Brad Houston Heads to NCAA Final After 5-3 Frozen Four Win
Brad Houston - Adrian College Bulldogs
Chatham’s Brad Houston will be playing for an NCAA Championship Saturday (March 26) after his Adrian College Bulldogs defeated Oswego State Friday in Minnesota 5-3.
The Frozen Four game, in which Adrian College was the underdog, was close from start to finish. In the first, Brad Houston assisted on a goal by Zach Graham on the powerplay. From there, Adrian took a 3-2 lead heading into the third period. Early in the third, Oswego scored to tie the game before Adrian’s All-American forward Shawn Skelly scored his second of the game to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-3.
- Houston Celebrates with Adrian Teammate
Then with under a minute to play, Adrian potted an empty net goal to secure their date against St. Norbert, the same team who eliminated Adrian from last year’s NCAA Division III tournament.
Before the game, Houston told the CKSN, “It’s been four years of hard work and dedication, and it is very rewarding to see it has all paid off.”
Houston also spoke of his team’s lack of experience last year facing St. Norbert, something he says won’t be a problem this time around,
“Last year we learned what it takes to be successful in Tournament games. Going into it, we didn’t know the intensity and battle level that we needed to have to compete. St. Norbert was an experienced, hard-working team, that was ready to compete. We just didn’t have the experience. This year we know what it takes and feel comfortable in the position we are.”
Tomorrow’s game gets underway at 8pm Eastern Time in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game will be broadcast live on www.ncaa.com.
Adrian carries a 23-3-1 record into the NCAA Division III Final, while St. Norbert holds a 24-4-1 record. St. Norbert defeated Norwich 3-2 to advance to the final against Adrian College.
Continue to follow the Chatham-Kent Sports Network for updates on the NCAA Final as well as a follow up interview with Brad Houston.