Bulldog Hockey Nets Four-Goal Third In 4-1 Win At Bowling Green State
The nationally 20th-ranked Ferris State University men's ice hockey team erupted for four third-period scores to erase a one-goal second-period deficit in a 4-1 victory over the Bowling Green State Falcons this Friday (Jan. 7) night in a weekend Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) series opener at the BGSU Ice Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio.
The come-from-behind win not only improved Ferris State's record to 10-8-4 overall and 7-6-3-2 in the CCHA, but also represented the 300th career victory for Bulldog head coach Bob Daniels. The all-time winningest coach in the program's history, Daniels has accumulated a present 300-342-73 mark behind the FSU bench.
Ferris State would finish the night holding a slim shot advantage for the game, 17-16, while both teams went 0-for-5 apice on the power play.
The game was scoreless for the first 35 minutes as both teams missed out on several scoring opportunities. The host Falcons were the first to breakthrough on the scoreboard as Jordan Samuels-Thomas scored with 4:23 remaining in the second period off a rebound to give Bowling Green State a 1-0 lead after two periods of action. BGSU would hold a 10-9 edge in shots through the opening two periods.
Ferris State got an offensive spark at the onset of the third period as the Bulldogs' fourth line accounted for the team's first two goals. Sophomore left wing Kyle Bonis (Lindsay, Ontario) tallied his fifth of the season at 3:01 into the final frame on a shot from the slot after the puck deflected off BGSU goaltender Nick Eno on a shot from above the right circle by senior defenseman Zach Redmond (Traverse City). Bonis' fellow linemate senior right wing Todd Pococke (Saginaw) picked an opportune time to net his first of the year with the game-winning tally coming 3:30 later on a wrist shot from above the left circle which went top shelf into the opposite corner of the Falcons' goal to give Ferris State a 2-1 advantage. Redmond assisted on the lamplighter for his second point of the contest and team-leading 15th of the season.
The Bulldogs kept the pressure on the Falcons as the period wore on and connected again for the third time in the period 34 seconds later when sophomore right wing Matthew Kirzinger (Leroy, Saskatchewan) posted his fourth goal of the season. Senior left wing Mike Embach (Orland Park, Ill.) picked up the puck from junior center Jordie Johnston (Rosetown, Saskatchewan) and skated into the BGSU zone before dishing a backhanded pass over to Kirzinger at the left circle dot. Kirzinger's shot on Eno was initially saved and rebounded back out to the Bulldog forward who put his second attempt through the five hole of Eno to increase Ferris' lead to 3-1.
Ferris State would tack on one more for good measure with 18 seconds remaining in the contest on an empty-net short-handed by Kyle Bonis, his second goal of the game and sixth of the season. The scoring play transpired when junior defenseman Chad Billins (Marysville) made a sliding block on a BGSU shot attempt and Bonis was able to gain control of the puck before lifting a shot along the left-side boards within the Bulldog zone from near the blueline.
The Bulldogs featured three skaters with multiple-point games as Kyle Bonis, the first star of the game, and Zach Redmond along with Chad Billins all generated two points apiece.
Senior goaltender Pat Nagle (Bloomfield) claimed the game's second star with 15 saves in the contest while Nick Eno registered 13 stops for Bowling Green State, which falls to 7-13-2 overall and 2-10-2-0 in the CCHA.
The two teams will square off again for the final time in the 2010-11 regular season this Saturday (Jan. 8) evening in Bowling Green, Ohio. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:05 p.m. (EST) in a game which will be televised live by the Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN).
Notes: Kyle Bonis' two goals marked a career game-best . . . Head Coach Bob Daniels earned his 300th career coaching victory . . . Ferris State is 9-4-0 in its last 13 matchups against Bowling Green State and has prevailed in the last three meetings to date . . . Mike Embach has notched a point in four (2-2=4) of his last five outings . . . Zach Redmond produced his fourth multi-point game of this season with a pair of assists . . . Chad Billins has totaled a team-high seven points (4-3=7) in nine road appearances this campaign . . . The Bulldogs were 0-5-0 this season when trailing after two periods prior to tonight's outcome . . . The record-setting 2002-03 FSU team secured the CCHA regular-season championship title on the Falcons' ice.
