Bulldogs lose, tie against Ohio State

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

In their only series this season, Ferris State managed to squeeze a point out of No. 14-ranked Ohio State by tying 2-2 on Saturday after losing 5-2 the previous night.

The Bulldogs were actually ahead in the first game by a 2-1 margin at the midway point of the first period, thanks to goals by Jordie Johnston and Zach Redmond. From there, momentum shifted over in favor of the Buckeyes for the rest of the frame, with contributions coming from Corey Elkins and C.J. Severyn.

Ohio State followed up their comeback by scoring the only marker in the second, which came courtesy of Hunter Bishop.

After Ferris State goaltender Pat Nagle surrendered his fifth goal on 19 shots to begin the third period, head coach Bob Daniels replaced his starter with Taylor Nelson. A freshman, Nelson experienced moderate success in his 18 minutes of ice time, stopping four of five shots.

The Buckeyes were first to score the following night, with Corey Elkins sneaking the puck past Nelson with five minutes elapsed.

Ferris State winger Casey Haines scored the equalizer at 4:24 in the middle stanza, with linemates Corey Couturier and Mike Embach being credited for the helpers.

Matt Bartowski restored momentum to Ohio State 12 minutes later on an even-strength marker that made it 2-1, which would remain the score after two periods of play.

Looking to force overtime, Daniels pulled Nelson in the waning moments of the third to allow an extra attacker on the ice. With 57 seconds left, Haines set-up Redmond for his third goal of the campaign.

While a tie will go into the NCAA record books, a shootout was needed to declare a winner under new CCHA rules.

In the first round of the shootout, Peter Boyd converted for the Buckeyes, which turned out to be the winning score.

Nelson tallied 35 saves, while Ohio State’s Dustin Carlson ended up with 47 stops.

Ferris State record now stands at 10-11-5 overall, and 7-8-3 in conference play. The Bulldogs will be idle this week but return to action January 30-31 with a two-game homestand against Nebraska-Omaha.