2016-17 Season Recap
As April comes around and the ice comes out at Arrington Ice Arena, let’s take a look at how Season Ten of Bulldog hockey went these last seven months.
Although none of the six teams chased down a National Title, we had five teams win the regular season, one win playoffs and four teams make it to the National Semifinals.
Men’s Varsity
Men’s Varsity and their talented freshmen class made it all the way to the Frozen Four for the third time in program history and second time under the leadership of Coach Krug. The Bulldogs posted a 20-7-2 record overall and a 17-3 record in the NCHA.
Despite edging out the St. Norbert Green Knights for the regular season, the Bulldogs were bested by the Knights in the Harris Cup Final, marking the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Bulldogs did not win the Harris Cup.
The Bulldogs, however, would receive a first round bye to the quarterfinals in the NCAA tournament and travel to Wisconsin Stevens Point. A huge night for the powerplay proved to be enough to propel the Bulldogs over the Pointers as they scored four powerplay goals en route to a 6-3 victory.
Their run at a National Title, however, would be cut short in the National Semifinals once again. Despite coming back from a two goal deficit in the third, the Bulldogs would fall to the eventual National Champions, the Norwich Cadets.
Four Bulldogs were named to the All NCHA Team after the conclusion of the regular season. Forwards Trevor Boyd (sophomore) and Bryan Yim (sophomore) and defenseman Cory Dunn (sophomore) and goaltender Kevin Entmaa (sophomore) were all named to the All NCHA team. Freshman defenseman Joey Colatarci was named to th All Freshman squad while forward Vinny Paquette was named Freshman of the Year.
Ten Bulldogs were named to the All Academic NCHA team this season. All three seniors, Michael Hoy (defense), Daniel Lisi (forward) and Austin Hervey (forward) were given accolades along with juniors Blake Butzow (defense) and Austin Rust (forward), sophomores Trevor Boyd (forward), Cameron Cooper (defense), Braden Hellems (defense), Chase Matson (forward) and Bryan Yim (forward).
Junior captain Mat Thompson (forward) and assistant captain Taylor McCloy (forward) were the lone two Bulldogs to be named to the All NCHA Playoff Tournament team after the 3-2 loss to St. Norbert in the Finals.
Dunn would be the lone Bulldog on the First Team All American West, grabbing his second All American accolade. Boyd would be named to the Second Team All American West, his first All American honor.
Dunn would also be named to the All USCHO team.
Top Scorers
1. Trevor Boyd 19g-17a-36pts 29GP
2. Cory Dunn 9g-27a-36pts 29GP
3. Kyle Brothers 8g-28a-36pts 26GP
T4. Bryan Yim 14g-15a-29pts 28GP
T4. Vinny Paquette 14g-15a-29pts 29GP
5. Taylor McCloy 10g-15a-25pts 28GP
Impactful Players
Vinny Paquette: Freshman Vinny Paquette tied for fourth in scoring (29 points) on a highly talented Bulldogs squad this season. Despite his size, Paquette has a nose for the puck, and occasionally causing trouble in front of the net and anywhere else he can manage. His puck skills and little bit of grit and spunk combine for a fantastic style of play that will make him a fun player to watch and a key player to have in the lineup for the next three seasons.
Taylor McCloy: Assistant Captain junior Taylor McCloy rounded out the top five scorers this season for the first time in his career with the Bulldogs. A more quiet offensive player, McCloy went nearly an entire semester without a goal before finally breaking the ice against Finlandia on December 3rd. Despite finishing the first semester with under 10 points, McCloy came in clutch the next semester, scoring big goals and making big plays for the Bulldogs, scoring the game winner against Lawrence while shorthanded on January 28th to keep the Bulldogs at the #1 spot in the NCHA regular season standings and scoring yet another game winning goal against Marian in the Harris Cup semifinals. He may not be the flashiest or fanciest player on the ice, but his hard work and ability to kill penalties and be a leader make him a great player to have in the lineup.
Women's Varsity
The Women’s NCAA team had their best season to date this year, going undefeated in the NCHA regular season and playoff action. Their class of ten seniors led them all the way to the National Championship game for the first time in program history, posting a 28-3 record overall and 18-0 record in the NCHA along the way.
The Bulldogs captures their third straight Kronschenobel Cup for the NCHA Regular season title. Their 18-0 record in the NCHA was the first perfect regular season record in all of NCHA history. The league title would earn them home ice for the entirety of the Slaats Cup playoffs where they would look to make it two in a row for NCHA playoff titles. The Bulldogs would defeat the Lake Forest Foresters 5-1 in the championship game to take home the crown.
