Ferris State Hockey Comes Up Short In Overtime Setback At Michigan Tech

Houghton, Mich. – An overtime goal by forward Malcolm Gould gave Michigan Tech (3-2-0, 3-2-0 WCHA) a 5-4 win over the Ferris State Bulldogs (2-3-2, 1-2-0 WCHA) on Friday (Oct. 30) night in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action at the MacInnes Ice Arena in Houghton.

The contest opened a two-game road set for the Bulldogs against the Huskies only two weeks after the two squads met to start conference play in Big Rapids. 

Ferris State was led by four different goal scorers, including junior forward Jared VanWormer, senior forward Matt Robertson, sophomore forward Andrew Dorantes and freshman forward Corey Mackin. Junior forward Gerald Mayhew added two assists in the defeat. 

The Bulldogs took control of the game in the first period, scoring three times on MTU netminder Jamie Phillips. First, Jared VanWormer found the back of the net for the first time this season after a dump-in play by junior forward Kyle Schempp bounced awkwardly off the dasher boards right to VanWormer, who was waiting in front of an empty net as Phillips skated behind the cage to try and play the puck. Senior defenseman Sean O'Rourke picked up the second assist on FSU's first tally of the night that made it 1-0 in the Bulldogs' favor. 

Then, just 2:34 later, Robertson scored his second of the season, putting his own rebound into the top shelf of the net to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Mayhew started the play, sending the puck to the senior, who followed his shot after Phillips made an initial save. 

Michigan Tech got on the board late in the period to make it 2-1 when Tyler Heinonen scored his third of the season from Mark Auk at 18:04 of the frame. 

But, Ferris State responded 1:19 later when Dorantes took a pass from Mayhew and beat Phillips with a low angle shot from the bottom of the zone just above the goal line, giving the Bulldogs extra life going into the first intermission. 

The Huskies responded with two early goals in the second by Alex Gillies and Joel L'Esperance that evened the game at 3-3. 

Late in the middle frame, Mackin got just enough of a rebound off an initial shot by sophomore forward Tyler Andrew to get it past Phillips as Ferris State retook the lead at 4-3. Dorantes earned his second point of the night on the tally, picking up the second assist on Mackin's second goal of the season. 

Despite outshooting MTU 11-4 in the final period, the Bulldogs surrendered a tying goal to Huskies' defenseman Matt Roy at 5:33 of the third and the teams went to overtime. 

In the final minute of the extra period, Mayhew found himself with a chance to win the game on a breakaway, but Phillips made a save with his left pad to keep Michigan Tech in the game. As the play moved back up ice, the Huskies got the puck to Gould, who beat FSU goaltender Charles Williams with only 46 seconds to go in the extra period to win the game. 

Neither team committed a penalty in the contest, keeping each other's power play attack at bay. The Bulldogs outshot MTU 37-31 in the game, with Phillips making 33 saves to earn the victory while Williams stopped 26 pucks. Mackin led the Bulldogs with a total of five shots on net. 

Michigan Tech now leads the season series between the two teams, with a 2-1-0 record through three of the four contests. 

The two squads will complete the series Saturday night (Oct. 31) in Houghton. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. 

Ferris State will then return home next weekend to host Minnesota State in a weekend series Nov. 6-7 at the Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids. Both games will begin at 7:07 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased in person thru the FSU Athletics Ticket Office, online at StarTickets.com or by calling 1-800-585-3737.