After concluding their 2023-2024 regular season this past week, Ferris will begin postseason hockey play in the CCHA Tournament this weekend starting Friday, March 8.
The Bulldogs, who finished in last place in the CCHA and are the eighth seed, will take on the No. 1 seeded Bemidji State Beavers in the first round. The best two out of three series will take place on the road at the Beaver’s Sanford Center in Minnesota.
The eight CCHA teams will be competing for the Mason Cup and a visit to the NCAA Division I tournament. Ferris is still searching for their first CCHA Mason Cup victory.
The regular season saw the Bulldogs drop three out of four matchups to the Beavers but head coach Bob Daniels is not discouraged by the first-round matchup.
“I think it’s a good matchup for us,” Daniels said. “Obviously we would’ve liked to be home for the series, but we feel like we have a good chance to knock them off on the road. We recently played them, and it was a tight two games. Special teams and goaltending are the two keys for us in the series.”
The Bulldogs made it to the final four in last year’s tournament after a series victory against the Bowling Green Falcons and are seeking another underdog win this weekend.
Associate head coach Drew Famulak spoke on the exiting senior class and the playoff finish to last season.
“They’ve done a super job not only on the ice but off the ice,” Famulak said. “They helped us get to that final four last year and you just want to sit back and think how much they’ve done for our program, but it’s time to look to the future.”
While this is the final playoff game for multiple of the team’s seniors, it’s also the first postseason experience for the freshman.
Freshman forward Holden Doell spoke on Ferris Athletics “Off the Ice” podcast about his emotions heading into his first playoff series.
“It’s going to be a battle no matter what,” Doell said. “I’m excited. It’ll be a lot of fast paced hockey but we’re going to work our butts off and try to steal a few wins.”
Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. on Friday, 6:07 p.m. Saturday, and 5:07 on Sunday if the third game is needed.
More information about the CCHA Tournament can be found on ferrisstatebulldogs.com.