying his 6th of the season. Justin Fisher and Mark Fratarcangeli would grab assists. Glimpel would grab one more before the period ended off of assists from Moore and Nick Goettel before the buzzer rang. After one, the Bulldogs lead 4-0.
Rose would grab a goal of his own to start the second period scoring action at the 1:15 mark. Rose’s 20th of the season was assisted by Moore and Lepore. Brad Kobryn’s team leading 27th of the season would put the Bulldogs up 6-0 at the 3:33 mark of the second. Kobryn’s goal was assisted by Derochie and Glimpel. After two, the home team would lead 6-0. Kobryn would grab one more before the final buzzer, notchig his 28th of the season at the 9:01 mark of the third assisted by JP Grineau. Final score Thursday night was 7-0 Bulldogs, the MD1 team’s 23rd win of the season and their 15th straight. Freshman goaltender Mike Barrett would grab another win to improve his record to 14-0 with his 5th shutout of the season.
The Bulldogs travelled to Macomb, Michigan Friday night to take on the Warriors on their home ice. Mark Fratarcangeli struck first, scoring at the 6:42 mark of the first off an assist from Justin Fisher. The Warriors would tie the game on the powerplay at the 11:39 mark of the first. Dominic Moore would break the tie and score the eventual game winner on the Bulldog powerplay at the 15:30 mark. Moore’s powerplay tally was assisted by JP Grineau and Marcel Kottek. After one, the Bulldogs lead the Warriors 2-1.
Josh Shellman’s first of the season would give the visitors a more comfortable Marcus Rose would extend the Bulldogs’ lead at the 13:44 mark of the second. Rose’s 21st of the season was assisted by Moore and Kottek. Brad Kobryn would snag a powerplay goal with 6 seconds remaining in the second, tipping a shot from Grineau, to make it 5-1 Bulldogs. Grineau and Kottek would be awarded assists. After two, the visitors would still be leading, this time 5-1. Moore would grab his second of the night at the 36 second mark of the final frame off of assists from Rose and Grineau for the final goal of the game. Final score would be 7-1 Bulldogs.
With the victory, the Bulldogs clinched the GLCHL regular season title and earn an autobid to the 2017 ACHA National Tournament in Columbus, Ohio and goaltender Mike Barrett improves to 15-0 on the season while the team is 24-1 and has won 16 straight.
"I thought we had a really good weekend, sticking to our systems and working really hard for 120 minutes,” says head coach Gary Astalos, “Our success to this point can be contributed to the dedication and commitment from all of our players. We must maintain our focus towards finishing the season strong as it is very important to have a high seed going into the national tournament."