Ferris State fell in both of its quarterfinal playoff matchups to the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9.
The eighth-seeded Bulldogs suffered a 5-4 overtime loss to the one-seeded Beavers before losing 4-0 in their final game on Saturday.
Friday’s matchup saw the Bulldogs go up 2-0 early with two straight tallies from senior forward Austin McCarthy in the first period before the Beavers came back and scored twice to even the score early in the second. Freshman forward Emerson Goode and sophomore defenseman Andrew Noel both cashed in later in the second to put the Bulldogs back up 4-2. This was Noel’s first goal of the season.
The Beavers scored late in the second to bring the game within a goal and the final period became a defensive battle for the Bulldogs. Neither team could find the back of the net until the Beavers put the extra attacker on the ice and tied the game 4-4 with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Just 30 seconds into the overtime period, Bemidji scored to secure the 5-4 victory in game one.
Senior forward Antonio Venuto commented on the team’s mindset before the game on Friday.
“We need to have the right mindset of knowing we can win,” Venuto said. “A lot of people are counting us out already. We have a chip on our shoulder being the underdog in all these games, so it’ll bring us a lot more energy.”
Saturday’s matchup was the final game for the Bulldogs as they suffered a 4-0 loss in the second game of the series.
The first period was a defensive battle with neither team getting on the board, but the Beavers quickly changed that with three goals in the second. The Bulldogs failed to score and Bemidji scored another goal early in the third to make it 4-0 ending the Bulldog’s season.
Senior defenseman Drew Cooper spoke on the season’s outcome following the series loss.
“We gave it our all this weekend,” Cooper said. “Obviously it’s not ideal to come up short but I know the team is proud of its efforts. We saw our fair share of ups and downs along the way, but the attitude and relationships within our team never dipped.”
The Bulldogs’ roster may look majorly different next year as the team has eight seniors. Goaltenders Logan Stein and Noah Giesbrecht, defensemen Ben Schultheis and Cooper and forwards Austin McCarthy, Jacob Dirks, Antonio Venuto and Stepan Pokorny all have another year of eligibility. Forward Jason Brancheau and defensemen Brendan MacLaren and Nick Hale are out of eligibility.
MacLaren, who captained the Bulldogs for two years, explained what his time as a Bulldog meant to him.
“With my hockey career coming to an end, I still feel like it truly hasn’t hit me yet,” MacLaren said. “Being a Bulldog changed my life forever and I have made so many great relationships over my five years here at Ferris. [I’m] forever grateful that I had the opportunity to live out my dream of being a DI hockey player.”
Ferris ended its season with a collective 10-24-2 record including the two playoff losses. More information is to be announced on the Bulldogs roster changes this offseason before hockey returns in early October.