Photo by Saline Athletics

An up-and-down regular season ended on a high note for the Saline hockey team when the Hornets clinched the SEC Red title last week.

The Hornets defeated Bedford 4-1 Thursday night to finish with 22 points and claim the conference title with a 7-3-2 record.

Mateo Iadipaolo put the Hornets on top when he found a loose puck along the left boards and cut in front of the net untouched and lifted it home for a 1-0 lead.

Bedford would tie it up, but Saline retook the lead when Antonio Giacalone lifted one top shelf for a power-play goal to make it 2-1 in the second.

Jack Boyle would find the net in the third period to make it 3-1 and Iadipaolo finished off the scoring when he beat the Mules defense to the puck and scored an empty net goal to make the final 4-1.

Iadipaolo and Giacalone both had assists to go along with their goals, while Blake Woodrel had two assists. Luke Kelley also had two assists, while Aidan Rumohr and Tyson Jacobs each had one.

Tyler Schroeder stopped 18 of 19 shots in net for the Hornets.

The Hornets battled to a scoreless draw with Tri Valley Wednesday night.

The defenses were on points with Brendan Warwinsky picking up the shutout by stopping 17 shots for Saline.

The Hornets wrapped up the regular season with a 3-3 draw with Lenawee United Saturday night.

Jacobs scored two goals and an assist to lead the Hornets.

Giacalone added a goal, while Blake Woodrel, Jace Woodrel, Cooper Dillon, and Rumohr had one assist each.

Warwinsky and Schroeder split time in net with Warwinsky stopping 34 shots and Schroeder nine.

Saline finished the regular season with a 9-12-4 overall record.

They will take part in the D1 regional at Brighton this week.