Maloney's OT Winner Caps Thrilling Comeback Win Over Bemidji State

Bemidji, Minn. -- Sophomore forward Mitch Maloney gave the Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey team their fourth win in five contests, scoring a dramatic goal in overtime to secure a 3-2 win over the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday night (Jan. 22) at the Sanford Center in Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) play.

For the second time in three games, Ferris State trailed in the waning moments of regulation and managed to find an equalizer to send the game to overtime. This time it was senior defenseman Simon Denis who scored his fifth tally of the season with just 25 seconds left on the clock and freshman goaltender Darren Smith pulled for an extra attacker.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring at 12:26 of the first period when junior forward Gerald Mayhew fired in his seventh goal of the season from senior defenseman Brandon Anselmini and junior forward Jared VanWormer to give FSU a 1-0 lead.

Anselmini took a shot that skipped to the net, and Mayhew was waiting in front of Bemidji State goaltender Michael Bitzer before batting the puck in.

The Beavers evened the game at 1-1 when John Parker scored his fifth of the year at 15:11 of the second period from Markus Gerbrandt and Dan Billet.

Parker went on to give the Beavers the lead at 9:52 of the third from Brendan Harms, putting Bemidji State on top 2-1.

Despite a late power play and a flurry of Ferris State chances, the BSU lead lasted into the final minute.

But Denis' shot from the top of the faceoff circle beat Bitzer at 19:35 of the third period forced the extra frame. Junior defenseman Ryan Lowney and junior forward Kyle Schempp each notched their 10th assists of the year on the equalizer.

Ferris State wasted no time going for the kill as Maloney scored at 47 seconds of the overtime period to win the game from junior forward Chad McDonald and sophomore defenseman Tyler Dorantes.

McDonald centered the puck in front of Bitzer's net, but the puck popped up in the air off a stick. Maloney was able to bat the puck down and backhand it past a sprawling Bitzer for his second goal of the season and the game-winner.

The game marks Ferris State's third consecutive win at the Sanford Center, and their second straight overtime victory over the Beavers in Bemidji after last season's playoff-clinching winner from Kyle Schempp in the third overtime.

With an assist, VanWormer now has a five game point scoring streak, and Anselmini has five points in his last five games. Denis also has a five game point streak with a total of six points in that span.

It was the second straight game during which every skater from the junior class notched at least a point for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State moves to 11-9-5 with 21 points in the WCHA standings with the victory, and is alone in fourth place behind Michigan Tech (22 points).

Bemidji State fell to 7-9-3 with the loss and remains in sixth place in the WCHA.

The Bulldogs look for their first sweep of the season Saturday night (Jan. 23), as Ferris State and Bemidji State will close out the season series. Puck drop for Saturday night's game from the Sanford Center is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. EST.