Bulldogs Lose One-Goal Decision To Miami In CCHA Championship Third-Place Game
A goal by Miami's Jarod Palmer with 4:04 left in the game held up as the nationally eighth-ranked Ferris State University men's ice hockey team dropped its second straight one-goal decision with a 2-1 loss to the second-ranked RedHawks Saturday (March 20) in the third-place game of the 2010 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Championship held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.
Ferris State, which falls to 21-13-6 overall on the season, still holds out hope for a possible NCAA Tournament bid but may require some help from other teams who are vying for their respective league tourney titles. The Bulldogs will receive official word on whether or not their 2009-10 season will continue this Sunday (March 21) as the NCAA Selection Show will air at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on ESPN 2.
Neither team was able to tally a score thru the first period before Miami ended the scoreless tie at 4:44 into the second stanza. Steve Mason gave the RedHawks a 1-0 lead after poking the puck into the Ferris net following a shot from above the left circle by Chris Wideman which hit off at a point where the cross bar and post meet. The puck went downward behind FSU junior goaltender Pat Nagle (Bloomfield) to Wideman at the crease. Ferris State would erase its deficit with 5:11 remaining in the second as the Bulldogs converted a power-play advantage when senior center Casey Haines (Indiana, Pa.) netted his 12th goal of the season. The scoring play transpired as senior left wing Blair Riley (Kamloops, British Columbia) took a shot from the top of the left circle toward the far post which caromed off Haines, who was positioned on the crease’s right edge, and went into the left back corner of the RedHawks’ goal for the equalizer. Junior defenseman Zach Redmond (Traverse City) also picked up a helper on Ferris' lone marker. Miami would hold a 21-11 margin in shots on goal after 40 minutes played of the contest, which included a 13-4 shots margin the second period alone.
The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 for the majority of the third period before Miami netted the go ahead goal with 4:04 left to go in the contest. The RedHawks’ Jarod Palmer ripped a shot from the high slot toward the Ferris net which found its mark as Pat Nagle was screened by his own teammate.
Miami (27-7-7) put 30 shots on Nagle while the Bulldogs registered a 13-shot total for the game. Pat Nagle (12-10-3) compiled 28 saves for the game and Connor Knapp turned aside 12 shots for the RedHawks.
Notes: Blair Riley notched his team-leading 38th point of this season with a second-period assist. The FSU forward is presently one point shy of tying for the most single-season points by a Bulldog since 2005-06 when Greg Rallo had 39 points (17-22=39) in 40 games . . . Casey Haines (2-2=4) and Blair Riley (1-3=4) each compiled a team-high tying four points in the Bulldogs' four playoff contests . . . Ferris is currently 22-53-3 all-time in CCHA postseason action, which includes a 2-6 neutral site ledger and a 2-6 CCHA Championship mark . . . Sixteen of the FSU's last 19 outings have been decided by two goals or less as the Bulldogs are 6-9-4 in such encounters . . . The Bulldogs are 0-4 against Miami to date in league playoff competition.
