In its first true road series since December 9th, the No. 16 hockey team was swept in two games this weekend by Ferris State.
The Bulldogs won a defensive showcase 2-1 on Friday on the strength of a third period tally at 13:20 by T.J. Schlueter. Defenseman Derek Graham’s pass from the slot found Schlueter, who scored the go-ahead goal on a shot from the top of the right circle.
Freshman forward Matt Berry broke MSU’s 0-for-28 power play scoring drought with his goal to put the Spartans ahead at 15:48 in the second period. Defenseman Chad Billins tied the game with his goal at 19:42 in the second to send the game into the third.
The Spartans would suffer its second one-goal loss of the weekend on Saturday in a 4-3 defeat.
Senior forward Mike Merrifield got the scoring going Saturday with a strong shot from the right circle to put the Spartans ahead. The goal marks Merrfield’s team-leading 11th of the season and got the momentum going for MSU.
After a Bulldog goal by Jordie Johnston to open up the second period with a 3-1 lead, the Spartans would get a pair of goals to battle back. Brent Darnell (8:45) and Greg Wolfe (18:28) each netted goals 10 minutes apart to head into the third tied at three.
Early in the third, Travis Ouellette scored on the power play for the Bulldogs to put them ahead and eventually secure the game and the weekend sweep.
With the pair of losses, the Spartans’ record drops to 13-11-4 overall, and they are now below the .500 mark in the CCHA at 8-9-3-2, which is good for 29 points and eighth place.
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