Giesbrecht Dazzles In First Collegiate Shutout, Bulldogs Blank Lakers On The Road

Postgame Highlights 

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - A late power play chance skipped past the right goal post for LSSU's Harrison Roy, and it was as close as the Lake Superior State Lakers would come to scoring, as the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team stymied the Lakers for a 4-0 Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) shutout victory on Friday (Jan. 13) inside Taffy Abel Arena.

Ferris State sophomore goaltender Noah Giesbrecht made 34 saves to earn his first career NCAA Division I shutout while freshman forward Tyler Schleppe scored twice in the effort.

The Bulldogs moved in front off of a faceoff play in the right wing dot half way through the first period. Ferris State junior forward Stepan Pokorny battled a faceoff win back to junior forward Antonio Venuto, who gunned a shot under the right leg of Laker goaltender Seth Eisele for a 1-0 Bulldog lead at 10:23. Venuto's goal was his third of the year, while Pokorny earned his eighth assist of the year on the goal.

The second period was played at a furious pace, and the Bulldogs capitalized at 10:21 when senior forward Dallas Tulik ripped a rush chance top shelf for his third goal of the year and a 2-0 Ferris State edge. Ferris State freshman forward Jacob Badal picked up his first collegiate point, an assist, on the play.

With just 2.2 seconds remaining in the second frame, Schleppe worked open in the high slot, and Pokorny (9) slipped a pass from the goal line back to him. Schleppe unloaded for the top shelf and gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead into the locker room after two periods of play with his seventh goal of the year. Ferris State freshman defenseman Travis Shoudy (6) also earned a helper on the goal.

The Lakers earned three trips to the power play in the third period, but Giesbrecht stood tall, knocking aside 11 third period Laker shots. With 17.7 remaining, Schleppe buried the empty netter for his team leading eighth goal of the year and second of the night for the 4-0 final. Ferris State senior defenseman Matt Slick created a blue-line turnover for his third assist of the year on the goal.

Ferris State was narrowly out-shot 34-32 in the contest. The Bulldogs held the Lakers 0-5 on the power play with just four shots. The Bulldogs finished 0-3 with four shots on the man advantage. 

In goal, Giesbrecht's 34-save shutout ran his season save percentage to .923, just three one-thousandths behind league leaders Mattias Sholl (Bemidji State) and Blake Pietila (Michigan Tech). Eisele made 28 saves in the loss for LSSU in goal.

With the win, Ferris State is now two points behind the final home-ice spot in the CCHA (Bemidji State, 25) at 23 points. The Bulldogs aim for the series sweep and to pull within two points of their 2022 season total on Saturday (Jan 14) at Taffy Abel Arena in the series' finale starting at 6:07 p.m. (ET).