Four Skaters Score as Bulldog Hockey Tops Bemidji State in First CCHA Action

Postgame Interview - Coach Daniels 
Postgame Interview - Nico DeVita 
Postgame Interview - Matt Corbet 
Postgame Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. – The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team collected three conference points as the Bulldogs opened Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) play Friday (Oct. 25) with a 4-2 victory over the Bemidji State Beavers in the Ewigleben Ice Arena.

The Bulldogs (2-3-2, 1-0-0 CCHA) got goals from four different players, three of whom scored their first goals of the season. Noah West had another strong performance between the pipes for FSU, registering 25 saves in his second win of the year. 

Nick Nardecchia and Zach Faremouth each skated in their 100th career games Friday, and both players registered an assist during the win. 

FSU started the scoring at 9:58 with a shorthanded goal from Nico DeVita. DeVita broke out of the Bulldog zone on the penalty kill with a pass up the ice for Kaleb Ergang. Ergang worked down the right-wing side and fired a pass back to DeVita in the high slot. He fired a shot that beat BSU netminder Mattias Sholl for the first goal of the night, giving Ferris State a 1-0 lead. Ergang and Cole Burtch assisted on the Bulldogs' second shorthanded goal of the year.

Bemidji State tied the game at 12:13 with a goal from Jere Vaisanen. His second goal of the year came from Kasper Magnussen and led to a tie game going into the first intermission. 

Ferris State dominated the second period, scoring three goals, the most of any period so far this year. Xavier Jean-Louis got the first goal of the period at 1:42, immediately after a Bulldog power play ended. Jean-Louis's first goal as a Bulldog gave FSU a 2-1 lead with Matt Corbet collecting his second assist and Nick Nardecchia picking up his first helper.

Then, 16 seconds later, Caiden Gault scored his team-leading fourth goal of the year. BSU worked the puck back into its own zone and Gault pushed forward aggressively, stealing the puck from A.J. Macaulay. He then made a great move to get back to his forehand and beat Sholl for the third goal of the game. Gault's goal was unassisted.

Later, at 12:54, Corbet scored his first collegiate goal and gave FSU a 4-1 advantage. Faremouth threw a pass from the corner to Corbet in front of the net. His initial shot was saved by Sholl, but Corbet followed it up and finished the rebound chance. Faremouth was credited with the lone assist.

BSU scored the final goal of the game at 5:35 in the third with a power play goal from Vaisanen. Kirklan Irey and Mitch Wolfe assisted, pulling the Beavers within two goals. Ultimately, they were unable to complete the comeback, even with the extra attacker coming on at 18:10.

Corbet scored his first collegiate goal and recorded his first multi-point effort in the victory. West earned his second win of the season with a 25-27 (.926) performance. DeVita blocked a game-high six shots to go with his first goal of the year and leads the CCHA with 19 blocks this season. Travis Shoudy and Andrew Noel each blocked three shots, while Logan Heroux and Faremouth had two apiece.

For the first time this year, Ferris State won the faceoff battle, winning 35-of-68 draws. Noel, Ergang, Corbet, Nardecchia and Trevor Taulien committed penalties in the game. FSU killed four of those penalties and failed to convert on two power play tries.

The Bulldogs had 23 shots on goal, giving Sholl a final line of 19 saves on 23 shots faced. The Beavers had 27 shots on goal with six of them coming from Jackson Jutting.

Ferris State will look to win the series against Bemidji State on Saturday (Oct. 26). Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. (ET) in the Ewigleben Ice Arena. The game will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus and aired on Sunny 97.3 FM as well as the Bulldog Sports Network.