Ferris State hockey beat the Grand Valley State Lakers in the Anchor-Bone on Ice exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 20 at Ewigleben Arena.
The exhibiton match saw the Bulldogs beat the university’s long-time rival by a score of 9-0. Ferris’ offensive output was dominating, as they outshot the Lakers’ D1 ACHA team 61-8.
Head Coach Bob Daniels felt that the Bulldogs got better with every frame.
“I thought we were a little bit off through the first,” Daniels said. “I could feel us playing better and better in the second, and then hats off to our guys because we played exceptional in the third period”.
Daniels felt having this game was “way better” for his players than having a practice instead of the game.
Ferris had 15 more shots in the first period than Grand Valley, but Ferris only scored one goal in the first period. With eight minutes left on the clock, sophomore forward Connor McGrath received a pass from freshman forward Luigi Benincasa and blasted it into the top corner of the net.
The second period featured two goals from senior forward Stepan Pokorny, and one goal from freshman forward Emerson Goode. The Bulldogs dominated the third period scoring five goals, four of which came from different players giving Ferris State nine goals to the Lakers’ zero.
All three Ferris goaltenders played in the game. Junior Noah Giesbrecht playing 31 minutes and made five saves, senior Logan Stein playing 26 minutes and made three saves and sophomore Joey Henson playing the final three minutes but did not face a single shot.
Sophomore defenseman Andrew Noel, who scored in the match, described the atmosphere surrounding the matchup against the longtime rival.
“There was a lot of buzz around campus all week,” Noel said. “We had a great turnout and a great student section, and that gave us lots of energy and it gave the whole school something to look forward to on a Friday night”.
Grand Valley State has had Ferris State’s number this past season beating them nine out of 15 individual matchups spanning across all sports. The yearly rivalry game between Grand Valley State and Ferris State doesn’t stretch to hockey as they haven’t played each other since the 1974-75 season. Despite this, the Bulldogs brought lots of energy and excitement into Ewigleben Ice Arena.
The Bulldogs’ hot offense hasn’t cooled down and continues to put the puck in the back of the net, as they have scored 3 goals in every game besides one so far this season. This past season, Ferris was top 20 in the nation in goals per game with an average of 3.5. This season, not including the exhibition, Ferris has the same goals per game as last year. Senior Stepan Pokorny has played a big part in their offense appearing in all four games, scoring one goal, and accumulating two assists.
“Once we get in the zone then we start making plays,” Pokorny said. “It comes down to just playing hard no matter what opponent you’re playing.”
Pokorny thinks they will continue to be successful offensively if they keep their “fast-paced physical” style of play.
Bulldog hockey will travel to Marquette on Oct. 27 and 28 to play a two-game series against the winless Northern Michigan Wildcats to open CCHA play.