BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — A day after Ferris State put up 10 goals against Alaska-Anchorage, the teams met again with the Bulldogs putting up a 4-0 victory.
Both teams have been struggling to score goals early in the season, but it was Ferris State who found a way to break through Thursday night and continued their improved play on Friday.
Early in the first period, it seemed as though the Seawolves were ready to respond after the previous night’s loss. UAA started the game strong, carrying the early play and generating several early chances.
In the first minute, the Seawolves put a shot past Ferris State goaltender C.J. Motte that hit the inside of the post and rebounded out the other side, but that was Anchorage’s best chance of the night. The Seawolves were able to generate few chances, and squandered a number of those by putting the puck wide of the net.
After weathering the Seawolves’ early storm, the Bulldogs took control of the game.
Neither team seemed to be able to find their offensive stride until the Bulldogs forced a turnover in the Seawolves’ zone. After Matt Robertson missed the net from the high slot, Gerald Mayhew picked up the rebound and found Robertson unmarked at the back door for an easy goal.
The second period seemed to be more back and forth between the two teams, but UAA found it difficult to get shots on net, registering just four shots in the period to Ferris State’s 11. The Bulldogs’ shot total was aided by a late 5-on-3 power play that resulted in another Bulldog goal as Justin Buzzeo was allowed time to pick a corner from a sharp angle and wrist a perfectly placed shot into the top of the net past Olivier Mantha.
Ferris State continued its strong play in the third period, keeping the pressure on Alaska-Anchorage for most of the period. As the period started to wind down, the Seawolves made a push to get on the board to no avail. The Bulldogs’ counter-attack generated a two-on-one chance that sealed the game when Andrew Mayer rifled a shot over Mantha’s catching glove for his first collegiate goal.
Buzzeo added a shorthanded empty-net goal to cap the win for the home team.
Ferris State finished the game with 39 shots, while holding Alaska-Anchorage to a season-low 17.
Mantha was the Seawolves’ lone bright spot during the game, making 35 saves and keeping his team in the game, despite the shot disparity. After the game, Ferris State coach Bob Daniels praised Mantha, saying, “I thought their goalie played well tonight. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a good game. He played very well.”
Alaska-Anchorage coach Matt Thomas was understandably disappointed with his team’s play. After dropping to 1-5 in the WCHA, Thomas said of his team, “We haven’t been doing enough to win hockey games. Scoring comes from doing things the right way and we haven’t been doing enough of that.”
After tonight’s game, Alaska-Anchorage is averaging less than two goals per game, while giving up more than three.
Even though the Bulldogs had scored 10 goals the previous night, Daniels said that getting the first goal was important for a team that has had difficulty putting the puck in the net.
“We’re still a little bit fragile,” admitted Daniels. “For us to get that first one really helped out quite a bit.”
