The Ferris State Bulldogs (4-15-0, 3-9-0 in CCHA) faced off against the No. 3-ranked Michigan State Spartans (13-4-0, 5-3-0 in Big Ten) at Van Andel Arena.
Michigan State won the opening faceoff before Ferris State forced the turnover, which eventually led to the puck going out of play. Ferris State had possession before a Michigan State icing brought the faceoff into their zone. The Bulldogs went on a power play after a penalty by Spartan sophomore Owen West. The Bulldogs got a shot but were unable to score on the man advantage.
At 12:21 left in the first, Spartan freshman Cole Burke scored his first goal in his debut for the team. At 11:31, freshman Anthony Romani scored his first of the game to bring the Michigan State lead to 2-0.
At 8:45, the Bulldogs went on another power play before senior forward Max Dukovac got a penalty, bringing it to four-on-four. The Spartans killed the penalty but were unable to score with the 5-on-4 advantage.
Spartan freshman Cayden Lindstrom got a holding penalty at 6:05, which was killed. At 1:15 left in the period, the two teams went on a 4-on-4, which carried over into the second period.
Michigan State won the second period face off. At 19:25 left, senior Charlie Stramel scored, then junior forward Tommi Mannisto scored at 15:07 left to make it 4-0 Spartans, prompting Ferris State head coach Brett Riley to make a goaltending change to junior Hobie Hedquist.
With 5:22 left, Dukavac got a holding penalty that was killed off. With 1:25 left, the Bulldogs got on the board off a goal by redshirt freshman forward Carter Rapalje to make it 4-1.
The Bulldogs went on a power play after Lindstrom committed a penalty, which was ultimately killed off. With 17 minutes left in the game, Ferris State brought the score to 4-2 on a goal by senior forward Josh Zary.
A Zary penalty put Michigan State on a power play.
The Bulldogs killed the penalty before a fight occurred with 12:32 left, allowing the Spartans to go on a 5-on-4. With 12:01 left, the Spartans extended their lead to 5-2 off a goal by Stramel, his second of the night. A Ferris State cross-check put the Spartans on a 5-on-4 power play which was killed off.
Riley talked about the physicality of the game.
“It was very physical,” Riley said. “You saw it with Michigan State, you saw it in the two goals, and you saw it with Hobie. It’s how we play, and it’s the best way to play.”
Michigan State won 5-2 and will play Michigan Tech in the championship game on Monday, December 29