Practice was cut short the other day for the reigning national champion Adrian men’s hockey team. Head coach Adam Krug demands a lot of his team, and on this afternoon, the Bulldogs just aren’t at the level they need to be at.
“We had a bad day of practice, and after the second drill, I told the guys the day was over,” Krug said. “To some that might not look good, but it’s good for this group.”
Being the reining national champion sometimes requires challenging players in different ways, and Krug knows that as well as anyone in the game.
“Every team in the country is going to play hard, and they are going to play even harder against us because we have the target on our back,” Krug said.
That was evident from the jump this year. Adrian was challenged in a 3-2 exhibition win over Trine.
The Bulldogs (3-0-1) also had to rally for a 4-3 win over nationally ranked Utica after trailing 3-1 in a game on Oct. 28.
“We knew they were going to give great effort and play hard, and we got a little complacent after scoring the first goal,” Krug said. “It was great for our guys to battle back. We didn’t go through a lot of adversity last year. We played with the lead a lot. To hae an early test and show our mettle, and prove we can come back is big for us.”
The Bulldogs, who are unbeaten through 35 consecutive games dating back to last season, were also tested during a 2-2 tie with nationally ranked Augsburg. The Auggies won the shootout 1-0.
“I’m glad we tied Augsburg. If we win the shootout, do the guys think we won? Maybe,” Krug said. “We took four penalties in the third period with a 2-1 lead against a ranked team. You can’t do that. Since we had the tie, we use it as a positive and a lesson learned.”
Adrian has outscored the opposition 21-11 so far this season and is the No. 1 team in the nation in the DCU/USCO Division III men’s poll.
Matus Spodniak leads the team with eight goals and three assists. Sam Ruffin has come through with two goals and four assists. Twelve other players have tallied at least two points. Dershawn Stewart and Nic Tallarico have both appeared in two games and have made 65 and 54 saves, respectively, on the season.
“I like a lot of what we do,” Krug said. “We play hard. We play the right way. We have the ability to score goals. The big thing is to clean some things up defensively. Some early-season type of things. We want to be better in all aspects of our game.”
The Bulldogs know the road ahead won’t get any easier. But they are confident and they believe they have the potential to contend for another title.
“We have had some good measuring stick games so far, and I think we are a pretty good team,” Krug said. “I like our team and this team has the ability to achieve the same goals it did last year. We just have to keep working hard and continue to get better as a team.”
