There were red eyes along Kent State’s bench as both the third period and the team’s season ended Saturday afternoon.

The Flashes (20-15-2) lost their semifinal matchup in the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) to Adrian College, 3-2.

The Flashes spent much of the game trailing or tied with Adrian, failing to tie the score before the end of the third period.

Despite the loss, head coach Jim Underwood expressed he felt proud of their effort.

“Our guys played phenomenally,” Underwood said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better performance except for getting the win.”

Kent State’s best moments came from positivity and hard work.

“We were concerned about bringing the same energy as we did on Friday,” Underwood said. “Adrian is a great team. They’ve only had one loss this year. Our guys did great against them.”

The team was proud of the desperation that motivated them to avoid a blowout ending to their season.

“You could see it all over the ice, the effort we were putting in,” captain Alex Compean said. “You could see that we didn’t go down without a fight.”

Every member of the team tried to contribute and keep each other confident.

“Everyone seemed to believe we were gonna be able to win the game,” goaltender Sky Buller said. “There was never any doubt that we could do it. Everyone was chipping in where they could.”

Adrian (31-1) faced University of Michigan-Dearborn (23-7-1) Sunday in the final game of the tournament. Michigan-Dearborn won the game 6-2, winning the championship for the second consecutive year.

Erik Svensson is the hockey reporter, contact him at [email protected]