In the second day of play in the Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena, the Bulldogs were determined to bounce back after a tough 2-0 loss at the hands of Michigan State. Having already been swept in a two-game series earlier in the season against Michigan Tech, the Bulldogs hoped that the third time would be the charm, as they were blessed with a third crack at the Huskies for third place in the GLI. This was not the case, as the Huskies took home the victory with a final score of 4-2.
Reminiscent of last night, the Bulldogs once again had trouble getting on the board early. They surrendered the first goal of the game when Huskies’ left winger CJ Eick scored on the Bulldogs’ senior goaltender CJ Motte at 11:12, which would be the only scoring of the 1st period.
Michigan Tech came roaring into the second period, taking less than a minute to score their second goal of the night by a left wing. This time Malcolm Gould was responsible.
Soon after, an opportunity arose for the Bulldogs to get back in the game when a hooking penalty was called on Tech. However, the Huskies effectively killed off the penalty, then scored immediately after returning to full strength, courtesy of Joel L’Esperance. The power play seemed to be more of a curse than a blessing for the Dawgs, as the Huskies’ Tanner Kero scored a shorthanded goal on his next penalty kill shift to put Tech ahead 4-0.
Sensing that the game was becoming out of reach, the Bulldogs quickly responded with their first goal of the night when junior defenseman Brandon Anselmini fired a blazing slapshot from the blue line. Sophomore defenseman Ryan Lowney and junior left wing Matt Robertson were credited with assists.
Early on in the 3rd period, a second Bulldog shot reached the back of the net when Simon Denis carried the puck into the offensive zone before beating the Huskies’ goaltender top shelf to bring the game within two. Senior left wing Justin Buzzeo and Anselmini were attributed with assists.
Still, this 2-goal margin proved to be too much for the Bulldogs to overcome, as the Huskies held onto their lead until the final buzzer winning 4-2.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs were able to outshoot Tech 36-20 while Motte recorded 32 saves, bringing his total to 59 in the tournament. Anselmini netted a goal and earned an assist while Denis scored the other goal for the Dawgs.
Ferris has little time to dwell on their performance in the tournament, as they will kick off their new year by playing a two-game series at Alaska beginning on Jan. 2 just four days after their excursion to Joe Louis Arena and will go to Fairbanks the following weekend. The Bulldogs will also have to brave the frozen climate to take on Alaska-Anchorage the following weekend after sweeping and compiling 14 goals on them in a November home series earlier in the season.