The Bulldogs met the Elmira Soaring Eagles for the second year in a row in the NCAA Quarterfinals. This time, however, the Bulldogs would come out on top as senior Captain Kaylyn Schroka scored with 1:00 remaining in overtime to propel the Bulldogs to their first Frozen Four.
Arrington Ice Arena would play host the NCAA Women’s DIII Frozen Four this season, marking the first time an Adrian team hosted an NCAA championship series or game. The Bulldogs would prevail in overtime once again against the Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties 3-2 to send them to the first National Championship game in program history.
The Bulldogs would give the three time reigning National Champions, the Plattsburgh State Cardinals, a run for their money in their third meeting of the season. The Bulldogs looked to be 20 seconds away from their first National Championship when the Cardinals pulled the goaltender and tied the game to send it to overtime. The Cardinals would score in overtime while on the powerplay to win it all.
Seniors Kristin Lewicki (forward), Kaylyn Schroka (forward), Sarah Shureb (forward), Sydney Smith (defenseman) and Brooke Gibson (goaltender) along with freshman Kelly O’Sullivan (defenseman) would all be named to the All NCHA team after the regular season. O’Sullivan would also be named to the All Freshman team. The Bulldogs swept all three major league awards with Head Coach Chad Davis being awarded Coach of the Year, O’Sullivan being named Freshman of the Year and Lewicki named Player of the Year.
Twelve Bulldogs would be named to the All Academic NCHA team. Seniors Shureb, Gibson, Smith, Courtney Tyll, Emily Duncan (defenseman), Bailey Robertson (forward), Lexie Tzafaroglou (defenseman) and Lewicki would all make the cut, along with juniors Kristi Zink (defenseman) and Rose Krasofsky (forward) in addition to sophomores Kayla Murray (forward) and Annie Rademacher (goaltender).
Five Bulldogs would be named All NCHA Playoff Tournament team. Brooke Lupi (forward), Smith, O’Sullivan, Gibson and Lewicki (tournament MVP) would all take home honors in the Slaats Cup victory.
Coach Chad Davis was named the NCAA Women’s DIII Hockey Coach of the Year at the Frozen Four banquet. Lewicki and O’Sullivan would take home First Team All American accolades while Smith, Schroka and Shureb were all named Second Team All American.
Schroka, Shureb, Lupi, Smith, O’Sullivan and Lewicki would all be named to the All USCHO team with O’Sullivan being tabbed Rookie of the Year and Lewicki Player of the Year.
Top Scorers
1. Kristin Lewicki 32g-34a-66pts 31GP
2. Kaylyn Schroka 29g-33a-62pts 31GP
3. Sarah Shureb 25g-34a-59pts 31GP
4. Brooke Lupi 21g-22a-43pts 30GP
5. Sydney Smith 11g-28a-29pts 31GP
Impactful Players
Sarah Shureb: Senior Sarah Shureb had a breakout year with the Bulldogs this season, snatching 59 points in 31 games played this season, topping her career high of 15 points her junior and freshman seasons. Shureb, along with fellow seniors and linemates Schroka and Lewicki, was among the top five in scoring in the nation this year.
Brooke Gibson: Senior goaltender Brooke Gibson stood strong in net when it was needed most this season. Starting in the Slaats Cup Championship game, Gibson turned away every shot she faced but one, earning her first team All Tournament for the playoffs. She then backstopped the Bulldogs to their first NCAA tournament win to propel them to the first Frozen Four and National Championship game appearance in program history.
MD1
MD1 had a record year as well, posting the best overall and regular season records in program history with a 33-3 record overall, 29-1 record through the regular season and 15-1 in GLCHL play.
The Bulldogs captured their fifth GLCHL Regular Season title all the way back on February 3rd in a 6-1 victory over Rochester College to grab a bid to their seventh straight National Tournament appearance. The Bulldogs posted the best regular season record in the league through the first 30 games, only dropping a single contest by a single goal.
The MD1 team would drop the GLCHL Final game to the Michigan Dearborn Wolverines before heading to the 2017 ACHA National Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
This year’s team would defeat the Midland Warriors and Davenport Panthers en route to their first National Semifinal appearance, where the would face the Ohio University Bobcats.
The Bulldogs would drop a 4-2 game to the Bobcats, ending their season a game early.
MD1 claimed both the GLCHL Rookie and Coach of the Year this season with goaltender Mike Barret and Head Coach Gary Astalos taking home the two top honors. Junior Brad Kobryn and freshmen Marcus Rose and JP Grineau would all be named First Team All GLCHL along with Barrett. Senior captain Nikolas Sakellaropoulos would be named to the All Defensive squad.
Kobryn would be the top scorer at the National Tournament, earning him First Team All Tournament honors. Sakellaropoulos would be named Second Team All Tournament while Rose and Marcel Kottek would be named honorable mentions.
