Ferris State Hockey Falls In Overtime, 3-2
Ron Meyers' overtime goal with 15.6 seconds remaining in overtime gave the nationally 16th-ranked Alaska Nanooks a dramatic 3-2 win over the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team this Saturday (Oct. 31) night in a Halloween Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) series finale contest at UA's Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Meyers' second goal of this season came on a Ferris State turnover in its own zone as the Alaska skater stripped the puck from sophomore defenseman Tommy Hill (Portage) near the blueline and skated in toward the slot all alone against FSU junior goaltender Pat Nagle (Bloomfield). Meyers then unloaded a shot which sailed over Nagle's glove into the upper top portion of the net for the game winner and a league-opening sweep of the Bulldogs.
Ferris State falls to 5-3-0 overall and is now 0-2-0-0 in the CCHA as a result of the loss.
Andy Taranto put Alaska on the board first with 2:28 remaining in the opening frame as the Nanooks converted on a power-play opportunity. Taranto was able to slid the puck into the Ferris State goal before Pat Nagle could get a glove on the loose puck.
Alaska held the lead until 39 seconds left in the first period as the Bulldogs were successful on a power-play chance with senior right wing Aaron Lewicki (Livonia) tallying his fourth of the season on a one-timer from above the slot. Lewicki's blast sailed above Alaska netminder Scott Greenham's glove hand just inside the post for the equalizer. Freshman center Travis Ouellette (Windsor, Ontario) and junior defenseman Zach Redmond (Traverse City) both received an assist on the Lewicki lamplighter. Alaska would post a 14-6 shots on goal advantage in the first 20 minutes of action.
The tie was short-lived as Alaska would break the deadlock at 11:14 of the second period on a Joe Sova power-play goal. Andy Taranto's shot from the right circle deflected off FSU senior defenseman Matt Case's (Plymouth, Minn.) skate near the Bulldog goal to Sova, who backhanded the puck between Nagle's five-hole for a 2-1 lead. But, Ferris State would counter again during a man advantage as junior left wing Mike Embach (Orland Park, Ill.) picked up a pass from sophomore center Derek Graham (Schoolcraft) along the back boards and wristed a shot just outside the right side of crease between Greenham's pads for his first of the season to knot the game at 2-2 after two periods.
In the third period, Alaska recorded an eight-to-six shots on goal advantage although neither team was able to gain the upper hand thus forcing the extra session.
Ferris State goaltender Pat Nagle (2-2-0) concluded the evening with 31 saves in 64:45 minutes of action, which included 13 first-period stops. Scott Greenham picked up the win for Alaska by turning away 22 shots on net in 64:35 minutes between the posts. The Bulldogs were outshot by a 34-24 margin for the contest.
The Bulldogs will now prepare to host their league home-opening series next weekend, Nov. 6-7, versus the Bowling Green State Falcons at FSU's Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The two-game set begins next Friday (Nov. 6) with a 7:05 p.m. (EST) start time and Saturday's (Nov. 7) contest will get underway at 5:05 p.m. (EST). Ticket information is available by contacting the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888.
