Bulldogs Buck Falcons In Playoff Overtime Thriller To Take Series Lead

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Bowling Green, Ohio - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team defeated the Bowling Green Falcons 4-3 in sudden death overtime to take game one of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's (CCHA) Mason Cup Quarterfinals on Friday (March 3) at the Slater Family Ice Arena.

Ferris State sophomore forward Nick Nardecchia gave the Bulldogs their first playoff victory since 2016 while sophomore goaltender Noah Giesbrecht made 39 saves for his first collegiate postseason triumph.

The Bulldogs in fact had to crawl out of an early 2-0 hole, as the Falcons scored on the power play at 4:44 of the first period for a 1-0 lead when Dalton Norris tallied, and again at 8:49 when Austen Swankler got loose in front.

Ferris State began its comeback when freshman forward Jacob Badal netted his first collegiate goal at 17:22 of the first to cut the Falcon lead to 2-1, scoring on a rebound at the left side of the goal over a prone BGSU goaltender, Christian Stoever. Ferris State freshman forward Tyler Schleppe (6) and junior defenseman Drew Cooper (8) picked up the helpers on the goal.

Early in the second period, Ferris State tied the game 29 seconds in, on a fourth chance opportunity from the slot. Senior forward Jason Brancheau floated in his team-leading 12th goal of the year. Senior defensemen Brenden MacLaren (12) and junior forward Antonio Venuto (8) picked up the assists on on the game-tying goal to make it 2-2.

A stalemate in the third worked eventually in the Bulldogs' favor. On a clean face-off win by sophomore forward Bradley Marek (9), freshman defenseman Travis Shoudy laced in a goal from the top of the left circle through traffic for a 3-2 Bulldog lead at 14:54 of the third. The goal was Shoudy's fourth of the season.

With the extra attacker on, Bowling Green tied the game to force overtime on a rebound chance at 18:38 when Taylor Schneider scored to knot the game at 3-3.

Both teams failed on early power plays in overtime, and eventually the Bulldogs wore out the Falcons. Finally, at 14:04, sustained pressure left Nardecchia open at the right side of the goal, where he found a rebound and ripped in his third goal of the year to send the Bulldogs home winners by the 4-3 final. Ferris State freshman forward Caiden Gault (4) and junior defenseman Ben Schultheis (6) picked up the assists on the game-winning goal.

With the win, the Bulldogs took a 1-0 quarterfinal series lead in the best-of-three series on the road. 

The Bulldogs were narrowly outshot 42-40, with Giesbrecht making 39 saves. Stoever made 36 saves in goal for Bowling Green in the defeat.

Ferris State aims for the series sweep on Saturday (March 4) at the Slater Family Ice Arena in game two. The contest is set for 7:07 p.m. (ET).