Despite playing back-to-back overtime games, Ferris came away winless from their series against Michigan Tech on Friday, Feb. 18 and Saturday, Feb. 19.
The weekend began with a 3 – 2 loss in overtime against the #14 nationally ranked Huskies.
“I thought the score was very indicative of the game,” head coach Bob Daniels said. “It was a very tightly fought, very close game. There was never more than a one goal differential. I was really proud though. We walked into the third, down 2 to 1, we kept battling, and got the equalizer, 2 – 2.”
Sophomore goaltender Logan Stein started in goal for the Bulldogs. The Huskies started the scoring 14 minutes into the first period. Just under 30 seconds later, junior defenseman Blake Evennou answered with a Bulldog goal, tying the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs ended the first period tied at one.
The second period got off to a rough start for the Bulldogs. The Huskies scored and put themselves ahead by one goal just under two minutes in. The lone goal from the Huskies left the Bulldogs looking at a one-goal deficit heading into the third period.
Seven minutes into the third period, senior forward Marshall Moise threw the puck in front of the net where it ricocheted off Michigan Tech’s goaltender’s skate and slid in, tying the game at 2 – 2. Moise’s goal forced an overtime period.
The Bulldogs did not register one shot in overtime. The Huskies dominated overtime and ended it with a shot past Stein, downing the Bulldogs at 3 – 2.
Final stats of the game:
- Blake Evennou, 3rd goal of the season
- Marshall Moise, 10th goal of the season
- Logan Stein’s save percentage: .923 (36/39 saved)
- Shots: Michigan Tech 39, Ferris 28
- Power Play: 0 – 4
- Penalty kill: 5 – 5
Following the close loss, Daniels spoke on the positives he wanted to take into the next game and what the team needed to improve on.
“I thought we were better in the defensive zone than we’ve been in a while,” Daniels said. “Michigan Tech has a lot of good offensive players. I thought we did a fairly good job of not giving up too many point-blank shots. Scoring chances probably on the night were pretty even. Where they’re really dangerous, and I think we have to see some improvement, is on our forecheck and on the line rushes against. I thought we got fortunate. Some of their best chances came off line rushes for them. I think we could be better in those areas.”
The Bulldogs looked to split the series against Michigan Tech the next night on senior night. Again, the game went into overtime before ending in a 5-5 tie following the shootout.
The Bulldogs made a change in goal, electing to start freshman goaltender Noah Giesbrecht.
Daniels opted to give Stein a rest after he faced a bout of the flu the week before. Daniels also added that he believed the team got all they could get out of Stein in the first game and had concerns about starting him in back-to-back games after being that sick.
The Bulldogs started the first period on the attack. The Huskies took two separate penalties leading to a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity. Freshman forward Bradley Marek tipped a shot past the Huskie’s goaltender to open the scoring for the Bulldogs.
Three minutes after the Bulldog goal, Michigan Tech answered back to tie the game at one. A few minutes after the Huskies’ goal, penalties on both teams led to some 4-on-4 hockey. The Huskies picked up another goal and took the lead, 2 – 1.
With six minutes left in the period, the Bulldogs went to work. A scramble in front of the net led to freshman defenseman Zach Faremouth chipping a puck past the Huskies goaltender to tie the game. A minute later, sophomore forward Jacob Dirks slid the puck to the front of the net where it bounced off the goaltender’s skate for a Bulldog lead.
This goal gave Ferris a 3-2 lead and forced Michigan Tech to make a substitution in goal.
The Bulldogs extended their lead eight minutes into the second period. A shot from sophomore forward Mitch Deelstra inched behind the Huskie’s goaltender and freshman forward Kaleb Ergang finished the job by tapping it in for a 4 – 2 lead.
The Bulldogs carried the lead with 20 minutes left to play. Halfway into the third, the puck sailed into the air and fell behind Giesbrecht for a goal. Ferris took a too-many-men penalty on the play which sent the Bulldogs to the penalty kill. The kill came up short 30 seconds after the previous goal and the Huskies converted on the power play to tie the game at four.
Five minutes later, the Bulldogs went on the penalty kill again after taking a high-sticking penalty. Ten seconds into the penalty kill, Faremouth swatted at a blocked shot and potted a shorthanded goal for his second goal of the night. On the same power play, the Huskies took advantage of the time they had left and scored to tie the game at 5 – 5, facing overtime.
Neither team scored in overtime and the game progressed to a shootout. The only Bulldog to score in the shootout was sophomore forward Stepan Pokorny. Pokorny tied the shootout in the second round and forced sudden death.
No Bulldog scored in the sudden death shootout and the shootout was decided by a single Michigan Tech goal. Although Ferris lost in the shootout, the game was recorded as a tie.
With this being the last home game of the season, Daniels spoke on the importance of fans this season.
“The fans mean a great deal,” Daniels said, “What a really good crowd tonight. It was an energetic crowd. It was an entertaining game too. I think the players fed off the crowd, and the crowd fed off the players and the competitiveness of the series… it’s a far cry from where we were at this time of year, where we had limited capacity. It’s such a difference.”
Final stats of the game:
- Bradley Marek, 7th of the season
- Zach Faremouth, 2nd and 3rd of the season.
- Jacob Dirks, 3rd of the season
- Kaleb Ergang, 3rd of the season
- Noah Giesbrecht’s save percentage: .875 (35/40 saved)
- Shots: Michigan Tech 40, Ferris 30
- Power play: 1 – 3
- Penalty kill: 3 – 5
The Bulldogs will be on the road next weekend against the Northern Michigan Wildcats in their final series before the CCHA playoffs.
JC