Ferris State put a 10-goal beating on the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves on Thursday night, putting a stop to the Bulldogs scoring drought this year.
They scored 11 goals in their first 9 games this season before nearly doubling that total in a single contest, routing the Seawolves 10-2. It was the first time Ferris had scored 10 goals in a game since October 18, 2002 in a 10-1 victory over Bowling Green State.
Ferris scored first with 8:56 left in the first period, when Chad McDonald scored with a quick shot off a face-off. This was McDonald’s fourth goal of the season. Assistant captain Kyle Schempp tallied his fourth assist of the season on the goal.
Shortly after, Alaska-Anchorage added a quick goal themselves with 7:45 left in the first period. The goal was scored by Seawolf center Blake Tatchell.
Sophomore Jared VanWormer would add a second goal for the Bulldogs, and his second goal of the season off of a very nice backdoor pass by McDonald. Ferris State would hold the 2-1 lead for the rest of the period, outshooting UAA 12-8 at the end of the first.
The Bulldogs came out hot in the second period as junior forward Matt Robertson scored just 1:09 into the period. He was assisted by sophomore forward Gerald Mayhew and McDonald. This was Ferris State’s first of six goals in the second period, making it a 3-1 game.
Tyler Andrew scored his first goal of the season and his collegiate career when he decided to take the shot on a 2 on 1 with 16:18 left in the second period. After the goal, Alaska-Anchorage substituted goalie Michael Matyas for Olivier Mantha after Mantha had let in the fourth goal.
In the last 8:20 of the second period, Ferris State poured it on, scoring four goals by the time the period ended. Justin Buzzeo, Jason Binkley, Mayhe, and McDonald all added goals for the Bulldogs, with Binkley and Mayhew’s goals coming just 17 seconds apart. The goals were assisted by Andrew Mayer, Justin Buzzeo, Matt Robertson and Ryan Lowney. The score was 8-1 going into the second intermission.
The Bulldogs showed no signs of letting up in the third period, as junior defenseman Zach Dorer scored his first goal of the season on a clapper from the blue line just 1:48 into the period. The goal was assisted by Mitch Maloney and Tyler Andrew, making it a 9-1 Bulldog lead.
The Bulldogs would hit double digits in goals with 12:26 left in the game. Gerald Mayhew tallied his second goal and third point of the night with some help from Sean O’Rourke and Mitch Maloney on the assists.
Just inside the 10 minute remaining mark, head coach Bob Daniels elected to give senior goaltender CJ Motte a break and substituted sophomore goaltender and Big Rapids native Trace Pennock into the game. It was Pennock’s first action in an NCAA game in his career.
With 6:53 left in the game, the Seawolves momentarily stopped the bleeding as Zack Rassell scored a goal with assists from Hayden Trupp and Austin Azurdia.
There were no more goals for the rest of the game, and the Bulldogs came out with a 10-2 win. With the win, the team improves to 5-5-0 on the season with a 2-3-0 record in the WCHA.
The first star of the night was FSU winger McDonald with two goals and two assists. Mayhew was the second star with two goals and an assist. Motte was the third star, saving 14 out of 15 shots he faced before being replaced by Trace Pennock late in the game.
Ferris plays Alaska-Anchorage once more on Friday night. The puck will drop at 7:07 p.m.