Taulien Scores Twice as Ferris State Hockey Tops Miami (Ohio) in a Shootout for the Second Consecutive Night

Postgame Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. – Trevor Taulien scored two goals, Max Itagaki had two assists and Noah West made 34 saves as the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team rolled to its second consecutive shootout victory over the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks Saturday (Oct. 5) in the Ewigleben Ice Arena.

The Bulldogs (0-0-2) capped off homecoming weekend in Big Rapids with a thrilling shootout win for the second consecutive night. FSU also topped the Redhawks in a shootout Friday (Oct. 4) in the season opener. 

Ferris State scored the first goal of the night Saturday when junior defenseman Travis Shoudy lit the lamp for the first time this season. Itagaki broke out of the Bulldog zone with a pass up the ice to Caiden Gault. Gault then found Shoudy, who fired a shot that beat Miami goaltender Ethan Dahlmeir five-hole for the first goal of the game. Shoudy's strike came at 12:53 in the first period with Gault and Itagaki recording the assists. For Itagaki, it was his first point as a Bulldog.

Casper Nassen responded with a Redhawk goal at 14:30 on the power play. He took a one-time shot from the top of the left-wing circle and tied the game 1-1. Michael Quinn and Raimonds Vitolins assisted.

FSU reclaimed the lead at 5:53 in the second with Taulien's first goal of the season. The sophomore defenseman fired a shot from the top of the right-wing circle that beat Dahlmeir to the back post, giving FSU a 2-1 lead. Itagaki had another assist and Connor McGrath also recorded a helper, his first point of the year.

Miami again tied the game with a goal from Colby Ambrosio at 11:46. His first of the season came from Matt Choupani and Hampus Rydqvist. The Redhawks took a 3-2 lead at 13:31 with a shorthanded strike from Blake Mesenburg. Choupani also assisted on Mesenburg's goal that gave Miami its first lead of the game.

Taulien scored again at 15:05 in the second period, tying the game at 3-3. He fired a shot through traffic that bounced off Mesenburg and into the back of the net. That was his first career two-goal game, and Andrew Noel recorded his first point of the year with an assist. Jacob Badal also had an assist, giving him one helper in each game to start the season.

Nick Nardecchia gave FSU a 4-3 advantage at 10:14 in the third. He crashed to the net for a rebound chance off a shot from Zach Faremouth, flicking a shot to the top left corner of the net for his first point of the year. Faremouth had an assist and freshman Matt Corbet recorded his first collegiate point with a helper as well.

Ryan Sullivan tied the game with a power play goal at 12:34 from Max Dukovac and Casper Nassen. Sullivan's first of the year evened the score at 4-4 and forced overtime, as neither team scored the remainder of regulation.

In overtime, West faced five shots from the Redhawks and saved them all. FSU attempted just one shot in overtime, and the Bulldogs headed to a shootout for the second consecutive night to begin their season.

Sullivan took the first shot in the shootout and scored for the Redhawks. Cole Burtch was the first shooter for the Bulldogs, and his shot hit the bar and bounced out. Miami had a 1-0 advantage after the first round.

West slammed the door on Max Dukovac in the second round, and McGrath scored for the Bulldogs to give both teams one goal in the shootout. West then denied Nassen's attempt, setting up Itagaki with a chance to win it for FSU. Itagaki drew to his backhand and flipped a shot over Dahlmeir's pad to seal a victory for Ferris State.

For the game, West stopped 34-38 shots and Dahlmeir stopped 23-27. Miami converted 2-7 penalties and killed all five of Ferris State's power plays. The Redhawks also won 33 faceoffs compared to 21 for the Bulldogs.

Taulien had two scoring strikes, finished +2 and recorded an impressive seven blocked shots. As a team, FSU blocked 15 shots. Taulien and Holden Doell each fired four shots on goal to lead the Bulldogs.

Ferris State will be back in action next weekend to take on Western Michigan in a home-and-home series beginning Friday (Oct. 11) at 7:00 p.m. (ET) in Lawson Arena. Then, the Broncos will come to Big Rapids for Saturday's contest with a scheduled puck drop at 7:07 p.m. (ET).