Players and coaches from Adrian College celebrate after defeating SUNY Geneseo 5-2 in the NCAA DIII National Championship game on March 26 at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — One play can change the tone of everything in a hockey game and that was the case for the Adrian College Bulldogs on March 26.

Adrian defeated the SUNY Geneseo Knights at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid by a score of 5-2 to claim the school’s first National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III men’s hockey title. But the Bulldogs’ prolonged victory didn’t come without a bit of work.

“I’m proud of this group. It’s been a long time coming for our program. This group in particular. We knew we had something special,” Adrian head coach Adam Krug said. “We went through a bit of a culture shift a few years ago. I think we really understood what getting this program to the next level was going to take.”

Adrian, the top-ranked NCAA DIII team, rolled out to a three-goal lead in the first period and never looked back. While the team was outshot 30-23 in the game the Bulldog’s ability to convert on their opportunities proved to be the difference-maker.

Adrian’s Sam Ruffin, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, played a huge role in the team’s success. Ruffin scored two goals and had an assist in the win.

“I feel great, but I couldn’t have done it without these guys. We’ve pushed each other all year and it shows with a national title,” Ruffin said. “I’m just happy to be a part of this group with these guys and finish the job like we wanted to.”

After both teams steamrolled through their opponents in the semifinal a day prior, emotions were high for the national championship game.

Less than five minutes into the game, the Knights’ Nicolas Elia delivered a crushing open-ice hit, effectively knocking down Adrian’s Jaden Shields.

Shields got up and play resumed before there was a stoppage after SUNY Geneseo’s goaltender covered the puck nearly 30 seconds later.

While most spectators had likely forgotten about the hit, the Bulldogs bench did not and challenged the play, because they believed Geneseo’s Elia made contact to the head of Shields.

Upon further review, the officials agreed, which gave Elia a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct, ejecting him from the game.

“I thought it was a little bit high,” Krug said. “We looked up to our eye in the sky and he gave us the thumbs up for probably a challenge. We made the call and they were warranted a five-minute penalty.

“I don’t love doing that stuff, but it’s part of the game and we are certainly going to utilize that opportunity,” he added. “I think the way the game started we weren’t thrilled with. I think to be able to go to that powerplay, kind of shifted the momentum.”

“We got off to a great start in the first 5 minutes. I loved the way we were playing,” SUNY Geneseo head coach Adam Schultz said. “The video review kind of set us back. It initially looked clean from the bench. I thought it was a good hit. With the video review, it doesn’t lie.”

While on the powerplay, the Bulldogs were able to score twice but the team did allow the Knights to score a short-handed goal in between their two scores.

The Bulldogs’ Ruffin scored first when he one-timed a pass from Shields into the back of the net.

“You can’t put a team like Adrian on the powerplay. They’re going to capitalize,” Schultz said.

Twenty seconds later, Geneseo was able to even the game when the puck landed right on Dan Bosio’s stick. Bosio then made a pass to his teammate Matthew Doran, who was wide-open and buried the puck.

With the 5-minute powerplay winding down, Geneseo’s goalie Matt Petizian stopped Ruffin’s shot, but an unlucky rebound caused a battle for the loose puck in front of the net. The puck landed perfectly on Adrian’s Alessio Luciani’s stick to take back the lead.

The Bulldogs expanded on their lead late in the first period when Matthew Rehding stole the puck in the offensive zone from the Knights defenseman Cameron Cervone. Rehding made a pass toward the front of the net to Trevor Coykendall who scored the eventual game-winner to make the game 3-1.

“That was complacency. We turned the puck over and they capitalized,” Schultz said. “I don’t think it was a result of anything other than it was just not a good play.”

Adrian carried the two-goal lead into the middle period, and Geneseo then jumped back in the contest when Levi Wunder found the back of the net at 4:18 into the second.

With the score 3-2 heading into the third period, the Knights had multiple scoring along with three powerplay opportunities but were never able to capitalize.

“The third period in my opinion was the difference. Our penalty kill was the difference. Our guys did a great job of shutting them down,” Krug said.

While trying to battle back in the game, Geneseo’s goalie Petizian went behind his net in an effort to help two of his defensemen jar the puck away from Adrian’s Coykendall.

Petizian’s plan backfired when Coykendall was able to throw the puck in front of the net to his teammate Ryan Pitoscia who was able to score the goal.

In the final minute of the game, the Bulldogs’ Ruffin scored an empty-netter to seal the game.

For Adrian, whose college is located in Adrian, Michigan, they finish the season with a record of 31-1-0, with their one loss coming in their season-opener.

The Knights finished their season with a 24-4-1 record. The season marked the first time the school had made it to the national title game.

“It felt like we were uphill for most of the game, even though there were a lot of minutes that we put together that we were playing downhill,” Schultz said. “We scratched and clawed. I thought we played a pretty good hockey game. I’d like to see the outcome without that 5-minute.”