Ferris State Hockey Shutouts LSSU To Open WCHA Weekend Homestand

Postgame Highlights
Postgame Press Conference

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team posted a 3-0 shutout win over the Lake Superior State Lakers at home in Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) action on Friday (Nov. 18) night at the Ewigleben Ice Arena.

Freshman goaltender Justin Kapelmaster made 40 saves to earn his first collegiate shutout and also notched his first career point. Redshirt freshman forward Craig Pefely had a two-point game on a goal and an assist as the Bulldogs held the Lakers off the board for the team's first shutout victory of the season.

Senior forward Gerald Mayhew's goal opened the scoring and came when Pefley backhanded a pass out from behind the Laker net. Mayhew rifled home his eighth goal of the season from between the bottom of the offensive zone faceoff circles. Sophomore defenseman Zac Tierney also notched an assist on the goal, his second of the campaign.

The Bulldogs were outshot in the first, but held a 1-0 lead thanks to key stops by Kapelmaster headed into the middle frame.

Pefley next scored his third goal of the season on the five-on-three power play at 14:33 of the second period. He tried to pass a puck across the zone from the top of the crease, but his pass hit a Laker skate and snuck past LSSU goaltender Gordon Defiel to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

Senior defenseman Ryan Lowney potted his first point of two on the night with his eighth assist of the year on Pefley's marker. Kapelmaster was also credited with an assist for starting the play up the ice.

The assist was Lowney's 50th collegiate point.

The Lakers pushed back, but a Brayden Gelsinger shot on an apparent wide open net was as close as the Lakers would come to finding the score sheet. Kapelmaster went right to left across the crease and got a toe on the shot that got all the way down to the goal line, keeping LSSU from finding the net.

Junior forward Mitch Maloney iced the game with an empty net goal at 19:11 of the third from Lowney, who marked his second assist of the evening and ninth of the year.

Kapelmaster improved to 4-0-0 with the shutout victory, while Defiel took the loss, making 24 stops on 26 shots faced in defeat.

Both teams took eight penalties for 16 minutes, but the Bulldogs finished 1-of-6 on the power play, while the Lakers went 0-of-6.

Ferris State returns to the ice to finish the weekend home series with the Lake Superior State Lakers on Saturday (Nov. 19) at 7:07 p.m. (ET) at the Ewigleben Ice Arena for what will be their last game in November.