Ferris State Hockey Drops Season Opener To #20 Western Michigan

Kalamazoo, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team fell 6-1 in their opening game to the nationally #20 ranked Western Michigan Broncos on Friday (Oct. 6) night at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo.

Ferris State senior defenseman Tyler Dorantes scored his second collegiate goal for the lone strike by the Bulldogs.

The Broncos had a strong 4-of-6 effort on the power play, and opened the scoring at 3:57 of the opening frame when Paul Washed scored from Jade McMullen and Dawson DiPietro for a 1-0 WMU lead.

Western Michigan took a 2-0 lead to open the second period just 11 seconds in when Wade Allison scored on an odd-man rush from Dawson DiPietro. 

Ferris State fell behind by three goals when Colt Conrad scored on the power play from Allison and Hugh McGing. Allison scored his second of the night on a blast from the blue line on the power play to then give Western Michigan a 4-0 advantage.

Josh Passolt gave the Broncos a 5-0 lead at 2:08 of the third from Conrad and Paul Stoykewych while Aidan Muir at 14:16 of the third capped the Western scoring on the power play. 

Tyler Dorantes scored at 18:28 of the third to break up the shutout and end the scoring at 6-1 in favor of Western Michigan. Freshman forward Lucas Finner earned his first collegiate point with an assist on Dorantes' goal for the Bulldogs.

In net, FSU sophomore goaltender Justin Kapelmaster took the loss and made 33 saves. WMU sophomore Ben Blacker made 33 saves as well in the win for the Broncos. 

Ferris State trailed only by five in shots on goal, 39-34, and outshot the Broncos 17-9 in the final frame. For the night, Ferris State went 0-6 on the power play with 10 shots and took six penalties for 12 minutes.

The Bulldogs return home to wrap up the weekend home-and-home series with the Broncos on Saturday (Oct. 7) night to cap off "Be a Bulldog Day" in Big Rapids at the Ewigleben Ice Arena. Puck drop for the Bulldogs' home opener is set for 7:07 p.m. (ET).

Tickets for Saturday's game are on sale for the first home action of the year. Visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com for additional information or call (231) 591-2888. Tickets can also be purchased online at StarTickets.com.