Ferris State Battles Western Michigan To Overtime Deadlock In Home Opener

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Big Rapids, Mich. - On a night in which the rivalry between the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team and Western Michigan returned to the Ewigleben Ice Arena for the first time in two years, the Bulldogs and Broncos played to a 1-1 overtime tie on Saturday (Oct. 10) in FSU's 2015-16 home opener.

The two teams battled hard to the end as they capped a weekend home-and-home series that started on Friday night in Kalamazoo and ended in overtime in Big Rapids. It marked the start of a five-year scheduling agreement between the two former CCHA rivals and West Michigan foes.

Saturday's series' finale was a goaltending battle between Ferris State junior goaltender Charles Williams and Western Michigan senior Lukas Hafner as the game remained scoreless heading into the final frame of regulation.

Midway through the first period, Williams made one of a number of game-saving stops, incluindg one on a Frederik Tiffels penalty shot to keep the game locked at zero after 20 minutes of action.

The Broncos found the scoreboard first at 6:01 of the third period when Kyle Novak shot one on net that Williams nearly saved with a piece of the puck hitting his glove while diving to make the stop. Griffen Molino and Tiffels assisted on Novak's first goal of the year.

However, Ferris State answered six minutes later when junior forward Kyle Schempp found a pass from senior forward Matt Roberston and fired it into the open cage at 12:44 of the final period. Junior forward Gerald Mayhew assisted on Schempp's game-tying goal.

Mayhew started the play to Robertson, who took a shot and followed his rebound behind the net. Hafner came out to try and block the centering pass, but Robertson slid it beneath his stick and through traffic to Schempp, who netted his first goal of the season.

Schempp's goal was his second in as many home-opening contests for the Bulldogs as he also scored a season ago on opening night in a win over the University of Michigan.

Ferris State controlled the overtime period, firing shots away at Hafner until the final horn, but could not produce the game-winner.

Williams finished the game with 36 saves on 37 shots while Hafner had 39 on 40 Ferris State shots in the contest.

Ferris State finished 0-of-6 on the powerplay, but were able to hold the Broncos to an 0-of-4 showing with the man-advantage. Overall, FSU was called for five penalties totaling 10 minutes in the box with WMU netting six infractions for 12 minutes.

The Bulldogs will continue their five-game homestand as they host the Michigan Tech Huskies to start Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) play on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17, at the Ewigleben Ice Arena. Action gets underway both nights at 7:07 p.m. (ET).

Tickets for all Ferris State home contests can be purchased in advance thru the FSU Athletics Ticket Office inside the Ewigleben Sports Complex. Please call 231-591-2888 for more information or visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.