The Bulldogs split their final two home matchups against the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Friday, Feb. 23 and Saturday, Feb. 24.
Ferris State (10-21-2, 6-16-1 in CCHA) came away with a win and a loss in its series against the Wildcats (10-14-6, 8-10-4 in CCHA) earlier this season and then split another pair with a 3-2 loss on Friday and a shootout victory, which goes down as a 1-1 tie, on Saturday’s senior night.
Head coach Bob Daniels gave credit to the defense despite a down night from the penalty kill unit on Friday.
“There was no give up tonight,” Daniels said. “The fact that we held them to 19 shots on goal is a good thing just the inability to score on the power play hurt us. The penalty kill too has been so good in the second half we just struggled tonight.”
The Bulldogs struck first with a tally from senior forward Jacob Dirks in the first two minutes. The Wildcats proceeded to score three straight goals throughout the first two periods with two of them coming from shorthanded chances given up by Ferris. Freshman forward Luigi Benincasa brought the Bulldogs within striking distance late in the final period making the score 3-2.
Ferris had a chance to cash in late with the Wildcats swapping goalies because of a five-minute major penalty with under 30 seconds remaining but couldn’t take advantage and lost 3-2.
With 14 seconds remaining in the game, the Wildcats goaltender received a five-minute major penalty, which meant that Northern Michigan had to swap netminders with the Bulldogs on a power play until the end of the game. Ferris failed to capitalize on the man advantage, as they lost the faceoff and the Wildcats cleared the puck down the ice.
Senior forward Antonio Venuto commented on trying to maximize the special teams unit before Friday’s game.
“We just need to create more opportunities,” Venuto said. “Just because we don’t score necessarily doesn’t mean it was a bad power play, but we need to give ourselves more chances.”
The Bulldogs rebounded in Saturday’s senior night matchup with their lone regulation goal coming on a power play. This was also the second shootout win of the season for Ferris.
Junior forward Zach Faremouth scored early to put Ferris up 1-0 in the first period. The Wildcats added a goal of their own to tie the score midway through the second marking the final goal of regulation.
Both teams failed to score in the overtime period, sending the game into a shootout. Senior forward Stepan Pokorny cashed in on the Bulldogs’ first shot and senior goaltender Noah Giesbrecht turned away all three of the Wildcats’ shots to give Ferris the win.
Daniels credited the crowd for backing the team after the shootout victory.
“I’m really glad we could reward the fans with a win tonight,” Daniels said. “What a great crowd, they’ve been with us all year long.”
Ferris’ roster includes eight seniors, three of whom will not have any eligibility remaining after this year. Saturday’s victory was the last time that senior forward Jason Brancheau, senior defensemen Brenden MacLaren and Nick Hale will play at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
Pokorny spoke on his connection with his fellow seniors.
“They’re my brothers,” Pokorny said. “We’ve all gotten really close in these four years and obviously I live far away so it’s pretty much like a family here for me. It’s going to be sad to leave.”
The Bulldogs have one regular season game remaining before entering the CCHA playoff tournament beginning March 8. Ferris’ opponent is yet to be determined but they will be on the road for the best-of-three series.
Ferris Hockey will take the ice for their final regular season game on the road against the Lake Superior Lakers on Friday, March 1. The puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m.