SEASON REVIEW: Ferris State Hockey Caps Off Memorable Season Ranked Sixth In Final Polls

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team capped off yet another outstanding campaign ranked sixth in the final national college hockey polls as announced this week by two different online sources.

The Bulldogs, who reached the NCAA Elite Eight and came within a game of the Frozen Four for the second time in three years, finished the year ranked sixth in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll along with the United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) rankings. The final ranking marked the 18th consecutive week in which FSU was ranked among the nation's top 10 teams overall.

National Champion Union earned the number one billing in both polls followed by runner-up Minnesota and Boston College in the top three overall. North Dakota came in fourth with UMass-Lowell fifth in front of the Bulldogs. FSU was the highest-ranked team from the state of Michigan and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) while finishing in front of such college hockey programs as Wisconsin, Michigan, Notre Dame, Cornell, Denver and more.

The Bulldogs were ranked as high as second in the nation three times this season and found among the nation's top 20 teams in the USCHO poll for 21 consecutive weeks.  The number two national ranking earlier this year represented the Bulldogs' highest placing in the poll since finishing second overall in the final 2011-12 USCHO.com Division I poll announced after FSU's historic appearance in the national championship game at the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four. 

This season, Ferris State capped off one of the most successful campaigns in school history by reaching the NCAA Elite Eight on March 28-29 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Bulldogs also won the WCHA Regular-Season Championship in their debut campaign, reached the WCHA Final Five Championship game and came within a single victory of reaching the NCAA Frozen Four for the second time in three years before falling in double-overtime by a 2-1 score to North Dakota at US Bank Arena.

Along the way, FSU set a school-record with a nation-leading 16-game unbeaten streak that stretched from late October to early January and the Bulldogs' 29 total wins led the country and ranked as the second-best seasonal mark in school history.

Ferris State was the lone team from the state of Michigan to reach the NCAA Tournament this campaign and one of only two schools from the WCHA along with Minnesota State. The Bulldogs led the WCHA race for the McNaughton Cup from wire-to-wire and became only the third program ever to win both the former Central Collegiate Hockey Association along with the WCHA.

FSU clinched the WCHA's regular-season crown on the final night of the regular-season against Lake Superior State, pulled out a double-overtime game-winner in game two to sweep its opening-round home playoff series versus Bemidji State and then won a second-straight overtime matchup by beating Alaska Anchorage to reach the league championship game at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. 

The Bulldogs followed all of that up by topping Colgate 1-0 in the Midwest Regional Tournament before dominating North Dakota much of the night in the Elite Eight setback.

Below is a look at the Bulldogs' 2013-14 season by the numbers:

1 - One Hobey Baker Award top 10 national finalist in junior goaltender CJ Motte
2 - FSU won its second conference championship in the last three years
2 - The number of memorable double-overtime games the Bulldogs played this year
3 - The Bulldogs became only the third program ever to win both the CCHA and the WCHA
3 - FSU made its third trip to the NCAA Tournament, including the second in the last three years
4 - The number of times FSU faced Colgate this season. The Dawgs' won the final meeting 1-0 in NCAA action
5 - Five Bulldogs claimed All-WCHA Award accolades with head coach Bob Daniels winning Coach of the Year
5 - Number of seniors on this year's Bulldog team - Garrett Thompson, Scott Czarnowczan, Andy Huff, Cory Kane & Justin DeMartino
6 - FSU posted its sixth-straight season of increased home attendance at the Ewigleben Ice Arena
7 - Number of overtime games played by Ferris State this year (FSU was 3-1-3 in OT)
8 - Ferris State reached the Elite Eight for the third time in school history
10 - Senior captain Scott Czarnwoczan was a national top 10 finalist for the Senior Class Award, the third year in row in which FSU has had a player on the list
11 - Number of times a FSU player earned WCHA Player of Week accolades this year
14 - Ferris State didn't drop a WCHA game in its first 14 league outings, posting a 12-0-2 start
15 - FSU posted 15 wins (15-0-1) at home versus WCHA competition and didn't lose to a league foe at home
16 - The Bulldogs won 16 games at home to match a school single-season best with a 16-1-1 mark
16 - FSU had a nation-leading and school-record 16-game unbeaten streak this season
18 - The Bulldogs have been in the nation's top 10 for 18 consecutive weeks
20 - Ferris' 20 conference wins ranked as the second-most league victories in FSU annals
21 - FSU has been ranked among the nation's top 20 teams for 21 consecutive weeks to date
21 - Total number of different players in a balanced lineup who had at least one goal this season
28 - The Bulldogs' 28 wins prior to the NCAA Tournament were the most in the nation
28 - Total number of wins by goaltender CJ Motte, the second-best showing of any goaltender ever at FSU and tops in the nation
29 - FSU's 29 total wins ranked as the second-most in a single season in Bulldog history
36 - This season represented the Bulldogs' 36th year of NCAA Division I hockey
42 - Ferris State took 42 of a possible 56 points in WCHA action this campaign
50 - The "Dawg Pound" student section recorded its 50th consecutive sellout this season
53.8 - FSU's 53.8% combined special teams figure ranked fifth in the nation while the 86.7% penalty kill figure was also fifth-best
63 - FSU owns a 63-19-11 mark at home in the last five years, one of the best marks in the nation
87 - Total points compiled by six different freshmen who played key roles on this year's squad
89 - Total number of wins recorded by this year's senior class, the most of any four-year class ever at FSU
93 - The percentage of the fan vote received by goaltender CJ Motte in winning the Premier Player of College Hockey Award
138 - The number of total goals scored by the Bulldogs this season. FSU allowed only 94 on the year
.709 - FSU's winning percentage ranked as the fourth-best figure in the country
2141 - The Bulldogs' home attendance average of 2,141 fans was the best figure in 32 seasons