FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 19^th-ranked Indiana Tech ACHA Division 1 men's ice hockey team looks to continue its winning streak this weekend as they conclude their season series with 10^th-ranked Michigan-Dearborn in a home-and-home set.
 
#19 Indiana Tech (17-11-1-1, 36 points) (Win-Loss-Overtime Loss-Shootout Loss)
 
Friday, Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m. at #10 Michigan-Dearborn (16-3-1-1, 34 points) Dearborn, Michigan (UM-Dearborn Ice Arena)
Saturday, Jan. 30, 5:30 p.m. vs. #10 Michigan-Dearborn (16-3-1-1, 34 points) Fort Wayne, Indiana (SportONE/Parkview Icehouse)
 
Following the Warriors: Live video will be available for both games via Stretch Internet's Game Center at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/indianatech/, while live stats will be available for Saturday's contest at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also follow @INTechICE_D1 and @INTechWarriors on Twitter to keep up with the action.
 
Last Time Out: Tech swept Illinois State last weekend, 6-0, and 3-1, respectively, to push their winning streak to four games, their longest streak in program history. Jarrett Pfeiffer, Anthony Passarelli and Joe Molfetta each had two goals over the weekend while Zach Larson picked up two victories and his third shutout of the season.
 
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 8-25-0-1 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 and as a member 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: Michigan-Dearborn – The Wolverines head into the weekend ranked 10^th in the ACHA and have won six in a row, most recently defeating Oakland, 3-2, on Tuesday. Their last loss came to the Warriors over Thanksgiving weekend in the Great Lakes Showcase Championship game. Tyler Groat leads the team in goals (25) and points (37) and is tied for the fifth most goals in the country. Ryan Urso paces the Wolverines in assists with 25 and has 31 points on the season. Nate Ferris has been stellar in net all year long for UM-Dearborn, stopping 91.8% of the shots he's faced while giving up just 2.10 goals per game, the 14^th best mark in the nation. He's recorded one shutout in 1,144 minutes of ice time.
 
Series Notes: Michigan-Dearborn – The Warriors are 1-2 all-time against the Wolverines and won the previous matchup this season, 3-2 in overtime back on Nov. 29 in the finals of the UM-Dearborn Great Lakes Showcase. Jarrett Pfeiffer scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the championship.
 
Climbing the Rankings: Tech jumped four spots in the ACHA Top 25 Poll to number 19 after spending the previous two weeks in the 23^rd position. The Warriors joined the Top 25 back on Jan. 14 for the first time in program history.
 
We're Going Streaking: The current four-game winning streak from the Orange and Black is the longest program history and also give DiCristofaro's team a perfect 4-0 record as a ranked squad. Tech has outscored its opponents 26-3 over the last four games and has record shutouts in two of those contests
 
Sweeping it Up: Tech has swept five different opponents so far this season (minimum two games) after not recording a sweep in their inaugural season. The Warriors have dispatched Eastern Michigan (Oct. 9-10), Canisius (Oct. 23, 25), Kent State (Nov. 13-14), Ferris State (Jan. 15-16) and Illinois State (Jan. 22-23). In those 10 games, the Orange and Black have scored 61 goals while only allowing 15 and have recorded three shutouts in those games.
 
Back Home Again: The Warriors will be back home at the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse on Saturday after a lengthy nine game road trip. While two games (Ferris State) were played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Tech hasn't played in its home arena since Dec. 4 when they hosted Davenport. The Orange and Black will play four of their next six games in the Summit City, their longest stretch of the year.
 
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 (54), assists (31) and goals (23). The Savage, Minnesota winger is third in the nation in points, sixth in assists and eighth in goals. Pfeiffer is second on the team in all three categories (44, 24, 20) and is tied for 11^th in points, tied for 18^th in assists and tied for 16^th in goals.
 
Not to be Forgotten: Just behind Childs the Pfeiffer is the trio of Adam Jonak, Ryan Theisen and Joe Molfetta, who each have recorded double-digit goals and have over 25 points. Jonak and Theisen are tied for third on the team in goals with 14 apiece while Mofletta has scored 12 times. Theisen also ranked third in assists with 21 while Molfetta is in fifth with 17.
 
Power Play Specialists: Nine different Warriors have scored goals on the power play this season, giving head coach Frank DiCristofaro lots of options when his team has a man advantage. Jace Childs leads the team with seven power play goals, while Zack Morlock and Jarrett Pfeiffer each have each six apiece. Four of Quentin Holmes goals have come while up a man while Ryan Theisen has three tallies on the power play.
 
Protecting the Net: Zach Larson has been stout in between the pipes this season for the Warriors, accumulating over 951 minutes of ice time while recording three shutouts, tied for the fifth-most in the country, and stopping 91.3% of the shots he's faced. He is allowing just 2.84 goals per game as well while sporting a 9-5-1-0 record.
 
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 opponents 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.
 
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.
 
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:  Davenport (fifth), Adrian (sixth), Michigan-Dearborn (10^th), Western Michigan (17^th) and Rochester (23^rd) 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.
 
Crowded Ice: The GLCHL has the second most teams ranked out of any conference (six) and is also second in terms of percentage of teams ranked (66.7%) The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) and Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) have all five and seven of their members ranked, respectively.
 
Team Effort: Over 86% of the Tech roster (19 out of 22, 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.