BLOG 41: Great bounce-back win for Bulldog skaters in Kalamazoo

By Sandy Gholston

Two Ferris State hockey players converge in the corner on a Western Michigan puck handler during Friday night’s Central Collegiate Hockey Association game in Ewigleben Ice Arena (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – Ferris knew it had to bounce back from its disappointing 2-1 home loss to rival Western Michigan on Friday night.

The Bulldogs came out inspired, established themselves with an early lead and hardly looked back en route to a 4-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association victory over the host Broncos inside the not-so-friendly confines (at least for visitors), WMU’s Lawson Ice Arena. The tough Lawson Ice Arena crowd (hostile, but sometimes creative) had no adverse impact on the Bulldogs who claimed early control of the game and held on tightly for the win thanks. This was accomplished thanks in no small part to the efforts of sophomore forward Mike Embach, who put on a show for the Bulldogs’ rivals.

Embach earned a hat trick as he scored three goals. The goals came at 9:44 of the first period, 2:06 of the second and 13:09 of the third. Chad Billins was the team’s biggest helper credited with three assists during as sophomore netminder Pat Nagle got the win to improve to 6-7-2 this season on the strength of a 32-save effort in Kalamazoo.

Ferris (10-10-4 overall and 6-7-2-0 in the CCHA), like most teams, is pretty tough when it can get out to the early lead. They got that lead with the sense of urgency (early on) that head coach Bob Daniels wanted. Both teams had 34 shots on goals, but this time the Bulldogs did the better job capitalizing on opportunities than their competitors.

Ferris is home Friday (Jan. 16) and Saturday (Jan. 17) when it hosts Ohio State in a CCHA two-game series with game times slated for 7:05 p.m. Friday and 5:05 p.m. Saturday.

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