FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 1 men's ice hockey team begins a seven-game road trip and continues Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) play on Friday when they travel to Michigan to take on ACHA No. 25 Oakland.
 
Indiana Tech D1 (3-2-0, 2-1-0 GLCHL)
 
Friday, Oct. 16, 8:20 p.m. at Oakland (0-4-0, 0-2-0 GLCHL) Rochester, Michigan (Rochester Onyx Arena)
Saturday, Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m. at Oakland (0-4-0, 0-2-0 GLCHL) Royal Oak, Michigan (John Lindell Royal Ice Arena)
 
Following the Warriors: Both games will be broadcast on Midwest Entertainment Sports (MES) TV, with links available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. Full recaps will be posted to IndianaTechWarriors.com following each game. You can also catch the action on Twitter by following @INTechICE_D1 and @INTechWarriors.
 
Last Time Out: Tech made history when they swept Eastern Michigan last weekend, the first series sweep in program history. The Warriors blanked the Eagles, 9-0, on Oct. 9 before coming away with a 5-2 win on Oct. 10. 14 different Warriors recorded at least one point while half of them had multi-point weekends. Ryan Attwood, Adam Jonak, Zack Morlock and Quentin Holmes led the team in goals with two apiece, while Holmes, Attwood and Joe Molfetta added three assists over the two games. Zach Larson picked up both the wins while stopping 44 shots over the weekend.
 
Head Coach Frank DiCristofaro: The first head coach in program history, Frank DiCristofaro enters his second season as Head Ice Hockey coach at Indiana Tech. In his first season at the helm, he guided the Warriors to an 8-26 record while playing one of the toughest schedules in the (ACHA). The program's first win came against the then No. 14 ranked Oakland University Golden Grizzlies on Sept. 27, 2014. Under DiCristofaro's watch, the Warrior hockey program was able to gain entry to the highly-respected Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL). The league boasts annual powerhouses Adrian College, Davenport University and Oakland University. As part of one of the deepest and most talented leagues in the ACHA, the Warriors are tested by the best on a weekly basis.
 
Scouting the Opposition: Oakland – The Golden Grizzles started the season ranked 22^nd in the ACHA, but four straight losses to ranked opponents to open their season has dropped the team to 25^th. Oakland has been shut out twice this season already and only scored four goals in their other two games. The Golden Grizzles were swept by GLCHL opponents Michigan Dearborn and Adrian, currently No. 17 and No. 6 in the latest poll. Joe Pizzimenti leads the team with three points and is tied for first in goals with one. Ryan Rotondi, Kyle Nelson and Conor Durgan also have one goal each. Bryce Goulah has seen the majority of minutes in goal so far with over 158 and a .890 save percentage in three games, but has a 4.53 goals against average (GAA).
 
Series Notes: Oakland – This is the fourth matchup between the two squads, with the Golden Grizzles taking two of the three games a season ago. Tech got its first win in program history, a 6-4 decision, against then No. 14 Oakland on Sept. 27 in Rochester. Jarrett Pfeiffer scored two goals in the three matchups last year.
 
Program First: With two wins over Eastern Michigan over the weekend of Oct. 9-10, Indiana Tech completed the first series sweep in program history. The Warriors blanked the Eagles, 9-0, on Oct. 9 before coming away with a 5-2 win on Oct. 10. 14 different Warriors recorded at least one point while half of them had multi-point weekends. Ryan Attwood, Adam Jonak and Quentin Holmes led the team in goals with two apiece, while Holmes, Attwood and Joe Molfetta added three assists over the two games. Zach Larson picked up both the wins while stopping 44 shots over the weekend.
 
Clicking on Special Teams: Tech's power play and penalty kill worked to perfection in the series against Eastern Michigan. The Orange and Black did not give up a goal in 12 short-handed opportunities in the two games and scored on four of its 13 power play chances.
 
Quick Starts: Three Warriors have recorded multi-goal games through the first five games of the season. Jace Childs and Joe Molfetta each scored two apiece in the season opener on Sept. 18 against Illinois State, while Ryan Theisen notched two as well in Tech's first victory of the year on Sept. 19 against the Redbirds. Childs also picked up three assists in the first series of the year and leads Tech with seven points, while Theisen is right behind with four.
 
Team Effort: Over two-thirds of the Tech roster (16 out of 24) has recorded at least one point through the first games this season. Jace Childs, Ryan Attwood and Joe Molfetta lead the team with eight points, while Childs and Ryan Theisen are atop the goals sheet with four apiece. Jarrett Pfeiffer has tallied six assists, while Attwood and Molfetta has dished out five apiece.
 
Earning His Keep: After sitting out the first two games, Zach Larson has made the most of his playing game over the past three games. In just over 169 minutes, the sophomore goaltender has a .958 save percentage, made 69 saves for a 1.06 GAA and recorded his second career shutout, also the second shutout in program history in the 9-0 win over Eastern Michigan on Oct. 9. In the 2014-15 campaign, the Roseville, Minnesota, native played in over 950 minutes and made 552 saves in 18 games.
 
New York State of Mind: After this weekend's series with Oakland, the Warriors will head east to Buffalo, New York, on Oct. 23-25 for a trio of games against a pair of Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL) powers. Tech will face off with Canisius College on Oct. 23 and 25 and battle No. 16 University at Buffalo on Oct. 24. The Orange and Black were scheduled to make the trip to Western New York last November, but were unable to travel due to massive amounts of lake-effect snow accumulation in the area, which caused a state of emergency.
 
No Easy Skating: As Indiana Tech enters its first season as a member of the GLCHL, they will be tested night-in and night-out. Four of the nine GLCHL teams: Adrian (sixth), Davenport (10^th), Michigan-Dearborn (17^th) and Oakland (25^th), are all ranked in the latest ACHA Top 25 Poll, while Kent State also received votes. The GLCHL is tied with the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESHL) for the second-most teams in the poll, while the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSLCHL) and Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) each led the way with five teams apiece.