(BLAINE, Minn., Mar. 2) – The McKendree University men's D2 hockey team opened up the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division-II Central Regionals with a win in dominating fashion, defeating Adrian College 8-1 in the semi-finals on Saturday morning.
 
With the win, the Bearcats move to 26-5-1.
 
The Bearcats will await the completion of the rest of the Regional games to find out who they will play in finals as they look to advance to Nationals.
 
McKendree scored early and never looked back in a convincing victory over Adrian, its third win over the Bulldogs this season. Senior Ty Watt (Barrie, Ontario, Canada/Rama Aces GMHL) kicked things off with an unassisted goal 10 minutes into the game to put the Bearcats ahead. Three minutes later junior Tyler Wilson (Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada) got in on the action with goal assisted by sophomore Daniel Nordlander (Göteborg, Sweden/Wasaskolan Tingsryd) and freshman Otasowie Omoregie (Pickering, Ontario, Canada). Just seconds before the final buzzer, Wilson notched his second of the period with help from sophomore Ryan Reader (Granite City, IL/Granite City High School) and Nordlander. The Bearcats carried a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
 
Adrian scored the first goal of the second period to avoid the shutout. Junior Dominic Naas (Neurensdorf, Zurich, Switzerland/Casper Coyotes WSHL) answered back a minute later to push the lead back to three. Wilson and Nordlander were credited with assists. Sophomore Connor Brennan (Castle Rock, CO/Regis Jesuit High School) scored his first goal of the morning off a shot-pass from Nordlander as he deflected it into the back of the net. While on the man advantage, sophomore Shayne Pluto (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Central Memorial High School) caught a pass from senior Lazar Lestaric (Belgrade, Serbia/National Sports Academy USHS) and lit the lamp for a power-play goal. Sophomore Aleks Ivasenko (Riga, Latvia/Riga 1. Distance Education High School) also received an assist on the goal. The Bearcat defense shutdown Adrian as they took a 6-1 lead into the final period.
 
Three minutes into the third period, Omoregie found the back of the net off passes from Wilson and Brennan to further extend the Bearcat lead. Feeling left out, Lestaric found the back of the net for his first goal of the contest with assists from Pluto and Reader to give the Bearcats a seven goal advantage. Once again, the defense stood strong as McKendree took an 8-1 victory over Adrian College in the semi-finals.
 
Senior netminder Andrew Best (Midland, Ontario, Canada/Cambridge Bears Junior A team) was spectacular in the win, stopping 33/34 shots for a .970 save percentage.