Ferris State’s opening weekend against the Broncos of Western Michigan didn’t bring the results they had hoped for. The team took a 3-2 loss on Friday night after a third period goal sealed the deal for the Broncos.
The next night the two teams met in the middle with a tie. The game was scoreless until the third period before the Broncos put in a goal 6:01 into the period. The Bulldogs answered back with a goal of their own from junior forward Kyle Schempp at 12:44 into the third, bringing the contest to a stalemate.
The game then went to overtime, where neither team could strike one in past either goalie. After the weekend was over, the Bulldog’s current season record was brought to 0-1-1.
Ferris State is set to take on the Huskies of Michigan Tech this weekend, starting up Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) play. Michigan Tech defeated the Bulldogs all three times that the two teams clashed last year. The last loss of the series occurred during the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) at the Joe Louis Arena.
With a team full of hungry players, junior forward Chad McDonald believes the Bulldogs can get their wins back from teams like Michigan Tech and Minnesota State.
“It’s definitely important for us to get back on track with Tech and Minnesota State. Both teams are great teams, and both have had great success since the new forming of the WCHA, but we are a good team too,” said McDonald. “We will play our game, stick to our gameplay, have fun and everything will work itself out.”
The two regular season games played last year saw the Huskies beat the Bulldogs in a last period goal, the first game ending in a 1-0 loss and the second loss taken was 2-1. Redshirt junior goaltender Charles Williams looks to be up to the challenge that the Huskies will present, as he hauled in 62 total saves and allowed four goals last weekend against the Broncos.
Senior forward Kenny Babinski knows the competition his team faces this weekend.
“Ever since I have been at Ferris, Tech has had a really competitive team with a lot of grit and physical play. As I can remember all of our games with Tech have been close and hard-fought battles. I’m definitely looking forward to playing them this year, especially after the GLI and to come up with some big conference wins,” said Babinski.
Babinski wants to continue to strengthen his leadership skills on and off the ice. He said, “Being a senior, I’ve had a lot of experience and I’m looking to use what I have learned and incorporate it into my game.”
The games this weekend are both in Big Rapids and will be played at 7:07 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16 and Saturday, Oct. 17 at Ewigleben Ice Arena.