FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech ACHA Division 1 men's ice hockey team gets back on the ice this weekend as they travel west to Nebraska to take on Midland in a "Battle of the Warriors" in their first competition since Dec. 11-12.
 
Indiana Tech (12-11-1-0, 25 points) (Win-Loss-OT Loss-SO Loss)
 
Saturday, Jan. 9, 2 p.m. at Midland (12-5-3-1, 28 points) Fremont, Nebraska (Sidner Ice Arena)
Sunday, Jan. 10, 5 p.m. at Midland (12-5-3-1, 28 points) Fremont, Nebraska (Sidner Ice Arena)
 
Following the Warriors: Both games will be live video via Midland's Livestream, http://original.livestream.com/midlandathletics. You can also catch the action on Twitter by following @INTechICE_D1, @INTechWarriors or @Midland_Sports.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors fell to 12^th ranked Robert Morris (Ill.), 6-1, on Dec. 12 as the Eagles completed the weekend sweep. Ryan Theisen scored the lone goal for the Orange and Black, while Jace Childs picked up the assist. Chet Tooker made 34 saves in net for Tech.
 
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: Midland – The Warriors, who dawn the orange and blue, will be playing for the first time since a three-game road trip to Michigan on Dec. 4-6 when they fell twice to No. 6 Adrian and were also defeated by No. 22 Western Michigan. Ben Henry leads the team with 17 goals and 31 total points on the season while also accumulating 14 assists. Blake Neumann is the Warriors leader with in assists with 18 assists on the year. Sam Turner adds 26 points while Blair Seitz and Zach Voss each have 25 points apiece. Jarin Aden patrols the Midland crease and ranks seventh in the ACHA with 980 minutes logged in net this season. His 558 saves rank second among all DI goalies while he has recorded three shutouts between the pipes this year, and owns a .916 save percentage.
 
Series Notes: Midland – Tech is 2-2 against the Warriors, who are also in their second year of existence. Both teams claimed a home and away victory a season ago. Zach Larson picked up on the wins on Oct. 12, making 23 saves in a 6-2 victory. Alex Gregorich and Jarrett Pfeiffer each scored a goal in the win.
 
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 has 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 (40), goals (18) and assists (22). The Savage, Minnesota native is eighth in the ACHA in points while he is tied for 12^th in assists and tied for 15^th in goals. Pfeiffer is second on the team in all three categories (32, 14, 18) and is tied for 19^th in assists and tied for 21^st in points.
 
Special Teams Aces: Childs, Pfeiffer, Quentin Holmes and Zack Morlock 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. Three of Morlock's goals have won the game for Tech.
 
Protecting the Net: Goaltender Zach Larson has been a steady presence in the crease this season for the Warriors, making 404 saves in just under 771 minutes of ice time, good for a .906 save percentage. The Roseville, Minnesota native had earned two shutouts in between the pipes this year and is giving up 3.26 goals a night.
 
Picking up the Miles: Tech on the backend of a five-game road trip in which they've travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bensenville, Illinois and Fremont, Nebraska. And while the team plays at "home" on Jan. 15-16, it will be at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Warriors next game at the SportONE/Parkview Icehouse won't be until Jan. 30 when they welcome Michigan-Dearborn to the Summit City for the finale to 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. Five of the nine GLCHL teams: Davenport (fourth), Adrian (sixth), Michigan-Dearborn (13^th), Western Michigan (17^th) and Rochester (24^th) 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 second most teams ranked of any conference and is also second in terms of percentage of teams ranked (55.6%) The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) and Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) have all five and seven of its 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.