Ferris State Hockey Falls 4-1 to Western Michigan in First Road Contest of the Season

Kalamazoo, Mich. – The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team traveled to Lawson Ice Arena for its first road game of the year Friday (Oct. 11) and suffered a 4-1 setback against the #17 Western Michigan University Broncos.

The Bulldogs (0-1-2) opened their home-and-home series against the Broncos in Kalamazoo for Western Michigan's season-opener. Noah West had a strong performance in net for Ferris State, but unfortunately suffered his first loss of the season.

West made 40 saves, becoming the first Bulldog goaltender to record at least 40 saves in a game since Nov. 17, 2023. He made 16 saves in the first period, 14 in the second and 10 in the third while allowing four goals, good for a .909 save percentage.

All four of Western Michigan's goals were scored by freshmen, with the first coming 1:34 into the game. Iiro Hakkarainen scored the first goal of the season for the Broncos, giving them an early 1-0 lead. Robby Drazner and Tim Washe had the assists.

Three minutes later, Joona Väisänen gave the Broncos a 2-0 lead while Washe dished out his second helper of the night.

FSU cut the deficit in half with a goal from Caiden Gault at 8:45. Gault crashed towards the slot after checking a Broncos' skater into the boards. Max Itagaki sent a pass to Gault, who fired the shot and lit the lamp for the second time this year. The goal gives Gault one point in each of the first three games this year, while Itagaki collected his third assist. Connor McGrath also had a helper, his second of the year.

There were no penalties in the first period and WMU had 18 shots compared to five for the Bulldogs. In the second period, neither team scored despite the Bulldogs committing two penalties and the Broncos going to the box once. Andrew Noel and Xavier Jean-Louis had penalties for Ferris State.

Later, at 9:06 in the third period, Ty Henricks gave the Broncos a 3-1 lead with an unassisted goal. Three minutes later, Zach Nehring lit the lamp and sealed a 4-1 victory for the Broncos. Grant Slukynsky had the assist.

The Bulldogs blocked seven shots in the game. Noel, McGrath, Kaleb Ergang, Jacob Dirks, Kade Turner, Tyler Schleppe and Logan Heroux each had a block. Heroux skated in his first collegiate game, finishing even with a block and a shot on goal.

Gavin Best and Jean-Louis led the Bulldogs with three shots on goal apiece while Schleppe and Ergang each had two.

Gault extended his point streak to three games and both McGrath and Itagaki have points in back-to-back games with their assists on Gault's goal.

West stopped 40-of-44 shots faced, while WMU goaltender Cameron Rowe made 17 saves on 18 shots.

For the game, FSU attempted 18 shots, blocked seven shots, killed both its penalties and went 0-1 on the power play. WMU had 44 shots and 17 blocks. The Broncos also handled the faceoff circle, winning 44 draws compared to 22 for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State will be back in Big Rapids on Saturday (Oct. 12) for a 7:07 p.m. (ET) puck drop against the Broncos. The game will be streamed live on Midco Sports Plus and the audio broadcast will be on the Bulldog Sports Network online. Fans are encouraged wear black for the "Blackout" game with the Bulldogs donning new black uniforms.