Ferris State Suffers Setback In WCHA Playoffs As Bowling Green Ends Bulldogs' Season

Bowling Green, Ohio - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey squad's season came to an end as the nationally 17th-ranked Bowling Green State Falcons won 5-2 at the Slater Family Ice Arena on Saturday (March 3) in game two of a best-of-three playoff series to advance to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Semifinals.

Ferris State sophomore forward Jason Tackett extended his goal scoring streak at the Slater Family Ice Arena to three consecutive games in the loss.

The Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Sam Craggs scored at 5:25 and Max Johnson followed at 14:22 of the opening period.

BGSU defenseman Alec Rauhauser scored for a 3-0 Falcons' lead at 4:11 of the middle frame, but the Bulldogs brought a stout push back on.

Ferris State got on the board at 7:44 of the second period as Tackett scored his third goal of the year on a tap-in on the power play. Sophomore defenseman Joe Rutkowski (14) and junior forward Trevor Recktenwald (7) assisted on Tackett's power play goal.

FSU then pulled to within 3-2 when redshirt sophomore forward Jasen Fernsler scored his third goal of the year from junior defenseman Ryker Killins (14) and freshman forward Liam MacDougall (4) in the middle period.

However, Bowling Green scored at 2:25 of the third to take a 4-2 lead when Brett D'Andrea slid one past Ferris State junior goaltender Darren Smith. A power play goal by BGSU's Mitch McLain at 15:55 of the final period accounted for the final margin.

The Bulldogs were near even in shots as the Falcons finished with a 37-35 margin.

Bowling Green went 2-5 on the power play while Ferris State finished 1-6 with 10 shots on goal.

Smith made 32 saves for Ferris State while Bowling Green's Ryan Bednard made 33 for the victory. The Bowling Green win came only a night after the two squads had battled to sudden death overtime in a lengthy game won by BGSU on Friday evening.

This year represented the Bulldogs' 21st consecutive postseason playoff appearance and the program's fifth-straight trip to
the WCHA Playoffs in five seasons in the league. FSU also finished with more wins this campaign than the previous year in 2016-17.