All Americans and Player and Coach of the Year will be announced in the next few weeks.
Top Scorers
1. Marcus Rose 36g-28a-64pts 35GP
2. Brad Kobryn 35g-25a-60pts 33GP
3. Chris Derochie 15g-32a-47pts 36GP
4. Rainer Glimpel 20g-26a-46pts 36GP
5. Dominic Moore 16g-20a-36pts 30GP
Impactful Players
The Class of 2020: With a class like this year’s freshman class, you can’t just pick one of them to be an impactful player. This year’s class featured Marcus Rose, a fireball forward who would become the only player to ever give Brad Kobryn a run for his money and beat him out for the top point getter on the team. Then there was Mike Barrett, the GLCHL Rookie of the Year and the last unbeaten goaltender in the league. Dominic Moore and Rainer Glimpel playing with Rose was nothing short of impressive and Glimpel and CJ Nicholson spent time on the first line with Kobryn and Chris Derochie. On the blue line you had Marcel Kottek, JP Grineau and Kyle Boerner with absolutely incredible shots and playmaking abilities. Even latecomers Tyler Lepore and Steven Szekesy, who came to Adrian in January made an impact with the team. This year’s freshman class is one of the best I’ve seen when it comes to talent up and down the list and should be an absolute blast to watch for the next three years.
Brad Kobryn: Like I’ve said before, how can you have a list of impactful players and not include Brad Kobryn? The answer is you can't, he's an absolute powerhouse, no ifs ands or buts about it. With some of the best puckhandling, smoothest skating, smoothest passing and incredible scoring skills that I've ever seen, I'll tell you right now he'll be on this list in next year's preview, mid season recap and season wrap up like he has been his whole career. In his first three seasons, he’s managed to take over nearly every single career record in not just team history, but the history of the the entire Adrian Hockey program. His 126 career goals is the most an Adrian player has ever scored, including the NCAA alumni who’ve gone on to play pro hockey. Kobryn finished second on the team in scoring, the only time that has ever happened in his career at Adrian. This season is also the second season Kobryn has hit the 60 point mark. He would lead the National Tournamnet in points, grabbing his first points at the tournament this year and finishing with 4g-4a-8pts in only three games, which included a hat trick in the win versus Davenport. With only two career records left to break (Adrian ACHA point record and all time Adrian point record), I look forward to watching Kobryn tear up the league one last time in his senior season.
WACHA
Record years seem to have been the trend in the tenth year of Bulldog Hockey. While the two NCAA programs and MD1 team celebrated their tenth season this year, WACHA celebrated their fifth by winning their first CCWHA Regular Season Title to bring home their first banner in Arrington Ice Arena.
A perfect league record and a sweep of the reigining and eventual National Champions, the Miami Redhawks, would be exactly what it took for WACHA to bring home the regular season title, one of five Bulldog teams to do so this year. WACHA would also be ranked #1 in the weekly rankings for the first time in program history this season.
WACHA would fall to the Michigan State Spartans in the CCWHA Playoff semifinals, falling short of a playoff title.
The Bulldogs would face the Spartans once again in the first round of the ACHA National Tournament’s new best of three series. The Bulldogs would drop the first game to the Spartans before winning the next two en route to their third straight National Semifinal appearance.
The run for the title would be cut short by the eventual National Champions, the Miami Redhawks in the semifinals.
Alison Dungey, Jessica Harrison and Kaillie Hardy would all be named to the First Team All Season while captain Paige Fuoco would be named to the Second Team All Season.
Meagan Coleman was the lone WACHA representative on the CCWHA All Tournament team for the playoffs, being named to the Second Team All Tournament.
Hardy and Dungey would be named First Team All American at the conclusion of the National Tournament and Harrison would be named Second Team All American.
Jessie Rushing would be the lone Bulldog on the First Team All National Tournament while Hardy would be named to the Second Team.
Dungey, Fuoco, Sabrena Camp and Tara Wreblis would all be named to the ACHA All Academic Team as well.
Top Scorers
1. Kaillie Hardy 19g-22a-41pts 26GP
2. Nicole Paradis 15g-20a-35pts 27GP
3. Jess Fabbro 14g-12a-26pts 27GP
4. Devyn Fitzhenry 11g-15a-26pts 18GP
5. Britt Levasseur 13g-10a-23pts 22GP
Impactful Players
Kaillie Hardy: Sophomore forward Kaillie Hardy is an absolute powerhouse. With 77 points in her first two seasons, she’s less than ten points away from the WACHA all time point record and still has two seasons left the play. Not only can Hardy score, but she can play a physical game as well, which is an incredibly huge advantage in the women’s game where many girls aren’t able to take the rough side of the game.
