Wildcats End Road Trip With 2-2 Tie Against Ferris
This story was written by NMU Sports Information
The Bulldogs earned the extra WCHA point by taking the shootout, 1-0, after Craig Pefley roofed a shot past Atte Tolvanen and Darren Smith, who made 40 saves through regulation and the 5-on-5 overtime period, denied Casey Purpur.
With Friday's win and Saturday's shootout loss, the Wildcats will leave Big Rapids with four league points and a 2-3-1 (1-2-1 WCHA) record.
In the scoreless first period, Northern Michigan kept the pressure on Ferris State, building a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal.
During their first man advantage, the Wildcats had two prime scoring opportunities. First, on a transition play, Gerard Hanson found an open Troy Loggins in the middle of the right circle. Loggins fired a quick shot that Smith managed to send wide. Then, Smith denied Darien Craighead's attempt to pot a second goal off a Philip Beaulieu rebound this weekend.
Northern Michigan tested Smith again at 11:08, but he fought through a Filip Starzynski screen to smother a Jordan Klimek shot from the slot. Just over a minute later, Tolvanen came up with his biggest play of the period; after a turnover in tight, he lunged out of the net to swat the puck away before Trevor Recktenwald could get a clean shot off.
Just over a minute before Ferris State finally broke through, Smith denied Purpur on back-to-back shots from the slot and then managed to get a pad on Collin Peters's third-chance try from the left edge of the crease.
At 5:13, Recktenwald's pass from behind the net struck a Wildcat defenseman and skittered past Tolvanen.
Rylan Yaremko's first collegiate goal evened the score at 12:24. After Purpur fired a shot from the far edge of the left circle, Starzynski charged the net looking for the rebound. Starzynski's bid bounced out to Yaremko, who had skated into the slot; the freshman proceeded to sidestep a sprawling Bulldog defenseman and flip the puck into an empty net.
Ferris State opened the third period on the power play after Anthony Paskaruk was called for hooking with 48 seconds left in the second. The Bulldogs used that man advantage to come out flying. Five shots later, Taylor Fernandez broke through, burying a rebound from the slot at 1:38.
With just under 10 minutes remaining, Zach Diamantoni came up with a loose puck in the right circle, took a step and then fired a blistering shot that Smith just managed to bat wide with his blocker.
At 12:34, with the teams skating 4-on-4, Payne faked a shot in the middle of the right circle and then deked his way around Tyler Dorantes and into the slot. With Dorantes on his heels, Payne drew the puck to his backhand then roofed a shot past Smith.
Northern Michigan was awarded a power play in the final minutes of regulation. During that man advantage, the Wildcats had two quality chances, but Smith turned aside Loggins's slapper and gloved Klimek's booming shot from the point to send the teams to bonus time. Right off the first overtime frame's opening face-off, Loggins broke free for a chance from the bottom of the left circle, but Smith turned his shot aside. The teams traded scoring chances in a wild 3-on-3 overtime period marked by extended time spent on special teams. After Smith denied Hanson and Sami Salminen in tight, Tolvanen turned aside a Corey Mackin shorthanded bid with just 18 seconds remaining to send the game into the shootout. The Wildcats take on rival Michigan Tech next weekend, squaring off in Houghton, Mich. on Oct. 28 and at the Berry Events Center on Oct. 29.
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