Ferris State Hockey Opens Series Against Northern Michigan with Dramatic Shootout Victory

Postgame Highlights 
Postgame Interview - Coach Riley 
Postgame Interview - Tyler Schleppe 
Postgame Interview - Max Itagaki 

Big Rapids, Mich. – The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team played its first shootout of the season Friday (Feb. 13) and claimed a victory over Northern Michigan University to collect the extra point in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) standings.

The Bulldogs (5-25-1, 4-18-1 CCHA) entered the night two points ahead of the Wildcats (3-25-1, 3-17-1 CCHA) and are now three points up after earning the shootout win. Ferris State trailed 4-2 in the third period and battled back to tie the game at 4-4, forcing overtime.

Tyler Schleppe led the Bulldogs with two goals and Max Itagaki had two assists and the lone goal in the shootout. Martin Lundberg drew the start between the pipes and made 30 saves in regulation and overtime. He then stopped all three NMU attempts in the shootout. 

Schleppe put the Bulldogs up 1-0 at 7:11 in the first period with his second goal of the season. Itagaki passed from the wall to Xavier Jean-Louis at the point who took a shot that Schleppe redirected past NMU goaltender William Gramme. Jean-Louis got his 10^th assist of the season and Itagaki got his 11^th. 

With the goal, Schleppe extended his point streak to four games. Itagaki now has a six-game point streak after assisting on Schleppe's goal, the longest streak for any Bulldog this season.

NMU tied the game at 19:51 with a goal from Kyle Bettens. Caiden Gault and Olivier Beaulieu assisted.

Warren Clark gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead 3:33 into the second period. Beaulieu and Bettens assisted.

Max Dukovac tied the game at 2-2 with his fifth goal of the year at 9:51. Jack Mesic broke into the offensive zone with a pass to Itagaki who found Dukovac in the right circle. Dukovac took a shot that bounced off Clark's skate and into the night. Itagaki collected his 12^th assist and third multi-point game of the season. Mesic got his seventh helper.

Jakub Altrichter gave NMU a 3-2 lead just 17 seconds later. Zane Demsey and Nicolas Ardanaz assisted. Girts Silkans put the Wildcats up 4-2 at 3:31 in the third with Gault assisting.

Schleppe scored his second goal of the game at 14:32. He had a takeaway in the offensive zone that led to a shot from the left circle that he snuck five-hole for his third career multi-goal game. His goal was unassisted and brought the Bulldogs within one.

Josh Zary tied the game with an extra attacker goal at 18:25. Caden Brown won a puck battle below the goal line and passed to Christopher Lie at the point who took a shot that Gramme saved. The rebound went to Zary and he finished the shot for his 11^th goal this season. Lie got his 13^th assist and Brown got his sixth. Brown now has points in four straight games and Lie has a three-game point streak.

Neither team scored in overtime, sending the Bulldogs to their first shootout this year. Itagaki scored the lone goal in the shootout on FSU's second try, and Lundberg made three saves to seal a shootout victory for Ferris State.

For the game, the Bulldogs had a season-high 42 shots on goal, were 1-3 on the power play, 1-1 on the penalty kill, blocked 10 shots and won 33 faceoffs. The Wildcats had 34 shots on goal, 17 blocked shots and 37 faceoff wins.

Individually, Gavin Best led the Bulldogs with six shots on goal while Best, Jean-Louis and Trevor Taulien each blocked two shots. Schleppe led FSU with 14 faceoff wins.

The Bulldogs will play their final home game of the 2025-26 season Saturday (Feb. 14) on Senior Night. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. (ET) with live coverage provided on Sunny 97.3 FM and Midco Sports Plus.