Bulldog hockey earned its first outright win in their weekend series split against the St. Lawrence Saints.
After a 1-0 shutout and 35 saves from senior goaltender Noah West on Friday, Oct. 18, Ferris suffered an 8-0 blowout the following night.
Assistant coach Dave Censor had heavy praise for the defense and West’s efforts in the net after the win on Friday.
“He’s really seized the opportunity being here and last night he showed the form he’s coming into,” Censor said. “Stopping the puck and breakout plays behind the net were exceptional. The defense in front of him helped us be more relaxed too. I give a lot of credit to them, especially the young guys.”
Junior forward Caiden Gault gave Ferris the only goal they would need early in the second frame, thanks to a pass from junior forward Max Itagaki. With four minutes left in the final period, the Saints pulled their goalie to put the extra attacker on. West and the Ferris defense held strong to seal the shutout.
Six games into the 24-25 campaign, Gault finds himself atop the scoring ranks for the Bulldogs with four total points, three coming from goals. Gault has already beaten out his scoring output from last season, where he appeared in 20 games and scored two goals.
A five-goal third period led to the Bulldogs’ biggest loss margin since the 2003-2004 season when they lost to Michigan State 0-8. Freshman goaltender Martin Lundberg made his collegiate debut for Ferris but failed to stop the Saints’ scoring efforts.
The Bulldogs struggled heavily on the penalty-kill unit, allowing the Saints to convert 6-8 powerplay chances. The scoring woes continued as well, sporting just one goal for the weekend after only posting two goals last series against Western Michigan.
Ferris will return to Ewigleben Arena for a home series against the Bemidji State Beavers in a playoff-quarterfinal rematch from last season. Puck drop is set for 7:07 on Friday, Oct. 25, and 6:07 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26.