The Bulldogs lost both games against the rival Bowling Green Falcons this week at home on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3.
Ferris State (10-18-1, 6-13 in CCHA) had lost their previous series against the Falcons (10-16, 8-8 in CCHA) earlier this season and saw their four-game win streak fade with a 4-3 loss on Friday and a 3-1 loss Saturday.
Head coach Bob Daniels did not extend much positivity outside of Ferris’ first-period play.
“I thought we had a good start to the game and that’s where I’d leave it in terms of our good play,” Daniels said. “We jumped out to a two-goal lead, we were playing pretty well. I thought the last seven minutes of the first, we weren’t playing as well. I was disappointed, we had some turnovers there, but we got through the period though […] when we extended our lead to 3-1 going into the third period, I still didn’t feel we were playing great. I thought we had a very poor third period.”
The Bulldogs started Friday’s contest with a goal from January CCHA player of the month, freshman forward Luigi Benincasa. Junior forward Zach Faremouth extended the lead shortly after scoring his first of three goals on the weekend and gave Ferris a 2-0 lead after the first period.
Bowling Green got on the board midway through the second period but was matched by Faremouth’s second tally of the night to make the score 3-1 heading into the third. The Bulldogs went scoreless in the final period and Bowling Green scored three unanswered goals to go ahead by one with six minutes remaining. Ferris did not answer and lost 4-3.
Freshman defenseman Jack Mesic commented on how the defense could improve.
“We went over a gameplan before,” Mesic said. “They like to come up with speed so we should try to jump up in the rush and move pucks if we can. We just have to make sure we’re coming back quick enough otherwise.”
Following the Bulldogs’ blown 3-1 lead, which led to Friday’s 4-3 loss, Ferris fell to the Falcons again. The loss marks a season sweep of the Bulldogs by Bowling Green, as Ferris dropped two games at Bowling Green earlier this season.
Daniels had mixed feelings for the series following the loss on Saturday.
“We played so poorly in those final two periods Friday, I felt sorry for myself,” Daniels said. “Last night was not Bulldog hockey, but [Saturday] the guys made adjustments we asked them to make and played well, we just couldn’t get shots past their goal. I don’t remember the last time we held a team to 21 shots on net in a game. I really feel like the guys deserved a different fate than what they got tonight.”
The Falcons struck early on Saturday with two unanswered goals in the first period to go up 2-0 early. Faremouth scored his third goal of the weekend midway through the second to put the Bulldogs on the board and make the score 2-1. The remainder of the game became a defensive battle and both teams failed to score until the Falcons got an empty-net tally late in the third to make the final score 3-1.
Senior defenseman Nick Hale spoke on the team’s expectations for the rest of the season.
“We’re starting to get to a point where every game is going to be like playoff hockey,” Hale said. “Most of these games are going to be close and everything matters so we have to be focused and follow details down the stretch.”
The Bulldogs remain in last place in the CCHA standings but still have an opportunity to move up in the standings with five more conference matchups left in the season.
The Bulldogs are off this upcoming weekend before resuming conference play next week against the Bemidji State Beavers on Thursday, Feb. 15 and Friday, Feb. 16. Puck drop is set for 8:07 p.m. on both matchups.