FERRIS STATE HOCKEY SELECTS CAPTAINS FOR 2005-06 SEASON

Adam Welch Named Bulldogs' Captain For Upcoming Season

Sophomore defenseman Adam Welch (Hastings, Minn.) will serve as captain of the 2005-06 Ferris State University men’s ice hockey team in an announcement made by 14th-year head coach Bob Daniels.

Senior right wing Nick Scheible (Big Rapids) was chosen as an assistant captain for the second consecutive season.

Sophomore Adam Welch will be Ferris State's captain for the 2005-06 season.

“We're excited to have Adam and Nick captaining our 2005-06 team,” said Daniels, the program’s all-time winningest coach. “I believe both of them represent well the standards of a Bulldog hockey player -- mature, good students, and hard workers both on and off the ice. The fact of Adam being only a sophomore speaks volumes to how our coaching staff believes in his maturity and ability to lead this team.

"I think him (Adam) coupled with Nick form a strong leadership team and the entire program has full confidence in their abilities," Daniels added.

Welch, who was named to Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) All-Rookie Honorable Mention Team for 2004-05, registered six points with one goal and five assists in 36 contests this last campaign. The 2004-05 FSU Rookie of the Year honoree accumulated 15 penalties for 30 minutes. His season’s points total tied for the team lead among the Bulldogs’ top-scoring defensemen. The 6-3, 205-pound blueliner was chosen as the CCHA’s Rookie of the Week (Dec. 13) for his performance in Ferris’ two-game league series at Miami, Ohio (Dec. 10-11) in which he netted his first collegiate point on a goal and had a plus two efficiency rating in each encounter. The walk-on also registered a point apiece (assists) in the Bulldogs’ home league series versus Alaska Fairbanks (Jan. 21-22). Welch played two seasons (2002-04) for the Wichita Falls (Texas) Rustlers of the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

A two-time (2002-03 and 2003-04) CCHA All-Academic Special Mention pick, Scheible netted a career-high seven points this last season with a career-best tying four goals and three assists in 31 outings. A co-recipient of the FSU Steve Banonis Most Improved Player Award for 2003-04, Scheible tallied two power plays goals and was assessed six penalties for 12 minutes for the 2004-05 campaign. His lone multiple-point game of the season was a two-point effort in the season opener against Colgate (Oct. 8) which featured a pair of power-play lamplighters. The former walk-on also recorded a goal apiece at Bemidji State (Oct. 23) and at Wisconsin (Jan. 1) in which the Bulldogs won the Badger Hockey Showdown Championship title for the second straight year. In 72 career apperances to date, the 5-11, 189-pound Scheible has totaled 17 points on nine goals and eight assists while garnering 12 penalties for 24 minutes.

Senior Nick Scheible returns as an assistant captain for the second straight season.

Ferris State, which compiled a 13-22-4 overall record and a 7-17-4 CCHA mark in the 2004-05 season, will open the 2005-06 campaign Friday, Oct. 7, with their annual Crimson and Gold Intrasquad Game at FSU’s Robert L. Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids. A 7:05 p.m. (EDT) start time is scheduled for the contest. The Bulldogs then host the University of Western Ontario Mustangs Saturday, Oct. 8, in a 7:05 p.m. (EDT) exhibition game at the Ewigleben Ice Arena.