West Shuts Out Mavericks as Ferris State Hockey Downs #14 Minnesota State

Postgame Highlights 
Postgame Interview - Coach Daniels 
Postgame Interview - Kaleb Ergang 
Postgame Interview - Noah West 

Big Rapids, Mich. – Goaltender Noah West earned his second shutout of the season Friday (Jan. 24) in a 2-0 victory over Minnesota State University with a dominant 38-save performance as the Ferris State University men's ice hockey team rolled to a thrilling win over the nationally #14 ranked Mavericks in the Ewigleben Ice Arena.

The win was FSU's second in a row after previously topping Bowling Green State University 4-3 last Saturday (Jan. 18) at home in Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) action. It was also Ferris State's first victory over a ranked team since Dec. 27, 2022, when the Bulldogs topped #11 Michigan State.

West recorded the first Bulldog shutout at home since Oct. 27, 2018, when Roni Salmenkangas blanked Alaska Anchorage. Earlier this year, West shutout St. Lawrence in a 1-0 win on the road.

The Bulldogs (8-15-2, 7-10 CCHA) got the game-winning goal from senior forward Kaleb Ergang at 12:56 in the first period. Tyler Schleppe won a puck battle in open ice on the Mavericks' side of the rink, leaving Ergang alone for a shot from the top of the slot. He beat MSU goaltender Alex Tracy for his fourth goal and put FSU up 1-0. Schleppe tallied his fourth assist.

Ferris State struck again at 17:59 in period three courtesy of Jacob Badal's second goal this year. Schleppe sent a backhanded pass from his own zone up the left wall for Badal who took a slapshot that beat Tracy to the top-right corner. Schleppe recorded his second assist of the night and Trevor Taulien got his seventh of the season as Badal put FSU up 2-0.

Tracy was pulled for the extra attacker with 1:37 remaining, and then Holden Doell was booked for a tripping call at 19:06, giving Minnesota State a six-on-four power play sequence for 54 seconds. Travis Shoudy and Nico DeVita each blocked a shot and the Bulldogs closed out a 2-0 win.

West stopped all 38 shots he faced, earning his eighth win of the campaign. Tracy was 38-40 on save attempts and suffered his seventh defeat. Schleppe had his fourth multi-point effort (second consecutive) and Taulien extended his points streak to four games.

Ferris State blocked 21 shots in the win. Shoudy and DeVita each had four and Logan Heroux, Christopher Lie, Kade Turner and Andrew Noel blocked two apiece. Minnesota State blocked five shots with two coming from Will Hillman.

Schleppe and Ergang both finished +2 and took two shots on goal. Jack Silich, Caiden Gault and Zach Faremouth tied for the team lead with five shots on goal each. 

As a team, the Bulldogs were 3-3 on the penalty kill and 0-1 on the power play. They went 31-29 on draws as Faremouth led with 12 faceoff wins.

Ferris State will attempt to sweep Minnesota State Saturday (Jan. 25) in the final regular season meeting between the two teams. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. (ET) on Star Wars Night in the Ewigleben Ice Arena. The game will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus and Sunny 97.3 FM.