After losing a close overtime game against Augustana on Jan 17, the Ferris State Bulldogs hockey team looks to get their first win in almost two months.
It just so happens that the Bulldogs (4-22, 3-15 in CCHA) will be welcoming the Minnesota State Mavericks (12-8-5, 8-6-3 in CCHA) to Ewigleben Arena and look to get that first win since Dec 6. In that game, they took down the Mavericks 4-3.
Since their last win, Ferris has been outscored 46 goals to 20, allowing on average 4.6 goals per game during their 10-game losing streak. This is the longest losing streak for the Bulldogs since the 2018-19 season, when the Bulldogs lost 11 games in a row.
Head coach Brett Riley believes his squad can gain some momentum against the Mavericks and is encouraged by the way his team has been playing as of late.
“Despite a challenging stretch and some adversity recently, we were encouraged by the way we played on night two against Augustana,” Riley said. “Battling back from a three-goal deficit to earn a point against another top 20 team, in their building, says a lot about our group. We need to build off that effort, but there’s a strong belief in our locker room, our focus is on continuing to stack good days, play winning hockey, and let that momentum carry into next weekend and the stretch ahead.”
Ferris has a long history against Minnesota State, spanning back to the 1992-93 season. The Bulldogs have an all-time record of 13-41-2 against the Mavericks but have a 2-2 record against them in the last two seasons.
The Bulldogs come into the matchup being led on the ice by senior forward Gavin Best, who, on the season, has nine goals, which is tied for the most on the team, eight assists and 17 points. Senior forward Josh Zary is right behind Best. Zary also has nine goals on the season, while having five assists and 15 points for the season.
In the crease for the Bulldogs, it has been a duo between sophomore Martin Lundberg and junior Hobie Hedquist. So far this season, Lundberg played in 14 games and has a 2.98 goals against average, an .884 save percentage and has a 2-10 record. For Hedquist, he has also started 11 games, while having a 3.93 goals against average, an .883 save percentage and a 1-9 record.
The Mavericks will come into the weekend against the Bulldogs 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, while riding a three-game losing streak. Losing two games against Michigan Tech by scores of 3-1 and 4-1, before losing to St. Thomas the weekend before by a score of 4-2.
Minnesota State is led by senior forward Tristan Lemyre, who has 10 goals, 10 assists and 20 points on the season for the Mavericks. While in the crease, they are led by one of the better goalies in the CCHA in senior Alex Tracy. Tracy has the second-best goals against average in the division with a 2.06, while having the fourth best saves percentage with a .924 and having an 11-8-5 record.
Best believes the team is making strides and believes that the challenges that have come their way have been beneficial to the team.
“Despite the results in the second half of the season, we feel that we are taking steps as a group,” Best said. “We’ve been challenged in many ways this year, and hopefully that will serve us very beneficially down the stretch. Minnesota State is a very strong team that we respect, yet we know we can handle them, as we showed earlier in the season.”
The Ferris State Bulldogs will take on the Minnesota State Mavericks at Ewigleben Arena on Jan 30 at 7:07 pm, with the second game coming the next day, with the puck drop slated for 6:07 p.m.