Testing their talents against schools in the newly-formed Big Ten conference (and former fellow CCHA rivals) Michigan and Michigan State, No. 4 ranked Ferris State escaped unscathed this past weekend, tying the school record for most consecutive games without a loss at 15.
The Bulldogs ventured to Ann Arbor on Wednesday night, where they skated to a 2-2 tie. Freshman forward Kyle Schempp registered his seventh goal in unassisted fashion at 13:06 in the first, before the Wolverines' Andrew Copp netted the equalizer 1:20 later. Earning helpers on that play were Phil DiGiuseepe and Tyler Motte (brother of Ferris State goaltender C.J. Motte).
No. 3 ranked Michigan grabbed their only lead of the net in the opening minute of the second, as Alex Guptill snuck the puck past Motte 38 seconds into the restart.
The 2-1 lead stood until less than six minutes left in regulation, when defenseman Brandon Anselmini fired a shot from the point to force the extra session.
With neither team able to produce the game-winning goal in overtime, the contest officially goes into the NCAA record-books as a tie. However, under Big Ten rules, the home team has to power to declare a shootout, even in a non-conference game.
Garret Thompson of Ferris State and Michigan's Copp both found the back of the net in the second round of the shootout, but it wouldn't be decided until five rounds later, when Alex Kile's shot was determined by officials to have crossed the goal line to give the Wolverines the win.
Zach Nagelvoort had a slight advantage in the saves department over Motte, 29-28.
In Saturday's contest in East Lansing - dubbed the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game - the Bulldogs closed out the 2013 calendar year with a 2-0 triumph over Michigan State.
Freshman Chad McDonald produced the game-winning goal just shy of the midway point of the first period off a feed from linemate Kenny Babinski. The score is McDonald's fourth of the campaign and first since November 22 in a 5-3 win over Alaska.
A five-minute major levied against Michigan State's Matt DeBlouw for boarding in the early moments of the ensuing frame helped spur a scoring opportunity for the Bulldogs on the power-play. Junior forward Justin Buzzeo produced his eighth goal this season, with freshmen Gerald Mayhew and Ryan Lowney each registering assists on that play.
Motte recorded his second shutout of 2013-2014 with a 16 save effort to improve to 14-0-3 as a starter.
Taking the loss in net for the Spartans was Jake Hildebrand, who stopped 20 of 22 shots faced.
Ferris State (14-2-3 overall) is idle until January 3, when they face RPI in the opening round of the Mariucci Classic. Pending the result of that game, the Bulldogs will face either Colgate or host Minnesota the following night.
Up next for both Michigan (10-2-2) and Michigan State (5-9-1) is the Great Lakes Invitational on December 27-28 at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Wolverines draw Western Michigan in the opening round, while the Spartans clash with Michigan Tech. All four games can be seen on either Fox Sports Detroit or Fox Sports Detroit Plus at 3:30 and 7:00 pm both nights.
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