By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer
Even though their 16-game undefeated streak came to an end in the finals of the Mariucci Classic, the Ferris State Bulldogs have managed to keep another one intact - as they have yet to be beaten by another WCHA team this season in 14 attempts.
The latest to fall victim to the mighty Bulldogs were the Michigan Tech Huskies, who were unable to get the job done after close losses of 1-0 and 3-2 this past weekend.
Senior forward Garrett Thompson supplied the difference-maker in Friday's game, registering his team-high 11th goal of the season with under 12 minutes remaining in the contest. Earning helpers on the game-winning goal were defensemen Scott Czarnowczan and Travis White.
A solid effort was given at both ends of the ice by goaltenders Jamie Phillips of Michigan Tech and C.J. Motte of Ferris State, who recorded 28 and 25 saves respectively. With his flawless performance, Motte was given first star honors and secured his third shutout of the campaign.
Although the Huskies upped their game offensively in the series finale, it still wasn't enough to put away their counterparts.
Ferris State never trailed on the scoreboard, bursting out to a 2-0 lead before Michigan Tech was able to respond. T.J. Schlueter put the Bulldogs ahead by one with 6:24 elapsed in the contest, followed by Kenny Babinski's short-handed marker in the ensuing frame with five minutes remaining. Just over a minute later, Alex Petan found the back of the net on a power-play marker to cut the Huskies' deficit in half.
Junior Justin Buzzeo provided the game-winning goal with 4:29 to go in the third, which was set-up by Chad McDonald and Czarnowczan.
Michigan Tech made one last push in the final minute of the contest on a score by David Johnstone, but were unable to produce the equalizer before the buzzer sounded.
Motte nearly doubled his saves total from the night before, stopping 44 of 46 shots faced to improve to 17-1-3 as a starter.
Taking the loss for the second time in as many nights for the Huskies was Phillips, who had 17 saves to his credit.
The Bulldogs (17-3-3 overall, 12-0-2 WCHA) venture out to Mankato, Minnesota this weekend for a two-game slate against Minnesota State.
Michigan Tech (7-13-6 overall, 5-7-4 WCHA) is idle this week but returns to action on January 24-25, when they play host to Ferris State.
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