Bulldog Hockey Blocks 27 Shots, Scores Two Power Play Goals to Top #13 Minnesota State

Mankato, Minn. – The Ferris State University men's ice hockey team blocked a season-high 27 shots and converted two power play goals to win 4-1 against #13 Minnesota State in Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) play at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center Saturday (Dec. 6).

The Bulldogs (4-12-0, 3-7-0 CCHA) tied a single-game NCAA high with 27 blocked shots, a feat accomplished by five other teams and most recently done by St. Thomas Nov. 29 in a 2-1 win against Michigan Tech. Valtteri Piironen led the team with five blocks, Riley Wallack had four, Holden Doell had three, Kade Turner, Logan Heroux, Christopher Lie and Tyler Schleppe each blocked two while seven other skaters had one.

Lie, Doell, Schleppe, John Lundy and Xavier Jean-Louis all had multi-point performances in the win and goaltender Martin Lundberg earned his second win of the season with a 19-save performance. Jean-Louis and Gavin Best both scored their first career power play goals in the win.

Caden Brown put the Bulldogs up 1-0 at 15:08 in the first period. Schleppe took a one-timer in the left-wing circle that went wide and Connor McGrath passed from below the goal line to Brown in the slot. Brown flipped a shot past MSU goaltender Alex Tracy for his third goal this year. McGrath got his fourth assist and Schleppe got his third. The Bulldogs are now 3-2 in games where they score the first goal this year.

Best tallied a power play goal at 6:08 in the second period to give FSU a 2-0 lead. Lundy passed to Jean-Louis at the point who took a shot that Best redirected past Tracy. Best's sixth goal of the year was his first career power play goal, and Jean-Louis got his sixth assist while Lundy got his third.

Jean-Louis converted on the power play at 13:32 to put FSU up 3-0 before the second intermission. Lundy again passed to Jean-Louis at the point who took another shot that sailed through traffic in front of the net and past Tracy. The goal was Jean-Louis's third of the year and first career power play strike while Lundy tallied his fourth assist and Doell also collected a helper, his second of the year. It was Lundy's first multi-point game as a Bulldog.

Jack Smith put Minnesota State on the board with an extra attacker goal at 17:19 in the third. Evan Murr and Tristan Lemyre assisted.

Doell scored an empty-net goal at 19:02, the Bulldogs' first this year. Lie broke out of the Bulldog zone with a pass off the wall that trickled into the Maverick side. Schleppe chased down the puck and passed from the corner to Doell in the slot for a tap-in goal. It was Doell's second goal this year, Schleppe's fourth assist and first multi-point game and Lie's eighth helper. Doell's goal sealed a 4-1 win for Ferris State.

Lundberg was 19-20 on save attempts and earned his second win this year. Jack Mesic led the team with three shots on goal while Schleppe and Mesic finished the game +2. Wallack led the team with eight faceoff wins.

As a team, the Bulldogs were 2-4 on the power play and 4-4 on the penalty kill while not allowing a shot on the Mavericks' power play. FSU had 23 shots on goal and limited the Mavericks to just 20. FSU blocked 27 shots and the Mavericks blocked 13. MSU won 32 faceoffs to FSU's 24.

With the win, Ferris State split its weekend series against Minnesota State and collected three points in the CCHA standings. The Bulldogs will be back at home next weekend for a series against Michigan Tech. Puck drop for Friday's (Dec. 12) game is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. (ET) with pregame coverage beginning on Sunny 97.3 FM at 6:30 p.m. (ET). Fans can watch the live video stream via pay-per-view on Midco Sports Plus.