HOCKEY: Bulldogs Need A Win To Stay Alive

Brett Wysopal skates with the puck for Ferris against Bowling Green on Friday evening in Big Rapids in CCHA Tournament play. (Photo/Scott Whitney)

Playoff hockey is a different brand. Ferris State University ran into a Bowling Green State University team that played superb defense and rode an outstanding performance in net to a 3-2 overtime win over the Bulldogs in the second round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament on Friday night.

The Bulldogs and Falcons both had superb performances in goal (Taylor Nelson for Ferris and Andrew Hammond for the Falcons), but BGSU managed to find the back of the net just one time more than did Ferris - and that was what mattered in the end as the teams were deep into OT before the lamp was lit

Ryan Carpenter scored the goal at 17:18 of overtime. BGSU scored at 17:09 of the third period to help force the overtime session. The Bulldogs had a chance to close it out in regulation, but couldn't quite shut the door on the Falcons.

Playoff hockey is a different beast. A team can ride a hot goaltender and get a couple of crunch-time goals and steal a win. The Falcons did it against Northern Michigan University last weekend and are trying to pull off an even bigger upset this weekend against the Bulldogs. Ferris needs two wins in two days to stop the giant killers and punch their ticket to Joe Louis Arena.

The task is a challenge, but it wouldn't be worth competing for if it wasn't a challenge.