FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The 23^rd-ranked Indiana Tech ACHA Division 1 men's ice hockey team hosts ACHA Division 2 opponent Ferris State this weekend in the first-ever meeting between the two programs, as well as Tech's first games as a ranked team, as the Warriors host the Bulldogs at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
 
Indiana Tech (13-11-1-1, 28 points) (Win-Loss-Overtime Loss-Shootout Loss)
 
Friday, Jan. 15, 1:30 p.m. vs. Ferris State (3-13-0-0, 6 points) Fort Wayne, Indiana (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum)
Saturday, Jan. 16, 1:30 p.m. vs. Ferris State (3-13-0-0, 6 points) Fort Wayne, Indiana (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum)
 
Following the Warriors: Both games will have live video via Stretch's Internet Game Central, http://portal.stretchinternet.com/indianatech/. You can also catch the action on Twitter by following @INTechICE_D1 and @INTechWarriors.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors split last weekend's games at Midland, earning a 5-2 win on Saturday before falling in shootout on Sunday, 5-4 (1-0 SO). Dylan Grant scored twice in the victory, Jace Childs had a goal and two assists over the weekend while Jarrett Pfeiffer scored once and picked up an assist. Zach Larson picked up his seventh win of the year in net while Chet Took made 32 saves in the shootout loss.
 
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 then 14^th 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, Davenport and Oakland. 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: Ferris State – The Bulldogs haven't played since Dec. 5 when they fell to Michigan State at home, 7-2, and has gone 3-3 over its past six games. Shawn Miele leads the team in points (17), goals (nine) and penalty minutes (62). Austin Doyle leads the team in assists with 13 on the year. The netminding has been a revolving door all year long for the Bulldogs, as four different goalies have logged at least 109 minutes of ice time, with Kyle Kramlich having the best goals against average (GAA), 6.02, but has only played in three games. Nick Nuzzolo holds a .831 save percentage in 244 minutes of game action while Brett Schmekel has appeared in the most games of any goalie (eight).
 
Series Notes: Ferris State – This is the first-ever matchup between the two programs.
 
Into the Rankings: For the first time in program history, the Warriors found themselves ranked in the ACHA Top 25 Poll, entering the rankings at number 23 on Jan. 14. Tech had been 26^th for the past few weeks, but the split at Midland propelled the Orange and Black into the top 25.
 
Coliseum History: Tech is 1-1 in games played at the Coliseum. Last year, the Warriors defeated Western Michigan, 5-3, on Nov. 14, 2014 before closing out their inaugural season with a 6-3 loss to Rochester. The Coliseum is the home rink of the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets, who have played in the Summit City for over 60 years.
 
Holiday Winnings: The Orange and Black went 3-0 over Thanksgiving weekend to claim their first tournament title in program history as they won the Michigan-Dearborn Great Lakes Showcase. Tech defeated ACHA Division 3 Michigan State and Central Michigan, 10-0, and 4-2, respectively, before taking down the host Wolverines in overtime in the championship game, 3-2.
 
More Firsts: The Warriors 3-2 overtime win over Michigan-Dearborn was the first victory over the Wolverines in program history and their fourth win over a ranked opponent. The two teams will meet on Jan. 29-30 in a home-and-home set, with Tech traveling to Dearborn on the 29 before hosting the Maize and Blue on the 30.
 
Keeping Up with the Best of Them: Jace Childs and Jarrett Pfeiffer have supplied the Warriors with plenty of offense this season and they find themselves among the best in the ACHA. Childs leads the Orange and Black in points (43), goals (19) and assists (24). The Savage, Minnesota native is sixth in the ACHA in points while he is tied for ninth in assists and tied for 13^th in goals. Pfeiffer is second on the team in all three categories (34, 15, 19) and is tied for 20^th in assists, tied for 22^nd in points and tied for 27^th in goals.
 
Special Teams Aces: Quentin Holmes, Zack Morlock, Childs and Pfeiffer have all been dangerous on the power play this year as each has tallied four goals apiece with a man advantage. Childs has also notched two short-handed goals and two game-winners, while three of Morlock's goals have won the game for Tech.
 
Protecting the Net: Goaltenders Zach Larson and Chet Took have been a steady 1-2 combination in net for the Warriors. Larson owns a pair of shutouts and seven wins while stopping 90.2% of the shots he's faced, giving up 3.17 goals per night. Tooker has also been steady in his first season with the Orange and Black, racking up 227 saves in 549 minutes of ice time and allowing just 3.82 goals a contest.
 
Away from Home: Tech hasn't played at the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse since Dec. 14 when the Warriors hosted ninth ranked Davenport. Since then the Orange and Black have played in Grand Rapids, Michigan (Davenport), Bensenville, Illinois (Robert Morris) and Fremont, Nebraska (Midland). This weekend's games at the Coliseum break up what is essentially a 10 game road trip, with Tech heading to Bloomington, Illinois to take on Illinois State on Jan. 22-23 before concluding the road swing with a matchup against Michigan-Dearborn on Jan. 29. The Warriors next game at SportONE/Parkview Icehouse will be Jan. 30 when they welcome host the Wolverines for the final game of their season series.
 
Some Diverse Ice: Tech is loaded with players from all across the country as well as all over the globe. The Warriors feature players from 10 different states and four countries. Michigan tops the list with seven athletes, while three Warriors hail from the Hoosier State. Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Canada are all represented with two players while California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, the Czech Republic and Scotland each have one.
 
How Sweep it is: With back-to-back wins over Eastern Michigan over 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.
 
No Easy Skating: As the Orange and Black embark on its first season as a member of the GLCHL, they will be tested night-in and night-out against one of the toughest and deepest conferences in the AHCA. Six of the nine GLCHL teams are ranked along with Tech: Adrian (fifth), Davenport (sixth), Michigan-Dearborn (13^th), Western Michigan (15^th) and Rochester (22^nd) are all ranked in the latest ACHA Top 25 Poll. Oakland was ranked 25^th when the two teams battled back on Oct. 16-17. The GLCHL has the most teams ranked out of any conference and is second in terms of percentage of teams ranked (66.7%) The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) has all five of its members ranked while the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) and the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League has five-of-seven and four-of-six members ranked, respectively.
 
Team Effort: Over 85% of the Tech roster (18 out of 21, excluding goalies) has recorded at least one point through 20 games this season, while 17 different Warriors have scored at least one goal and 17 different players have notched at least one assist.