Smith's Shutout Gives Ferris State 1-0 Win At Lake Superior State Friday Night

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. — Freshman goaltender Darren Smith recorded his first career collegiate shutout and a first period goal by senior defenseman Simon Denis held up to give the Ferris State Bulldogs (6-5-4, 5-4-2 WCHA) men's ice hockey team a 1-0 victory over the Lake Superior State University Lakers (3-9-3, 1-3-3 WCHA) on Friday night at Taffy Abel Arena.

Smith made 19 saves in the win, while the lone goal was the third of the season for Denis. Assists on the tally were given to senior forward Matt Robertson and junior forward Kyle Schempp.

Denis made it 1-0 at 16:14 of the opening period. Schempp started the play by breaking out of the FSU zone with a pass to Robertson in neutral ice. The forward then hit the Burnaby, B.C. native with a feed into the offensive zone on the right wing. Denis wound up and blasted a slap shot past LSSU netminder Gordon Defiel for the score.

Defiel finished the night with 31 stops in the loss for the Lakers. The Bulldogs outshot Lake Superior State 32-19 in the game, including shots on goal advantages in every period.

In the second period, it appeared that senior Sean O'Rourke had scored a goal off a feed from Chad McDonald, but the play was overturned because of an offside on FSU after a video review.

Both teams finished scoreless on the power play, with the Bulldogs going 0-for-4 and Lake Superior State ending 0-for-5.

In 10 total appearances this season, Smith has a record of 5-1-3 for Ferris State.

The two teams will square off again on Saturday night in Sault Ste. Marie. The game is scheduled to get underway at 7:07 p.m.