ACHA D3 Gold Swept by MSU

The ACHA Division 3 Gold team dropped a pair of games at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans this past weekend. The Bulldogs traveled to Munn Ice Arena Friday night on the campus of Michigan State University as they fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Spartans. Senior
Tony Aukskalnis got the scoring started for the Bulldogs halfway through the first period putting the Bulldogs up 1-0. The Spartans would answer back five minutes later to tie up the game at 1-1.

The second period saw the Bulldogs and Spartans play to a near deadlock until Bulldog Freshman Mitch Baker was able to score putting the Bulldogs up 2-1 going into the last 20 minutes of play. The Spartans used two goals within a minute span to take a 3-2 lead with 14 minutes left in the game. Sophomore Russ Rizzo’s power play goal with five minutes remaining in regulation tied things up at 3-3.

The Bulldogs and Spartans were unable to score during the five-minute overtime period forcing the two teams to go into a shootout. Aukskalnis, Rizzo, and freshman Doug Raymond all shot for the Bulldogs but none were able to score. The Spartans got only one goal in the shootout but that was all that mattered as it proved to be the winner. In net the Bulldogs
got a solid performance from sophomore Garrett Knappe who stopped 24 of 27 shots.

The Bulldogs returned home with hopes of using their home ice to even the weekend series. Those hopes were dashed Saturday as Michigan State walked away with a 4-1 victory. The
Spartans managed to silence the Bulldogs offense in the first after getting a goal of their own with five minutes remaining in the period.

The Spartans scored again seven minutes into the second period going up 2-0. The Bulldogs got their only offense of the game with just over a minute remaining in the period as Mitch Baker tallied a power play goal to cut the lead to 2-1. Baker’s goal would be the only goal scored for the Bulldogs as MSU would score two more goals in the third to push their lead to 4-1.

The Bulldogs return to action Sunday afternoon as Davenport University travels to Adrian to faceoff against the Bulldogs for a 2:00 p.m. start.