FERRIS STATE TO HOST CCHA TOURNEY FIRST-ROUND SERIES; TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW

Senior defenseman and team captain Troy Milam has helped guide the Bulldogs to their first home-ice CCHA Tournament appearance in 10 seasons.

Clinch Home Ice For The First Time Since 1992-93

The nationally-ranked Ferris State University men’s ice hockey team has become the first Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) team to clinch home ice for one of the six opening-round series of the 2002-03 CCHA Tournament, which will be held March 14-16.

Ferris State, under 11th-year head coach Bob Daniels, is presently midst its best season in the program's 25-year NCAA Division I history and its CCHA victory total marks the most single-season league wins ever in school history.

The best-of-three first-round series will take place at FSU's Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich., against a CCHA opponent yet to be determined. Game times are set for 7:35 p.m. (EST) Friday, March 14, while Saturday's, March 15, rematch will commence at 7:05 p.m. (EST). Opening faceoff for the third game, if necessary, is slated for 7:05 p.m. (EST).

Single-game tickets for the weekend series at Ewigleben are $14 for adults and $7 for both Ferris State students with identification and youth in grades K-12. Season ticket holders will have their regular-season seats held for purchase until Monday, Feb. 24. After that time, all remaining seats will be made available to the general public.

Tickets, which are on presently on sale, can be purchased by contacting the FSU Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. If the series advances to a deciding third game, the FSU Ticket Office will remain open immediately following the conclusion of Saturday's, March 15, game and will reopen Sunday, March 16, from 12-5 p.m. (EST).

If Ferris State wins its first-round tourney series, the Bulldogs will automatically advance to the CCHA's "Super Six" Championship to be held March 20-22 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.

The last time FSU earned home ice was in 1992-93 (March 12-13) when the Bulldogs swept Alaska Fairbanks in two games and advanced to the CCHA Championship Semifinal Round in Daniels' first season behind the bench. Ferris, which sports a 4-0-0 all-time home tournament record, registered a two-game sweep of Bowling Green State in its initial home tourney appearance in 1990-91 (March 1-2) and went on to compete in the CCHA Tournament Semifinals.