Ferris State hockey split a pair of games against the Bemidji State Beavers at home on Friday, Jan. 5 and Saturday, Jan 6.
The Bulldogs (6-14-1, 4-9 in CCHA) dropped the first matchup to the Beavers (9-13, 8-6 in CCHA) on Friday 4-1 before evening out with a big win on Saturday 5-3.
With the loss on Friday, head coach Bob Daniels wasn’t upset with his team’s play despite the final score.
“I thought we took a stride in the right direction in a lot of ways,” Daniels said. “We were just a little bit off in the first. We gave them so few opportunities but when we did, it was a big one. We got to finish our own chances when we get them. I don’t mind if we roll the same game out tomorrow, finish our opportunities, and eliminate a couple squeaky plays.”
The Beavers struck first midway through the first frame and added to their total within the next minute to go up two after a period. They continued their run, scoring another early in the second before Senior forward Antonio Venuto put the Bulldogs in the scoring column a few minutes later. This marked Venuto’s 12th goal of the season. From there, it became a defensive battle for the Bulldogs trying to catch up. The game ended a few minutes after the Beavers scored on an empty net to make it 4-1.
Senior forward Jason Brancheau commented on the Bulldogs’ losing streak after the game.
“Everyone knows we just have to put our heads down and keep working,” Brancheau said. “Eventually, it’s going to come.”
The Bulldogs did just that on Saturday night when they came away with their first win since early December and evened the series with a 5-3 final score. Daniels credited the team’s effort for the win.
“It was really a team win,” Daniels said. “The scoring was really spread out. We got three goals from defensemen and we were able to play all four lines. Big difference was we were able to finish our chances tonight.”
The Bulldogs came out firing with a score by defenseman senior Nick Hale less than a minute into the game, followed up by a goal from Brancheau five minutes later. The Beavers scored a goal late in the first to lighten the lead. Yet, the Bulldogs outscored them 2-1 in the second to go up 4-2 with goals from defenseman freshman Jack Mesic and defenseman freshman Trevor Taulien. The third stayed even with each team tacking on another goal, including one from sophomore forward Tyler Schleppe of the Bulldogs to make the final score 5-3.
Venuto talked about getting back in the win column after splitting the series.
“Obviously, nobody in the locker room likes losing,” Venuto said. “It feels good to go out there and get some points tonight.”
The Bulldogs are back in action on the road this weekend to face the Minnesota State Mavericks.