BLOG 24: Long road trip for big road test for Ferris hockey team

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State's Aaron Lewicki (12) fights to win a faceoff during a home game earlier this season in Ewigleben Ice Arena (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – The long road trip of more than 10 hours and 685 miles to Omaha, Neb., is a grueling one indeed for the Ferris State University hockey team.

But, it could be a sweet one if Ferris managed to pack some of the road magic it used last weekend at Miami (Ohio) to escape with three points during that Central Collegiate Hockey Association series. Playing at Nebraska-Omaha this weekend, however, will be no less of a challenge for the Bulldogs as they seek to break through for even more road success in yet another tough road CCHA environment.

The Bulldogs (listed among other teams receiving votes and in the two major Division I national college hockey polls) and Mavericks (ranked 16th nationally by Inside College Hockey.com) will play a two-game set with a pair of 8:05 p.m. starts from one of the newest and finer facilities in the CCHA, the Qwest Center. This is the first of two series the teams will play this season in CCHA action as Nebraska-Omaha will visit Ferris Jan. 30-31 for a series in Ewigleben Ice Arena.

As always, on the road, good special teams, good defense (particularly goaltending), good special teams and staying out of the penalty box will be important in this weekend’s action as head coach Bob Daniels’ Bulldogs try to improve on its record of 4-3-3 overall and 3-1-2-0 in the CCHA through this early portion of the campaign.

Ferris has a couple of guys off to hot starts this season in senior right-winger Justin Lewandowski and junior center Aaron Lewicki. Lewandowski is riding a four-game scoring streak as the positive stretch continued as he was credited with an assist during the 2-2 overtime tie against Miami last Friday in Oxford, Ohio. Meanwhile, Lewicki has been steady as well with seven points this season on five goals with two assists. He is already ahead of his sophomore season during which he had four goals in 39 contests.

Improved defense and goaltending has been a major key for Ferris as CCHA competition has started. Pat Nagle, a sophomore between the pipes, has been particularly solid of late with his 30-save performance in Ferris’ Saturday victory over Miami. Nagle (along with potentially talented rookie Taylor Nelson) and the defense will need to be solid again against veteran head coach Mike Kemp’s UNO squad.

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