Ferris State Hockey Falls 4-2 to Michigan Tech in CCHA-Opening Series Finale

Houghton, Mich. – The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team closed its first weekend in Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) play Saturday (Oct. 25) against Michigan Tech University and skated to a 4-2 loss.

The Bulldogs (1-5-0, 0-2-0 CCHA) suffered two setbacks against the Huskies (4-2-0, 2-0-0 CCHA) this weekend. FSU fell behind 4-0 in Saturday's game and battled back, but the comeback effort ultimately fell short.

MTU scored twice in the first period with the first coming from Max Koskipirtti at 9:29. Noah Reinhart won a puck battle in the Bulldog corner and passed inside the circle for Stiven Sardarian. Sardarian passed to Koskipirtti driving through the slot and beat FSU starting goaltender Hobie Hedquist for the goal.

The Huskies claimed a 2-0 advantage at 17:38 with a 4-on-4 goal from Michael Cicek. Sardarian skated from behind his own net to the top of the left-wing circle in the Bulldog zone and then passed to Cicek. His shot lit the lamp and MTU took a 2-0 lead into the break. Sardarian and Kalem Parker assisted.

Carson Lattimer scored at 1:11 in the second period. Joe Prouty took a shot from the point that Lattimer redirected for the score. Prouty and Tom Leppa had the helpers.

Parker scored a short-handed goal at 4:09 to put the Huskies up 4-0. His first goal of the year was unassisted.

The Bulldogs pulled Hedquist for Martin Lundberg following Parker's goal. Hedquist finished the night with six saves on 10 shots faced.

Riley Wallack put the Bulldogs on the board at 5:01 with a power play goal. John Lundy took a shot through traffic that MTU goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz saved. The rebound came to Max Itagaki on the backside and he slapped a shot that went back into the crease where Wallack awaited for the finish. Wallack's first goal as a Bulldog came from Itagaki and Lundy, who collected his first point with Ferris State.

Josh Zary scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season at 16:10, giving him a team-high five points on the year. Zary won a defensive zone faceoff to Kade Turner who passed off the wall to Itagaki at center ice. Itagaki attempted a pass that was deflected back to him and then skated across to the left circle. From there, he fired a pass between his legs back to Zary in the slot who finished the shot. Itagaki got his second assist of the night and Turner collected his first of the year.

FSU was unable to score during a 5-on-3 power play late in the third period as Michigan Tech killed off both penalties. The Huskies then preserved their 4-2 win as they held FSU scoreless in the third.

For the game, the Bulldogs were 1-5 on the power play, 3-3 on the penalty kill, blocked 11 shots, had 30 shots on goal and won 37-61 faceoffs (60.7%). The Huskies had 21 shots on goal and blocked 12 shots.

Valtteri Piironen blocked five shots in both games against MTU this weekend for 10 total in the series. Jack Mesic and Trevor Taulien each blocked two Saturday night. Zary and Carter Rapalje led the team with four shots on goal each. Zary also led the team with 13 faceoff wins and an 81.3% win rate.

Lundberg played 34:49 minutes and stopped all 11 shots he faced. FSU pulled Lundberg with 1:02 remaining for the extra attacker.

Ferris State will face Lindenwood at home next weekend starting Friday (Oct. 31) at 7:07 p.m. (ET) in the Ewigleben Ice Arena. Pregame coverage begins on Sunny 97.3 FM at 6:30 pm. (ET) and the game will be available to stream on a pay-per-view basis through Midco Sports Plus.