BLOG 23: Three points works out nicely for Bulldogs

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State hockey player Aaron Lewicki tries to steal the puck on a faceoff during a home game against Lake Superior State (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

OXFORD, Ohio – In the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, any weekend that nets you three points or more is going to be an outstanding one.

Count this past weekend’s effort as an outstanding one for the Bulldogs who salvaged one point in a 2-2 tie with a shootout loss on Friday followed up by a 2-1 win over Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio. Facing a strong Miami team, that has built a rock-solid tradition in college hockey during recent years, was a major early test for the Bulldogs. In the end, Ferris showed the improvement it has made since its first two weekends of the season when it had trouble keeping the puck out of the net. That will be critical from here on out in the CCHA.

The Bulldogs fully understand points on the road are going to be very precious and picked up two big ones on Saturday at the expense of the host RedHawks. Goals by Justin Lewandowski and Casey Gaine gave Ferris the two goals it needed to hang on for a huge road win as part of a three-point weekend. A key component of that win was the play of sophomore netminder Pat Nagle who stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced from Miami. Nagle and freshman Taylor Nelson have made great strides toward finding their comfort zone between the pipes in recent weeks.

As for next week, the competition remains tough with an even longer road trip as Ferris hits the road for a two-game series at Nebraska-Omaha for a pair of 8:05 p.m. games Friday and Saturday.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com