Best, Rapalje Each Score Twice as Ferris State Hockey Gets Big 6-3 Win Over Bemidji State to Start Weekend Series

Bemidji, Minn. – The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team scored a season-high six goals Friday (Feb. 6) and earned a 6-3 victory over Bemidji State University to pick up three points in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) standings.

Gavin Best and Carter Rapalje each scored two goals to help the Bulldogs (5-24-0, 4-17-0 CCHA) to a big win over the Beavers (10-16-3, 8-10-3 CCHA). Best also assisted and finished with his first career three-point performance while Martin Lundberg got his third win of the season with a 19-save game.

Best put the Bulldogs on the board at 6:29 in the first period. Tyler Schleppe forced a turnover at center ice and took a shot that BSU goaltender Max Hildebrand saved, but the rebound bounced right to Best who scored his 11^th goal of the season. Schleppe collected his seventh assist as FSU took a 1-0 lead.

BSU tied the game with a power play goal from Oliver Peer at 8:09. Kasper Magnussen and Adam Flammang assisted.

Max Itagaki put Ferris State back up by one with his fifth goal of the year at 16:04. Logan Heroux blocked a shot in front of FSU's net that ricocheted to Best who cleared the zone with a pass to Itagaki at center ice. Itagaki skated into the slot and fired a back-handed shot past Hildebrand, giving FSU a 2-1 lead before the intermission. Best got his ninth helper of the year and Heroux collected his fourth.

Rapalje scored his first goal of the night 29 seconds into the third period. He picked up the puck after a faceoff in the Bulldog zone, skated the length of the ice and ripped a shot from the right circle that beat Hildebrand. Rapalje's sixth goal of the year was unassisted.

Connor McGrath scored unassisted at 2:30 to put FSU up 4-1. Hudson Thornton lost the puck at FSU's blueline, McGrath picked it up for a breakaway opportunity and snuck a five-hole shot on Hildebrand. It was McGrath's second goal this year.

Rapalje scored again at 6:52 to put FSU up 5-1. Max Dukovac had a takeaway in the Bulldog zone and skated through center ice, setting up a two-on-one with Rapalje. Dukovac worked into the left circle and passed across to Rapalje who redirected the pass bar-down for his seventh goal of the season. Dukovac got his fourth assist on the play.

BSU scored the next two goals with the first coming from Magnussen at 9:26. Peer and Connor McClennon assisted. Then, Tory Lund scored at 13:51 with assists by Max Namestnikov and Peer to make the score 5-3.

Best sealed FSU's win with an empty-net goal at 18:23. His team-leading 12^th goal of the year gave the Bulldogs a season-high in goals scored with six.

For the game, the Bulldogs were 0-2 on the power play and 2-4 on the penalty kill. FSU had 21 shots on goal, blocked 11 shots and won 30 faceoffs. BSU had 22 shots on goal, 10 blocked shots and 26 faceoff wins.

Individually, Valtteri Piironen, Trevor Taulien and Itagaki each blocked three shots while Rapalje led the team with four shots on goal. Josh Zary paced the squad with 11 faceoff wins and Piironen, Schleppe, Itagaki and Best finished +3.

The win snapped a 12-game losing streak for Ferris State and gave the Bulldogs three points in the CCHA standings. FSU is now in eighth place, one point ahead of Northern Michigan.

The Bulldogs will go for the sweep against the Beavers Saturday (Feb. 7). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. (ET) with pregame coverage beginning on Sunny 97.3 FM at 6:30 p.m. (ET).