Bulldogs Settle For CCHA Split With St. Thomas
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Thomas (Minn.) (2-6-0, 1-1-0) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
|
Ferris State (3-4-1, 1-1-0) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Postgame Highlights 
Postgame Interview
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team settled for a weekend Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) split, falling 5-2 to the St. Thomas Tommies at home Saturday (Oct. 29) inside Ewigleben Ice Arena.
Ferris State freshman forward Connor McGrath scored in his second consecutive game for the Bulldogs to take the team goal-scoring lead.
The Tommies used two first period power play goals to jumped out to an early lead, when Josh Eernisse scored at 9:21 on the man advantage, followed by Grant Docter at 15:49 for the 2-0 lead.
Ferris State responded early in the second period at 4:13 after killing a five-minute major. On the power play, senior defenseman Brenden MacLaren punched in a rebound for his first goal of the year. Junior forward Stepan Pokorny (4) and sophomore forward Bradley Marek (5) picked up the helpers on the play.
St. Thomas answered and reclaimed their two-goal lead shorthanded on Mack Byers goal at 10:03 of the middle frame.
However, just 1:57 later, Ferris State returned fire and scored on the man advantage when McGrath fired a sharp angle shot from the bottom of the right circle that beat UST goaltender Aaron Trotter upstairs to cut the St. Thomas lead to 3-2. The goal was his fourth of the campaign, assisted by senior defenseman Blake Evennou (3) and freshman defenseman Travis Shoudy, who picked up his first collegiate point on the play.
The Tommies scored twice in the third to walk out with the 5-2 final, first at 11:27 on the man advantage when Ryan O'Neill scored, followed by Byers at 17:04 on the Bulldogs' empty net.
Ferris State outshot St. Thomas 36-21 on the night, and went 2-7 on the man advantage. St. Thomas finished 3-7 on the power play, including a five-minute major power play that the Bulldogs killed off.
In goal, Ferris State sophomore Noah Giesbrecht made 16 saves and allowed four goals in the loss, while Trotter picked up the win for St. Thomas on 34 stops.
Ferris State heads on its longest road trip of the year, venturing west to Bemidji State to take on the Beavers on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 4-5) at the Sanford Center, with puck drops set for 8:07 and 7:07 p.m. (ET), respectively.