D II club hockey falls short to Adrian in 3-2 loss
Big hits, whistles blown, and first goals all went down in Central Michigan Division III 3-2 loss against the Adrian Bulldogs.
“That one hurt us,” said head coach Tyler Cataline. “Adrian deserved to win that game, they outplayed us. I’m happy that (freshman) Aidan Gazdecki got his first goal, it was the one to get us on the board and it’s too bad we couldn’t get the win for him”
Despite having most of the control, the Bulldogs would open the scoring with a goal from freshman forward Evan Bliss in the first period. Both teams picked up the hitting and landed themselves in the penalty box, but neither team was able to capitalize on the powerplay opportunities. Freshman forward Jacob Kosnik had a scoring chance on senior forward Ben Hryciuk's cross-checking penalty but came up short.
The Chippewas fought hard to get on the board, with scoring chances from Keegan Moore and Jacob St. Andre, but Adrian piled on another goal to make the score 2-0. The Chippewas refused to give up and kept fighting hard.
Finally, the Chippewas were able to get one past Bulldogs goalie Dylan Zelko with a one-timer goal from freshman forward Andrew Gazdecki with his first goal of his collegiate career late in the second period to cut the Bulldogs lead in half 2-1.
“I finally broke the barrier and it feels a lot easier now to score the first one and hopefully many more to come,” said Freshman forward Andrew Gazdecki.
Despite having the energy and control from the late goal in the second, the Bulldogs scored first in the third period with a goal from senior forward Mathieu Barette during 4-on-4 with two teams having a player in the box to bring the score to 3-1. Freshman forward Isaac Gibbs gave the Chippewas hope once again with a goal six minutes left in the game.
Goaltender Thomas Rofe was pulled with a minute and twenty-five seconds left for a last-ditch effort as an extra attacker came onto the ice. The last minute and a half felt like a whole period as the Chippewas took shot after shot on the Bulldogs goaltender. Their efforts fell short as the clock came ticking down and Adrian ended up with the 3-2 win.
Isaac Gibbs scored a goal to bring his total goals to three this season.
Captains Brennan Martin, Charlie Hayes, and Keelan Baker each earned an assist.
The Chippewas have a long break before they trip to Florida to face off against Florida Gulf Coast University on Jan. 21, 2022.
