BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – It hasn’t been an easy two months for Ferris State, which hasn’t swept an opponent since the first weekend of December and entered its series with Michigan Tech as losers of nine of their last 10 games.
So longtime coach Bob Daniels has been hard on his captains to push the team through their slump. That tough love finally paid off for the Bulldogs this weekend, as they downed the Huskies 3-1 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play Saturday at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
The win gave Ferris (12-17-1, 9-12-1 WCHA) the weekend sweep – only its third of the season. It beat MTU 4-3 on Friday.
“It’s not easy to be in that locker room when things aren’t going well,” Daniels said. “I give our seniors and our captains credit. I was hard on them. It doesn’t mean they deserved it, but we were hard on them to let them know we still believed in them.
“If we were to start going easy on them, maybe they start thinking, ‘They (coaches) don’t believe in us.’ We were hard on them. But it’s been up to the captains to hold (the team) together, and I thought they did a really nice job of that (against MTU).”
The Bulldogs did all their damage in the second period. Captain Corey Mackin slapped in a power-play goal at 5:13, and then Coale Norris notched an even-strength score almost five minutes later.
Lucas Finner got an unassisted shorthanded goal on a breakaway with 1:02 left in the period.
Ferris was beaming with energy as it exited the ice for the dressing room following the solid 20-minute effort.
Daniels said the win was one of the Bulldogs’ best this season.
“I think it means a lot because of the quality of opponent,” he said. “We came in without a lot of confidence because we’ve been struggling. To get a sweep and put together a really good game tonight, (it meant a lot). …
“I think the guys came away with a lot of confidence given the strength of the opponent we played as well as how we played tonight.”
Goalie Darren Smith made 26 saves for the Bulldogs. The junior’s lone gaffe came at 13:09 of the third period, as MTU’s Alex Smith snuck in a goal after the Bulldogs had a miscommunication near the backside of the net.
Darren Smith, too, thought the sweep was huge for Ferris’ confidence.
“It’s big, really big, especially this close to the end of the regular season and heading into the playoffs,” the Barrie, Ont. native said. “We’re trying to get a push for home ice here, and we got three weekends left.
“A sweep of Michigan Tech – a really good program – feels really good for us as a team, and it gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”
Patrick Munson saved 21 shots for MTU, which fell to 13-11-5 overall and 9-7-5 in the conference.
The Bulldogs hope to carry the momentum they gained from sweeping MTU into next weekend when they visit Alaska for two WCHA games Friday and Saturday. They have only six games left before the WCHA tournament begins, so they know another sweep would be huge for them going forward.
“We’ve been losing games, but it’s not like we’ve been getting blown or that we’re not in it (each game),” Smith continued. “It’s been relatively close games, for the most part. We know we’re a good hockey team, and our record doesn’t really show it right now.
“If we keep playing like we did this weekend, I think good things will happen.”
