October 14, 2025

Ferris State student-athletes Carter, Wegener, Best, and Hedquist honored after strong performances in football, volleyball, and hockey

Four Ferris State University student-athletes earned conference Player of the Week honors after a weekend that saw the football team break a school record and the hockey team defeat a defending national champion.

Football player Chase Carter and volleyball player Hayley Wegener were honored by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while hockey players Gavin Best and and Hobie Hedquist were saluted by the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Carter, a sophomore quarterback, was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week.  The Orlando native majoring in Product Design Engineering Techology, had a strong performance on Saturday as the top-ranked Bulldogs claimed their school-record 20th consecutive win and third-straight shutout by beating Wayne State 59-0 at Top Taggart Field.

Carter ran for a team-high 114 yards on 11 carries, averaging 10.4 yards per rush, and scored twice on the ground. He also completed seven-of-10 passes for 112 yards and a score in the triumph. His play helped Ferris State roll up 639 yards of total offense and 439 rushing yards in the contest.

This week, Ferris State heads to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to face Michigan Tech on Saturday, Oct. 18, with kickoff set for 12 p.m. at Kearly Stadium in Houghton.

On the ice, the CCHA named Best the league's Forward of the Week and Hobie Hedquist was recognized as the Goaltender of the Week following the Bulldogs' split against top-ranked Western Michigan University.

Best and Hedquist helped Ferris State to a 3-2 win over then No. 1 ranked WMU on Thursday, Oct. 9. This week, Ferris State received four votes in the USCHO national poll, the first time since Dec. 3, 2022 that the Bulldogs have received votes.

Hedquist, a junior from Heron Lake, Minnesota majoring in Accountancy, made a career-high 48 saves in the win over the defending national champion Broncos, topping his previous high of 33 saves in a victory for North Dakota over St. Cloud State University in February. His 48 saves were most by a CCHA goalie in a game this weekend.

Hedquist was also perfect on the penalty kill, stopping all eight shots faced from WMU's power play including twice where the Bulldogs were down two skaters. His strong performance earned him his first win at Ferris State.

Best, a senior from Richfield, Minnesota majoring in Economics, scored a conference-leading three goals in the series against Western Michigan. The Bulldog captain had his first career game-winning tally Thursday before lighting the lamp twice Friday.

It was Best's first time scoring three goals in a series and second career two-goal performance. He led all CCHA skaters with a plus-3 mark in the series while also firing six shots on goal.

The league honors for Best and Hedquist were FSU's first individual player honors of the season. It was also the first time two players from Ferris State have earned conference honors in the same week since 2022, when Connor McGrath was tabbed league Rookie of the Week and former Bulldog Mitch Deelstra was the Forward of the Week. 

Ferris State will play two exhibition contests this weekend at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth beginning Friday, Oct. 17 against Simon Fraser at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs will then take on the USNTDP U-18 squad Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.

Volleyball sophomore setter Hayley Wegener  has been recognized as this week's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Volleyball Setter of the Week.

Wegener, a Revenna native majoring in Accountancy ,had a big week as the 15th-ranked Bulldogs rolled to three-straight road victories. She finished the week with 100 assists while adding 32 digs, 12 kills, six service aces and five total blocks. Additionally, she averaged 10.0 assists and 3.20 digs per set in 10 total frames.

She began the week with 41 assists and 13 digs in Ferris State’s 3-1 road win on Tuesday at Davenport University before coming back with 27 assists and nine digs in a 3-0 sweep over Saginaw Valley State University on Friday. She closed the stretch with 32 assists and 10 digs in a 3-0 win at Lake Superior State University on Saturday.

Wegenger’s play helped the Bulldogs push their winning streak to six consecutive matches while improving to 13-4 overall this year.

Ferris State will take part in the Midwest Region Crossover this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 and 18, in Hammond, Indiana.