UNLV’S club hockey team falls to Adrian in championship game

UNLV’S club hockey team fell short in its quest for a national championship Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Rebels couldn’t crack Adrian College (Mich.) goaltender Noah Decottignies and lost 3-0 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association men’s Division I final at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

The No. 2 Bulldogs (34-5) won their third Murdoch Cup as the ACHA national champion.

Decottignies, who ranked second in ACHA Division I in goals-against average, finished with 41 saves to earn his sixth shutout of the season.

Matthew Dicesare scored with 2:38 left in the second period to give Adrian a 1-0 advantage. Matteo Digiulio had a power-play goal in the third period for the Bulldogs and added an empty-net tally.

UNLV (25-7-1) controlled play in the first period and finished with a 16-8 advantage in shots on goal, but Decottignies kept the game scoreless. The Rebels outshot Adrian 41-29 overall.

UNLV goaltender Vince Benedetto stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced.

■ AHL: At Tucson, Ariz., the Silver Knights lost

4-0 to the Tucson Roadrunners at Tucson Convention Center Arena. The Silver Knights went 0 for 6 on power plays, not showing to be much of a threat. The Roadrunners had four different goal scorers.

In other team news, the Silver Knights signed forward Ryan Dzingel to a professional tryout agreement. He will join the team immediately. Dzingel, 32, has appeared in 404 NHL games and 141 AHL games over nine professional seasons.

■ Rangers: New York forward Matt Rempe has been suspended four games for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the head. Rempe suspension comes just 10 games into his career.

■ Predators: Nashville will be without defenseman Dante Fabbro for two to three weeks because of an upper-body injury. Fabbro was hurt Sunday in an overtime loss at Minnesota.