Nov. 5, 2007

Adrian Bulldogs
Head Coach: Ron Fogarty, 1st season overall and at Adrian (0-0-0)
2006-07 Overall Record: n/a
2006-07 MCHA Record: n/a
Key Returners: n/a
Key Losses: n/a
2007-08 Projected Finish: Second

The Bulldogs might be the most interesting thing to happen in Division III in quite a while. Other recent additions to the D-III realm such as Neumann, Castleton and Morrisville struggled mightily in the first season or two.

Adrian apparently has no such plans.

Within a short time of announcing plans to bring hockey to the college, the school announced Bowling Green assistant coach Ron Fogarty as its first coach. They also announced plans to construct 1,000 seat Arrington Ice Arena. The on-campus facility is already completed and will host all Bulldog home games.

The level of commitment the school has shown to hockey has Fogarty excited about his prospects at Adrian.

"Our school president played hockey and loves hockey," he said. "They take it very seriously. Having a rink on campus is huge; with prime ice-time for practice and the new facility it's been great. We've been treated very well."

The support the school has shown the athletic department appears to have paid off in the Bulldogs' first recruiting class. It's a class which, by any standards of D-III, looks to be an excellent one. Some would go as far as to say it's one of the strongest in the nation.

Leaning on his experience in Division I as well as broad-based connections, Fogarty recruited a class stacked with productive Junior A talent and drew heavily from Ontario. Shockingly, the result is the Bulldogs looking like the MCHA's strongest club on paper. Handing the Bulldogs the conference title would be a tad irresponsible however, as we all know paper can't skate.

While proud of his initial recruiting class, Fogarty knows a roster with nothing but first year players poses plenty of risks.

"Those are the two biggest things," he said. "Bringing the team together under a new system, and from there adjusting to a number of different systems we are going to run."

He continued, "With a lot of freshman we are going to need to adjust to the college rules. This is a lot different from juniors and the kids are going to need to adjust or it will hurt us. That's the biggest learning area for us: what we can and can't do at the college level."

It's going to take some time before the cream rises to the top of Adrian's crop, but Fogarty pointed to a few individuals he expects large contributions from.

On defense he singled out Quinn Waller, Jeremy Klaver and Chris Stansik.

"Stansik is our most skilled defenseman and has the ability to take it coast to coast, he said. "Waller is a heck of a player we are glad to have here and Klaver should also be an important player for us."

Offensively, Fogarty has two lines he likes in terms of scoring, but singled out Shawn Skelly, Eric Miller and Adam Krug. Krug, now a junior, is a transfer from D-I Wayne State and led the Warriors in scoring two seasons ago.

"They are our go-to line right now," he said. "They are all excellent passers and it's been fun to watch and coach them. Skelly in particular has an excellent shot. This is our most entertaining line."

He also singled out the line of Kyle Watson, Drew Satterly and Mike Towns. Averaging over 6'2" and 210 pounds, the trio of freshman have specifically shown the ability to play defensively as well.

Fogarty insists the goalie situation is still wide open, though Brad Fogal saw the most action in the Bulldogs opening weekend split against Potsdam.

It's certainly not going to come to Adrian right away and no one in the MCHA is going to hand them anything, but thanks to starting a program and holding nothing back in terms of coaching, commitment and facilities, the Bulldogs certainly have the tools to put an excellent team out on the ice.