Dawgs Battle To 5-5 Deadlock With #14 Michigan Tech Saturday

Postgame Highlights 
Postgame Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - In a thrilling high-scoring affair in front of a near sold-out crowd, the Ferris State Bulldogs played to a 5-5 tie to nationally #14 ranked Michigan Tech on Saturday (Feb. 19) inside Ewigleben Ice Arena in Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) action.

The Huskies earned the extra CCHA point, winning the shootout 2-1 in sudden death shots.

Ferris State got a big night out of their fourth line of sophomore forwards Jacob Dirks, Antonio Venuto, and freshman forward Zach Faremouth, who combined for three tallies on the night.

The game opened at a ferocious pace with a five-goal first period. It was the Bulldogs who jumped out front early. On a five-on-three power play, freshman forward Bradley Marek broke a scoring-drought with his seventh goal of the year, tipping in a point shot from senior defenseman Brendon Michaelian (10) and freshman defenseman Luke Farthing (3) for a 1-0 Bulldog lead.

The Huskies got on the board with back-to-back tallies by Logan Pietila at 7:48 and Trenton Bliss at 11:49 for a 2-1 Michigan Techedge.

Ferris State replied with three straight goals to go back up in the contest.

The run started when Faremouth finished a netmouth scrum at 14:05 of the first period for his second goal of the year, assisted by Venuto (3) and Brendon Michaelian (11) to tie the game at 2-2.

Just 1:40 later, Dirks fired the puck from behind the goal in the right wing corner, banking it off the skate of MTU goaltender Blake Pietila for a 3-2 Ferris State lead and his third goal of the year. Junior defenseman Brenden Rons (3) and junior forward Brenden MacLaren (2) picked up the assists on the Dirks goal.

The goal chased Pietila from the game, as Michigan Tech turned to back up netminder Mark Sinclair for just the second time this season.

In the second period, Ferris State sophomore forward Mitch Deelstra wheeled down the middle of the ice and ripped a shot that handcuffed Sinclair. The rebound lay near the goal line where freshman forward Kaleb Ergang slammed in his fourth goal of the year at 7:55 of the middle frame. Deelstra (6) and junior forward Dallas Tulik (11) earned the helpers on the play for a 4-2 Bulldog lead.

Michigan Tech replied at 9:43 of the third when Trenton Bliss banged in a shot that hit Ferris State freshman goaltender Noah Giesbrecht, popped up in the air over his head and landed behind him in the crease. Ferris State took a penalty on the play and the Huskies cashed in again when Brian Halonen tied the CCHA lead in point-scoring to tie the game at 10:16 of the third period at 4-4.

Minutes later, Ferris State took another penalty, but made the Huskies pay.

The Bulldogs took a 5-4 lead when Faremouth found a rebound on a shot by Dirks that hit MTU's Sinclair, popped in the air and landed in the crease behind him. Faremouth's second goal of the night was his third of the year, while Dirks (2) picked up the assist on the goal.

On the same power play, Michigan Tech tied the game back up when Alec Broetzman scored to force overtime tied at 5-5.

The game advanced to a shootout, where Ferris State sophomore forward Stepan Pokorny scored, but was countered by Bliss and Logan Pietila, giving the Huskies the extra point. 

Ferris State's Giesbrecht earned his first collegiate tie, making 35 saves. Sinclair picked up the tie in relief for Michigan Tech on 15 stops.

Ferris State broke out of a power play slump and went 1-3, while Michigan Tech was held 0-3 to start the game before going 2-2 in the third period for a 2-5 final. The Huskies had a 40-30 edge in shots on goal.

The Bulldogs travel north to wrap the regular season against the hot Northern Michigan Wildcats, Friday and Saturday (Feb. 25-26), with a pair of 6:37 p.m. (ET) puck drops at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich.