A Zach Redmond power-play goal with 24 seconds left in regulation lifted Ferris State to a 3-2 win over Michigan
“It was disappointing for us to take a bad penalty in the last minute and then not kill it; it was the difference in the game,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson.
With Ferris State on the power play, Redmond drifted into the slot, where Blair Riley’s pass found him. Somehow Redmond’s shot found its way through traffic and Bryan Hogan for the game-winning goal.
“I just found a quiet area and luckily the player backed off; I think he thought the puck was going to the point,” said Redmond. “Blair hit me with a nice pass and the puck found its way in.”
Redmond considered the goal redemption, as he was in the penalty box when Michigan scored on a power play with 1:49 left in the game to tie the score at two.
The game was marred by penalties, and just one of the five goals was scored at even strength. Michigan netted their two with the man advantage. Meanwhile, Ferris State had an even strength and short-handed goal in addition to Redmond’s power-play goal.
“The game was broken up continually by penalties and TV timeouts, and it just killed any momentum either team could get,” said Berenson.
Ferris State struck first while Michigan was on a power play early in the first period. Casey Haines worked the puck loose along the boards in the Ferris State zone. He quickly moved the puck up the ice before taking a wrist shot from just inside the Michigan blue line that beat Hogan high on the glove side.
Michigan tied the game at one while they had a power play with 12 minutes to play in the second period. A.J. Treis’ pass across the crease was deflected by the Ferris State defense, but still found its way to David Wohlberg, who batted in the tying goal.
Ferris State took the lead back with 1:38 left in the second frame. Matt Case worked himself free from a Michigan defender and took a wrist shot from the right circle that went past a screened Hogan into the top of the net.
After much of a back-and-forth third period, Michigan tied the game while Redmond was serving an interference penalty. A tape-to-tape pass from Wohlberg made it easy for Brian Lebler to sneak a shot past Ferris State goalie Pat Nagle.
After Redmond scored the game-winning goal, Michigan applied plenty of pressure and forced Matthew Kirzinger to take an interference penalty with two seconds left on the clock. Both coaches elected to use their timeouts to rest and plan for the final faceoff. Haines won the draw to seal the win for Ferris State.
“It was a time where we had to stop some bleeding,” said Ferris State coach Bob Daniels. “I give our guys credit. We really played hard, we played well and we followed our game plan to a ‘T’ tonight.”
Michigan (14-11-1, 9-8-1-0 CCHA) plays a home-and-home series with Michigan State next weekend, with Michigan State’s home game being played at Joe Louis Arena. Ferris State (17-7-2, 11-5-2-2 CCHA) will be making the trek to Columbus, OH for the final two games of their season series with Ohio State.
