Hot Start Boosts Bulldogs Past Northern Michigan to Fourth Consecutive Victory

Postgame Highlights 
Postgame Interview - Coach Daniels 
Postgame Interview - Matt Slick 
Postgame Interview - Antonio Venuto 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team ran its win streak to four games with a 5-2 victory over the Northern Michigan Wildcats in Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) play on Friday (Dec. 9) inside Ewigleben Ice Arena.

Ferris State senior defenseman Matt Slick and junior forward Antonio Venuto each had two points on the night while sophomore goaltender Noah Giesbrecht made 27 saves in the victory.

After a 48 minute delay to the game due to a broken pane of glass in warm ups, the Bulldogs got off to a hot start on the board.

First, 2:56 into the game, Ferris State freshman forward Tyler Schleppe sprung free on a breakaway as he buried his fourth goal of the year for a 1-0 lead. Ferris State junior defenseman Drew Cooper and junior forward Stepan Pokorny each earned their sixth assists of the year on the goal.

The Bulldogs extended the lead to 2-0 at 6:23 when senior defenseman Matt Slick five-holed NMU goalkeeper Beni Halasz and ultimately chased him from the game. Ferris State junior defenseman Ben Schultheis (2) and sophomore forward Bradley Marek (7) set up Slick on the goal.

Northern Michigan cut the lead in half at 1:23 of the second period when David Keefer scored on a third chance opportunity to make it 2-1 Ferris State.

Ferris State responded at 4:21 of the middle frame when Slick (1) took a shot from the point that senior forward Cade Kowalski redirected for his second goal of the year and a 3-1 Bulldog edge. Sophomore forward Zach Faremouth (2) also earned a helper on the play.

Just over a minute later, Kristoff Papp redirected a shot by NMU teammate Andre Ghantous past Giesbrecht to cut Ferris State's lead back to 3-2 at 5:30 of the second period.

It took the Bulldogs less than two minutes to reclaim their two-goal lead when freshman defenseman Andy Noel let loose a missile from the right point for his second goal of the season and second power play goal in as many games at 7:14 of the middle session. Senior defenseman Blake Evennou (6) and Venuto (2) picked up the assists on the goal to give Ferris State a 5-2 lead.

The Bulldogs played stingy defense in the third period and out-shot the trailing Wildcats. At 19:36, Venuto put the final nail in the coffin with his second goal of the year into the empty net for the 5-2 final.

Ferris State held the CCHA's top power play 0-7, while the Bulldogs went 1-7 on their own man-advantage. The Bulldogs won the shot battle 31-29 and took 11 less penalty minutes than Northern Michigan.

In goal, Giesbrecht earned his third-straight win on 27 stops, while Northern Michigan's Rico DiMatteo took the loss on 24 saves, allowing two goals in relief of Beni Halasz after Halasz was lifted 6:23 into the contest. He made two stops on four shots in the start for NMU.

The Bulldogs climbed into a points-tie for fourth with the victory, and won their fourth consecutive game. Ferris State aims for its fifth-straight win and the series sweep on Saturday (Dec. 10) at 6:07 p.m. (ET). The Bulldogs will honor the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four team prior to puck drop.