Week 8 Review (#13 Lawrence Tech University)
The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies’ season continued this past weekend as the team took on its first MCHC-East action of the season with crosstown rival Lawrence Tech. Entering the weekend, the Grizzlies had struggled to make any notable gains against the Blue Devils in the past three seasons, as head coach Matt Stirling and his staff were 3-9-1 against Lawrence Tech all-time. The Friday night contest was at the friendly confines of Buffalo Wild Wings Arena, while the Golden Grizzlies returned the trip to Redford Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon.
In the first game of the series, the Golden Grizzlies saw a very structured and more methodical opponent than in previous weeks. The game would open with minimal scoring chances from both sides, but would find both Oakland and LTU finding the back of the net in the first period. The Grizzlies would open the scoring on a goal from defenseman Reiss Williams and see the Blue Devils score two minutes later on the power play. In the second, the Grizzlies would find a power play goal of their own as Williams would find the back of the net for his second of the game. In the final frame, Oakland would give up one goal but get goals from Brian Evans and an empty-netter from Jack Abbo to win the contest by a final score of 4-2. In goal, Caleb Godlewski grabbed his fourth win of the season as he made 28 of 30 saves in the win. The Grizzlies outshot the Blue Devils 44-30 in the contest.
On Saturday, the Golden Grizzlies had a quicker turnaround as they went across town to Redford Ice Arena for a 5:00 PM start. The tough environment has proven to be a tough place for opponents to play. The game would start in a very physical and tight checking contest, which saw no scoring in the opening period. Lawrence Tech, which is known for its trapping style of hockey, would continue to stay consistent with that throughout the weekend. In the second, Shane Arbour would find the back of the net twice for the Golden Grizzlies, who would skate to a 2-1 lead after the second period. As scoring chances became a premium item in the 3rd period, the game would see multiple stoppages and consistent pressure on the Oakland defensive end. With the help of his teammates, goalie Max Pierce would prevail as the Golden Grizzlies would win the game by a final score of 2-1. Pierce made 29 of 30 saves for the Grizzlies and would take home his sixth win of the season.
Week 9 Preview
The Golden Grizzlies’ season rolls on as the team heads into the weekend with a two-game road trip to #26 Miami Redhawks. The Redhawks split with #25 Indiana last weekend and split with like opponent #32 Purdue earlier in the season. The Redhawks have been a consistent opponent on the Grizzlies’ non-conference schedule. Coach Stirling and his staff are 5-3-0 against the Redhawks all-time. The team will travel on Friday to Oxford and play that evening, followed by a game later Saturday evening as well.
Looking at Miami: Miami comes in with the bulk of its returning group from last season. Currently leading the way for Miami is returning forward #23 John Aliferis, who is averaging a point per game through the Redhawks’ first nine games. Familiar names in #9 Angelo Peppes, #17 Hudson Hart, and #13 Quinten Rubcich all continue to be in the forward mix for Miami and have all collected at least 6 points throughout the early part of the season. In goal, returning goaltender Brendan Kelley has played the most games with the following stat line:
GP: 4, 1-3-0 record, Goals Against Average of 4.01, and a save percentage close to 88%.
Head coach Jack Spaulding returns for the Redhawks.
Other News and Notes
The second ranking period of the season will be announced on 11/14/2025 via social media and the ACHA website. The Golden Grizzlies were ranked 3rd in the country after the first ranking period, which saw most teams playing the minimum amount of games to make the ranking (3 Games Played). The second ranking period will include all games played through 11/9/2025, which will be all results, including the LTU series. The rankings will continue throughout the season on a bi-weekly basis until the final ranking period in February. The top 16 teams with some automatic bids for league winners will make the tournament, which is hosted in St. Louis this season.
Leaders
Leading in Goals: Shane Arbour (10)
Leading in Assists: Jack Abbo and Tommy Davis (14)
Leading in Points: Shane Arbour (21)
Goaltending GAA Leader: Max Pierce (1.39)
Goaltending Save Percentage Leader: Max Pierce (95.2%)
Team Power Play Percentage: 10 of 39 (25.64%)
Team Penalty Kill Percentage: 24 of 28 (85.71%)
Men’s Division 3 Out of Town Schedule for Week 9 Relevant Games (Rankings from Ranking #1)
#9 Northwood vs #13 LTU – MCHC East
(NR) Calvin vs #10 Michigan State – MCHC West
#22 Adrian vs #38 Central Michigan – MCHC East
#49 Colby College vs #16 UMass (Thursday)
#20 Central Maine Community College vs #16 UMass (Friday)
Route 66 Showcase: #33 Missouri State, #5 Nebraska-Omaha, #56 Arkansas, #28 Colorado School of Mines
#34 Notre Dame vs #27 Florida Gulf Coast
Purdue Showcase: #32 Purdue, #51 Kent State, #37 University of Kansas, #31 Xavier
MCHC – East Standings (As of 11/11/2025)
| 1 | Northwood | 5-1-0-0 | 10 |
| 2 | Michigan | 3-2-0-0 | 6 |
| 3 | Oakland | 2-0-0-0 | 4 |
| 4 | LTU | 1-3-0-0 | 2 |
| T5 | Adrian | 0-2-0-0 | 0 |
| T5 | CMU | 0-3-0-0 | 0 |
Please visit our website https://oaklandhockeyd3.acha.hockeytech.com for more information around game times, stats, and more.