Bulldogs ousted by Ohio State in CCHA quarterfinals

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

Ferris State's long-standing run within the CCHA came to a bitter end over the weekend, as the Bulldogs lost a best-of-three series to Ohio State in the conference quarterfinals.

Friday's opener favored the visiting Bulldogs, who jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a power-play marker by senior Kyle Bonis from between the faceoff circles with 15:44 elapsed in the first. Earning assists in the process were linemates Travis Ouellette and Justin Buzzeo.

The Buckeyes bounced back to begin the middle frame, notching two goals within the first seven minutes of play. Max McCormick knotted the game up at one goal apiece at the 1:13 mark, after knocking in a rebound on Ferris State goaltender C.J. Motte.

With the Bulldogs down a skater, Ohio State capitalized on that opportunity to grab their first lead of the game at 6:55 on a goal by Tanner Fritz.

Not to be outdone, Ferris State was able to bounce back shortly thereafter on Justin DeMartino's fifth marker of the campaign, which came courtesy of Garrett Thompson and Brandon Anselmini.

DeMartino answered the call once more for the Bulldogs in the early moments of the third, banging in the game-winning goal from close quarters off an Eric Alexander feed at the 1:24 mark.

Ahead by a 3-2 margin, Bonis lit the lamp once more with 24 seconds left on an empty-netter to register his team-high 19th goal of the campaign.

Motte collected 28 saves to pick-up his 15th victory, while counterpart Brady Hjelle had 18 stops.

What Ferris State had hoped would be the close-out game on Saturday, turned out to be the exact opposite, as Ohio State bounced back from one-goal deficit early on to steal a 3-1 decision.

Ouellette placed the Bulldogs in the lead with 3:31 elapsed in the opening stanza on a power-play goal, with helpers being credited to Jason Binkley and Buzzeo.

The Buckeyes evened-up matters 10 minutes later, responding with a goal by Ryan Dzingel on the man-advantage.

Ohio State would light the lamp in each of the remaining two periods to stave off elimination and force a deciding game three.

With both teams looking to keep their respective season alive, there was plenty of action right out of the gates to begin Sunday's clincher, as four of the five scores came in the first period alone.

McCormick tallied his third goal in as many nights to put the Buckeyes ahead at the 1:32 mark, but Ferris State countered at the midway point with scores by juniors Andy Huff and Cory Kane.

Ohio State made it a 2-2 affair with just over a minute remaining in the first, as Curtis Gedig fired a shot over the right shoulder of Motte, which came while on the man-advantage.

Following a scoreless second period, the Buckeyes broke the tie at the 3:33 mark of the third on a goal by Anthony Greco.

Of Ohio State's six assists, three belonged to Dzingel.

Hjelle finished with an astounding 47 saves, 21 of which came in the second period.

Motte had 27 stops in the loss, dropping to 15-15-5 as a starter.

Ferris State ends the 2012-2013 season with an overall ledger of 16-16-5.

Past, present and future collide in the Soo

By Michael David/LSSU Beat Writer

When the CCHA brackets were announced and I read that the Lake Superior State Lakers would host the Bowling Green State Falcons in the first round of the playoffs, I was a little disappointed at first. I thought I would rather see a team that wouldn't be in the same league as Lake State next season. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized the Lakers and Falcons fighting for the right to move on for a chance to play at 'The Joe' is pretty poetic. After all, the Falcons are a founding member of the league and the two schools have had plenty of battles over the years and will have more in the years to come. Both programs represented the CCHA well. Bowling Green has won seven regular season championships, five playoff championships and one national championship. Lake Superior has won four regular season championships, four playoff championships and five national championships under the CCHA banner.

This past weekend, however, went the way of the Falcons. In game one of the series on Friday, the Lakers blanked Bowling Green by the score of 2-0. After a scoreless first period, Laker captain Dominic Monardo ripped a shot that put his team up 1-0. Eric Drapluk and Dan Radke assisted on Monardo's goal. Just two minutes later, Bryce Schmitt scored with help from Zach Sternberg and Nick McParland. The two goals was all the Lakers would need, as Kevin Kapalka earned the shutout with 31 saves. LSSU was 0-for-3 on the power-play, while BGSU was 0-for-2.

The next two games of the series, the Lakers would be embarrassed on their home ice. Bowling Green came back to even the series 1-1, with a big 6-3 win Saturday night. The Lakers would actually draw first blood, with Drapluk scoring a power-play goal in the first period, assisted by Kevin Czuczman. With BG up 3-1 in the second, Drapluk would find the net again, this time assisted by McParland and Colin Campbell. Down, 5-2, Campbell would score the last Laker goal, on the power-play, assisted by Radke and Sternberg. Kevin Murdock took the loss, making 17 saves in two periods of work. Kapalka played out the third, making nine saves in relief. LSSU was 2-6 with the extra man, while BG was 0-4. Game three was even uglier for the royal blue and gold, getting dominated by the score of 7-0. Kapalka took the loss, making 26 saves. Lakers were were 0-4 on the power-play, while the Falcons went 1-6.

The Lakers season comes to an end with a disappointing 17-21-1 record, just 11-16-1-1 in the last season of CCHA play. Lake State will look for retribution next season on November 29-30 as they will host Bowling Green under the WCHA banner. Both teams will be competing for the WCHA's MacNaughton Cup for the regular season championship and the Broadmoor Trophy for the playoff champion. While I'll miss what the CCHA was back in the 80's and 90's, I won't really miss what it became. I'm truly thankful for what I call poor officiating, the three-point wins and gimmicky shoot-outs will be a thing of the past...

Photos courtesy of Michael David