Alison Dungey: Alison Dungey is a brick wall and this year the ACHA finally noticed, giving her a First Team All American nod. The junior goaltender posted more wins than any other goalie in the league with 19 in the regular season while maintaining a 1.14 GAA, a .944 SV% along with 404 saves and 8 shutouts. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Dungey will be taking the place of starting goaltender through the rest of her time at Adrian College.
Gold
The three time National Champions found themselves back at the ACHA DIII National Tournament for the first time since 2014 this season. The Bulldogs not only captured the regular season title this year, but won their way to the National Tournament.
Despite their most recent trip to “Nattys” only being in 2014, seniors Nick Bordeaux and Mitch Bancroft were the only two players on the team with experience in the tournament and the only two who had hoisted the National Championship trophy on March 15th, 2014.
The Bulldogs split with powerhouses Oakland and Aquinas en route to their regular season title. The Bulldogs would win the MCHC East playoffs before being beaten by Aquinas for all the marbles in the MCHC Finals.
Heading into the regional tournament, the Bulldogs first faced the University of Michigan Wolverines, who the ACHA Selection show host deemed “the Cinderella story” team of the tournament. The Bulldogs had something to say about that, thumping the Wolverines 8-0 to put them one win away from a trip to Nattys.
The Grand Valley State University Lakers were now the only thing standing in the way of the Bulldogs and a trip to Columbus, Ohio. The Bulldogs would strike first, twice, going up 2-0 to start the game. The Lakers would tie it up in the second before the Bulldogs pulled away with a 3-2 lead in the third. The Gold boys would add two more, including an empty netter in the dying seconds of the game to send them to Columbus.
The Bulldogs would go 2-1 in Columbus, however, that record just wouldn’t be enough to propel them to the National Semifinals.
Nick Bordeaux, Joe Gibbs and Mario Tomei were all named to the First Team All MCHC East team at the end of the regular season and Jack Clary would be named to the Second Team.
Gibbs and Bordeaux would also be named to the All North Region Second Teams at the conclusion of the National Tournament.
Top Scorers
1. Jack Clary 13g-18a-31pts 25GP
2. Nick Bordeaux 13g-16a-29pts 24GP
3. Andy Petersmark 10g-15a-25pts 25GP
4. Joe Laskero 8g-15a-23pts 22GP
5. Mario Tomei 6g-17a-23pts 25GP
Impactful Players
Nick Bordeaux: Senior Nick Bordeaux had quite the final two seasons with the Bulldogs. Finishing in the top 5 in scoring both seasons, Bordeaux ended his career at Adrian as a leader on a very young team, leading his team to the National Tournament as one of only two vets who had any kind of tournament experience. Bordeaux and his prescence on the team will definitely be missed next season.
Joe Laskero: Laskero and his quick hands and smooth moves impressed the Bulldogs this season as a rookie. Laskero finished fourth among the team in points and third in goals for the Bulldogs.
Black
Depsite losing two of their key assets (Andy Petersmark and Joe Gibbs) to the Gold team this year, the Black Squad posted a 7-15-2 record this season.
In a team full of underclassmen and freshmen once again, the Black Squad relied on the leadership of grad student AJ Burns as their captain this season, along with assistant captains Mitch Kusch and Anthony Longo.
The Black Squad had their season end at the conclusion of the regular season this year after making it to the regional playoffs last season.
The Black Squad will have a new captain next season as AJ Burns hangs up his skates after captaining the Black Squad for 3 years and the Black Squad will definitely not be the same without him.
Top Scorers
1. James Smith 9g-17a-26pts 23GP
2. Gerin Hohl 4g-20a-24pts 20GP
3. Alex Armour 6g-13a-19pts 24GP
4. Kevin Philbin 10g-8a-18pts 22GP
5. Rob Bathory 12g-5a-17pts 24GP
Impactful Players
Gerin Hohl: Coming from the Gold team where he played for the last two years, Hohl came in second in scoring on the team this season despite playing four less games than the rest of the team. Not only does Hohl have sweet hands and a few dangles up his sleeve, giving him the ability to score, but he can drop the glove and throw down when needed,which is definitely appreciated more on the Black Squad than it was on Gold.
Zack Stanifer: Playing on a line with captain AJ Burns, Zack Stanifer was one of the hardest working members of the Black Squad this season. He and Burns quickly became the first line penalty kill for the Bulldogs, who found themselves in the box quite a bit this season.
Although nobody’s season ended the way the coaches and players would’ve liked it to, the tenth season of Bulldog hockey was a successful one. How many programs can say they have had the success Adrian has had in their first ten years? With five regular season titles, one playoff title, five teams competing in their respective National Tournaments and four teams making it to their respective Frozen Fours, Bulldog hockey is not that far away from another National Title.