Bulldogs sweep aside RMU

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

The best things in life come in pairs, and for Ferris State it came in the form of wins, as the Bulldogs improve to 5-1 in the 2009-2010 campaign.

Friday’s game with the Colonials was clouded with uncertainty, as both teams traded control of the scoreboard four times.

Winger Blair Riley put Ferris State ahead early just 37 seconds into the game off an assist from Casey Haines, but Robert Morris would bounce back with a two-goal effort later in the period.

Riley found the back of the net once again, this time with a man down in the second period to tie the game at 2-2. At the 11:42 mark, the Bulldogs regained the lead thanks to defensemen Matt Case and Brett Wysopal helping set-up a power-play marker by senior Aaron Lewicki.

In the third stanza, forward Haines added an insurance goal while on the man-advantage, only to have the Colonials’ Furman South strike back shortly thereafter.

With a little over five minutes remaining in regulation, Chris Kushneriuk of Robert Morris snuck the puck past goaltender Taylor Nelson to force overtime.

Haines (pictured left) earned his third point of the night by scoring the game-winner on Brooks Ostergard with 32 seconds gone by in the extra period. Earning helpers on the play were seniors Cody Chupp and Riley.

Nelson earned his third decision of the season by stopping 24 shots, while Ostergard had 42 saves to his credit.

There was no shortage of point production for Ferris State on Saturday, with the bulk of their goals coming in the second period.

The Bulldogs were first to get on the scoreboard, when junior Todd Pococke fired a wrist shot over the reach of Robert Morris netminder Eric Levine at the 8:22 mark of the period.

The Colonials rebounded a mere 23 seconds afterwards, as Scott Kobialko took advantage of an odd-man rush to tie the game at one goal apiece.

Over the next four minutes, Ferris State would regain their footing thanks to goals by forwards Justin Menke and Matthew Kirzinger.

In a last-ditch effort to get back in the game, Robert Morris pulled Levine with two minutes left in the third period. The Bulldogs took advantage of the empty-net with 22 seconds to go, when juniors Mike Embach and Zach Redmond passed the puck up-ice to Lewicki for the finish.

Goaltender Pat Nagle collected 18 saves for Ferris State, while Levine finished with 48.

The Bulldogs begin CCHA play this weekend when they travel to Alaska for a two-game set. Puck drop for both contests in slated for 11:05 p.m. EST (7:05 p.m. local time).

Photo courtesy Ferris State Athletics