Ferris State & Michigan Battle To Thrilling Overtime Tie In Top 10 Matchup

Highlights    |  Radio Highlights
Post Game: Cencer
Radio Replay

Big Rapids, Mich. - A showdown between two of the nation's top five teams lived up to the billing on Wednesday (Dec. 11) night as fourth-ranked Ferris State ran its nation-leading unbeaten streak to 14 consecutive games with a 2-2 overtime tie versus third-ranked Michigan on the road at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor.

The Bulldogs and Wolverines battled to a 2-2 deadlock thru 60 minutes of regulation hockey and then remained tied following the five-minute overtime session. The contest went to a shootout based on Big Ten rules before Michigan finally pulled out the shootout win in the seventh round on a goal that needed a replay review.

Per NCAA regulations, the game officially ends in an overtime tie.  The tie pushed the Bulldogs unbeaten streak to 14-straight with a 13-2-3 record since the squad's last setback back on Oct. 18. It came in a nationally-televised contest carried live by Fox Sports Detroit + and Fox Sports College Atlantic.

Ferris State opened the scoring in the contest between the two former Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) rivals as freshman Kyle Schempp tallied his seventh goal of the year at 13:06 of the opening period in unassisted fashion via a two-on-one opportunity.

However, the Wolverines struck just over a minute later when Andrew Copp answered with his ninth goal of the campaign at 14:06 of the first frame. Both Tyler Motte and Phil Di Giuseppe picked up the helpers on Michigan's first goal of the night.

Michigan took its first lead only 38 seconds into the second frame as Alex Guptill broke the deadlock with an unassisted goal.

Neither team was able to score, though, throughout the rest of the second period and nearly three-quarters of the final frame until Bulldog sophomore Brandon Anselmini tallied his second goal of the season on a shot from the point to tie the contest up at 14:22 of the third. Junior defenseman Jason Binkley and sophomore Kenny Babinski picked up the assists on the even-strength marker.

In the shootout, Michigan scored first on a shot from Copp, but FSU senior Garrett Thompson answered with an unreal move on a shootout goal that was deemed ESPN Sportscenter Top 10 worthy.

The shootout continued past the three rounds as neither team was able to light the lamp again. Finally, in the seventh round, Michigan's Alex Kile put a shot on net that finally was deemed a goal following a replay review. FSU was denied on its finally opportunity as the Wolverines pulled out the 2-1 triumph in the shootout.

The Bulldogs finished the night with a slim 31-30 edge in total shots despite holding a significant 14-4 advantage in the opening period of action. The Wolverines answered with an 18-8 margin in the second before FSU tallied six shots in the final period to only five for UM.  Both teams netted three shots apiece in overtime.

The night saw few called penalties as FSU was whistled three times for six minutes and the Wolverines picked up two infractions for four minutes. Ferris State was held scoreless in one opportunity with the man-advantage with Michigan also unable to capitalize in two tries with the extra skater.

Ferris State junior goaltender CJ Motte tallied 28 saves in posting the overtime tie in net as he remained unbeaten (13-0-3) on the season. Meanwhile, Zach Nagelvoort had 29 saves to aid the Wolverines' cause in net.

The contest pitted the two Motte brothers against each other for the first time in their collegiate careers. Michigan's Tyler Motte finished with a team-high tying five shots, but was unable to put one past his brother CJ on the Bulldog side.

Additionally, the game also marked the second consecutive time in which Ferris State and Michigan finished with an overtime deadlock at Yost Ice Arena, coming on the heels of last season's regular-season finale that also resulted in a UM shootout win at Yost.

Michigan's Guptill picked up first star of the night honors while Ferris State's Chad McDonald was the second star and Anselmini claimed third star recognition.

Ferris State now holds a 13-2-3 overall record to date this season after the non-league tie. FSU, which opened a four-game non-conference stretch on Wednesday night, currently holds an eight-point lead atop the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) standings and has yet to lose a contest in its debut season in the league with a 10-0-2 WCHA mark.

Michigan came out of the contest with a 10-2-2 overall record to date and is also off to a 2-0-0 start in Big Ten play.

Ferris State continues its eight-game stretch away from home as the Bulldogs visit another Big Ten member in Michigan State this Saturday (Dec. 14) evening. The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. (ET) at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing for the USA Hockey Hall of Fame Game and the contest will be televised live by Comcast.

FSU then takes part in the prestigious Mariucci Classic on Jan. 3-4 at the University of Minnesota before resuming conference play at home on Jan. 10-11 versus Michigan Tech inside the Ewigleben Ice Arena.

Single-game tickets for all 2013-14 home contests are on sale now and can be purchased online at StarTickets.com, by calling 1-800-585-3737 or in person at the FSU Athletics Ticket office located inside the Ewigleben Sports Complex. For more information, please contact the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888.