BLOG 34: Ferris back home looking for two wins

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State University’s Justin Menke (10) gears up for a faceoff during a home game earlier this season (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – This weekend is a great opportunity – even if it is a non-conference series – for Ferris State University’s ice hockey team to get back on track after a couple of challenging home losses last weekend to Notre Dame, the top-ranked team in the nation.

The Bulldogs host Alabama-Huntsville in a pair of non-league games this weekend in Ewigleben Ice Arena. Both contests begin at 7:05 p.m. as Ferris hopes to enter winter break on a winning note. Following this two-game set, the Bulldogs are idle until Jan. 2 when they travel to Burlington, Vt. to compete in the Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup.

Ferris enters the series 7-8-3 while the Chargers are off to a slow start at 2-7-1. Like Ferris, Alabama-Huntsville hopes to bounce back from a pair of league (College Hockey America) losses. UAH fell twice to Bemidji State by scores of 3-1 and 4-2. The Bulldogs were bested twice by top-ranked Notre Dame losing 3-1 on Friday and 1-0 on Saturday.

It’s hard to imagine a better time for the Bulldogs to truly reestablish home-ice advantage in Ewigleben Ice Arena. There’s no time like the present. What Coach Bob Daniels’ Ferris squad could really use is a pair of fast starts – particularly offensively.

The Bulldogs will look for more scoring production from senior forward Brendan Connolly, who has four goals and 10 assists; senior forward Justin Lewandowski, who has seven goals and five assists; and sophomore defenseman Zach Redmond, who has notched a goal with 11 assists. Connolly and Lewandowski are a part of the team’s group of upperclassmen who have accounted for 77.8 percent of the team’s goal-scoring production this season.

Clearly, one of the bright spots since the start of Central Collegiate Hockey Association play for the Bulldogs has been the goaltending of sophomore Pat Nagle and freshman Taylor Nelson. While both Nagle and Nelson are young guys, both also have performed well and played with poise and confidence not typically indicative of a freshman or a sophomore.

For more on the series, visit:
http://www.ferris.edu/sports/hockey/0809news/0809release12-9.htm

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