Ohio State beats, ties Ferris State

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

Vengeance was on the minds of the Buckeyes this weekend as Ferris State was unable to match their success from the previous series back in November.

Ohio State wasted no time making a statement against the Bulldogs on Friday night, scoring their first of five goals just 3:55 into the opening frame.

Shortly thereafter, senior forward Blair Riley sent the puck over to sophomore defenseman Chad Billins, who evened-up the score with a powerful blast from the blueline.

With less than seven minutes remaining, the Buckeyes struck again, this time with Sergio Somma sneaking one past Bulldogs goaltender Pat Nagle from just outside the crease.

An elbowing call on freshman Travis Ouellette would prove costly at the 5:25 mark of the second, as Ohio State’s Chris Reed would capitalize on the infraction just 19 seconds later to make it a two-goal game.

Toward the halfway mark, Ferris State caught a break, thanks to a mishap in the Buckeyes’ defensive zone. After preventing a scoring opportunity by the Bulldogs, an Ohio State defender went to clear the puck out of the zone, only to have it ricochet off the leg of Ferris State senior defenseman Matt Case. From there, an opportunistic Justin Menke took possession and knocked one in from just outside the left circle.

Matt Bartkowski tallied a power-play marker with a little over two minutes in the third, in what would eventually be the game-winner.

Sophomore defenseman Brett Wysopal brought the Bulldogs within a goal at 12:29, but the Buckeyes’ Peter Boyd sealed the deal two minutes later.

Ohio State’s Carl Heeter stopped 46 shots, compared to Nagle’s 25.

Ferris State was able to make a narrow escape the following night, tying the Buckeyes 3-3 in overtime before grabbing an extra point with a shootout win.

After a Case goal on the power-play in the first, Ferris State upped their lead to two goals with a marker by senior Aaron Lewicki in the middle stanza.

The Buckeyes would make a quick recovery at the five minute mark, scoring two goals within a 40 second span to draw even.

Riley’s team-high 17th goal of the campaign came at 12:02, with fellow seniors Cody Chupp and Casey Haines earning helpers on the play.

The Bulldogs’ lead stood until Ohio State’s Kyle Reed scored with 3:55 remaining to force overtime.

An uneventful extra period led to a three-round shootout, where the Bulldogs’ Chupp and the Buckeyes’ John Alberts were the only players to light the lamp.

Looking to break the tie, Ferris State turned to Billins, who previously had scored a decisive shootout goal against Miami back in November. Billins answered the call once again, skating toward the left before faking out Ohio State netminder Dustin Carlson before pulling back with a five-hole shot.

Taylor Nelson grabbed 30 saves for the Bulldogs, while Carlson tallied 21.

Ferris State (17-8-3 overall, 11-6-3-3 CCHA) returns to Big Rapids this weekend, where they will host Northern Michigan in a two-game set.

Photo courtesy Joe Gorby/Ferris State Atheltics