Bulldogs take a bite out of BGSU

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

After being swept by Alaska the week before, Ferris State got off their schneid by posting 5-1 and 3-2 victories at home over Bowling Green State.

The Bulldogs received much help from their power-play units on Friday night, as four of their goals came with the man-advantage.

Despite a goal by the Falcons’ Jordan Samuels-Thomas a minute into the second period, Ferris State answered back nearly seven minutes later with a power-play marker from senior Blair Riley.

Just before the mid-point of the stanza, the Bulldogs continued to dominate with the extra attacker, as center Aaron Lewicki and defenseman Brett Wysopal helped set-up freshman Travis Ouellette’s game-winning goal.

Fellow first-year player Matt Kirzinger scored his third of the campaign at 12:04, followed by an even-strength marker by junior Justin Menke to give Ferris State a 4-1 lead after two periods of play.

With charging and tripping calls assessed to Bowling Green early in the third, it didn’t take long for Ferris State to take advantage of the 5-on-3 opportunity, as Riley notched his second lamp-lighter of the contest just 59 seconds in.

Sophomores Chad Billins and Wysopal each finished with two assists apiece.

Goaltender Taylor Nelson finished with 22 saves for the Bulldogs, while the Falcons’ Andrew Hammond and Nick Eno combined for 30.

It was another case of overcoming adversity for Ferris State the following night, as they once again had to rebound from a one-goal deficit.

Following a power-play goal from Bowling Green’s Kai Kantola with 5:20 gone by in the first period, Ouellette was able to score the equalizer just three minutes later.

Ouellette worked his charm again later in the period by finishing off a pass from Scott Wietecha and Lewicki.

Wysopal, a transfer from Colorado College, would score his first goal as a Bulldog in waning moments of the second period in what later proved to be the game-winner.

With a little over three minutes in regulation, Tomas Petruska brought the Falcons within a goal by sneaking the puck past netminder Pat Nagle.

Lewicki garnered an assist on all three scores for Ferris State.

Eno held the edge over Nagle in the saves department by a 36-29 margin.

The Bulldogs (7-3-0 overall, 2-2-0-0 CCHA) will have a real test on their hands this weekend when they travel to Oxford, Ohio to face No. 1 ranked Miami in a two-game set.