APPLETON, Wis. — A short-handed goal early in the third period Saturday proved to be the difference as No. 8 Adrian College held on for 2-1 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association victory over Lawrence University at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
The Bulldogs broke a 1-1 tie with Taylor McCloy’s short-hander just 4:30 into the final period.
The Vikings went on the power play 1:45 into the third period when Vincent Paquette was sent off for cross-checking. Adrian’s Austin Rust was whistled for holding 44 seconds later, and the Vikings had a two-man advantage for the next 1:16.
Lawrence (5-12-2, 4-8-2 NCHA) couldn’t cash in on the two-man advantage, and the Bulldogs were still down a man when McCloy eased toward the Vikings’ blue line just as Adrian got control of the puck. He skated in alone on Lawrence goaltender Evan Cline and scored on a back-hander at the 4:30 mark.
Lawrence had a final opportunity when Adrian’s Matt McNair was whistled for slashing with 39 seconds left. The Vikings then pulled Cline and had a pair of good scoring chances. The final opportunity came on a scrum in front of the net as time expired, but Adrian goaltender Kevin Entmaa jumped on the puck seconds before the buzzer sounded.
Lawrence went 0-for-6 on the power play, and Adrian (14-5-2, 13-3-0) finished 1-for-5.
Entmaa made 21 saves to pick up the win for Adrian, and Cline was superb in net for the Vikings as he stopped 46 of 48 shots.
Cory Dunn put Adrian on top when scored on the power play with just 1:08 left in the opening period. Lawrence tied the game at 1-1 six minutes into the second period when Josh Koepplinger beat Entmaa off assists from Carson Knop and Lane King.