All signs pointed to a Ferris State Hockey victory tonight. 53 shots and two power-play goals usually translate to a win.
However, the Bulldogs’ (11-17-1, 10-12 in CCHA) shots only brought them three goals while Lake Superior State’s (11-17-2, 9-12-1 in CCHA) 48 attempts netted them five.
The 5-3 loss snaps a three-game win streak, the longest by Ferris all season. The Bulldogs haven’t been able to capitalize in the second half of their series this season, sporting a 4-10-1 record in the second games of a weekend.
After the Lakers opened scoring, Ferris answered back. Two Lake Superior State goals in 18 seconds put the game just out of reach for the Bulldogs.
Ferris’ third goal, which cut the Laker’s lead to one was promptly responded to with another Lake Superior goal. This happened once more after the Bulldogs scored again to make it a 5-3 final.
Despite trailing one with a few minutes remaining, graduate goaltender Noah West was never pulled. In part, this was due to the Lakers scoring with 1:24 left. Head coach Bob Daniels mulled the decision over in the postgame press conference.
“In retrospect, as a coach, there’s two minutes on the clock and the faceoffs in their end of the rink. I’m like, ‘Do we pull the goalie now or not?’,” Daniels said. “We had a lot of pressure in those closing minutes … I didn’t want to do it. But now I’m thinking, maybe that would have been the difference.”
Daniels’ reasoning also included that he wanted to give them more time on even strength to see if they could score.
A bright spot of the night comes as a surprise: the power play.
Through 30 games played, Ferris’ man advantage is the worst in the CCHA and ranks 54 out of 64 in the NCAA at 14.7%.
During the two-game series against Lake Superior State, it operated at 33% (3-for-9). Senior forward Zach Faremouth netted two of the weekend’s power-play goals while Hobey Baker nominee junior forward Caiden Gault grabbed the other. Two of the three man-advantage tallies came tonight.
For Daniels, the special teams came through, despite the loss.
“The power play looked good,” Daniels said. I know [Lake State] was one-for-five in the power play, but I thought our penalty kill looked pretty good too. So it was one of those nights where just didn’t go our way.”
Daniels also stated that he wished the Bulldogs were able to snag the lead in the contest, but they had to fight an “uphill battle” all game.
The Lakers scored the first goal of the evening off of a deflection in the opening period and then took it to the locker room.
Faremouth’s second power-play goal of the weekend put the game back at a deadlock in the second before two goals from Lake Superior State made it 3-1. Gault’s man-advantage goal pulled Ferris within one before the horn sounded on the middle frame.
A turnover in the offensive zone allowed the Lakers to restore a two-goal lead, making it 4-2. A high bounce put the Bulldogs right back in the game after it dropped behind Lake Superior’s netminder and was credited to sophomore defenseman Trevor Taulien. A fifth goal from the Lakers then put a comeback out of reach for Ferris.
The Bulldogs will go on the road for the final time this regular season when they face the Michigan Tech Huskies on Friday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22.