# 2021–22 Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 47th season of play for the program and the 36th season in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). The team represented Ferris State University, was coached by Bob Daniels in his 30th season and played their home games at Ewigleben Arena.

## Season

Ferris State joined with six other members of the WCHA to restart the CCHA for the 2021–22 season. Ferris State was eager to leave the previous season behind after posting one of the worst records in the history of college hockey. Straight away, the team's offense looked much better, scoring four goals in each of their first two games and equaling their win total from the previous season after just the first weekend.
While the Bulldogs put up several more wins over the succeeding month, including over #2 Minnesota State, the team was being let down by subpar goaltending. After going through an 8-game losing skid in November, where they surrendered at least 5 goals against on 5 occasions, head coach Bob Daniels knew something had to be done. He was able to lure Noah Giesbrecht from Windsor after the fall semester and the team began to respond to the new netminder. Giesbrecht put together a solid stretch and helped the Bulldogs produce their only weekend sweep of the season, downing Bemidji State in late-January. Giesbrecht would end up sharing the goal with senior Logan Stein by the end of the season and Ferris State ended the year with 11 wins, 10 more than they had all of the previous year.
The Bulldogs' goaltenders shone in the postseason, turning aside a barrage of shots from Michigan Tech in both games. While the team managed to push the Huskies into overtime twice, they weren't able to get the final goal on either occasion.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Lucas Finner | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Max Finner | Defenseman | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Coale Norris | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Bowling Green |
| Justin Smith | Defenseman | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Hunter Wendt | Forward | United States | Transferred to Adrian |
| Jake Willets | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Lake Superior State |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Nico DeVita | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Bellevue, WA |
| Kaleb Ergang | Forward | Canada | 20 | Spruce Grove, AB |
| Zach Faremouth | Forward | United States | 21 | Jackson, MI |
| Noah Giesbrecht | Goaltender | Canada | 22 | South Surrey, BC; mid-season transfer from Windsor |
| Nick Grimaldi | Forward | United States | 22 | Plymouth, MI |
| Bradley Marek | Forward | United States | 20 | Big Rapids, MI |
| Brendon Michaelian | Defenseman | United States | 23 | Wixom, MI; transfer from Robert Morris |
| Nick Nardecchia | Forward | United States | 20 | Macomb, MI |

## Roster

As of January 10, 2022.

## Standings

2021–22 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #2 Minnesota State †* | 26 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 115 | 28 | 44 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 178 | 60 |
| #14 Michigan Tech | 26 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 54 | 93 | 53 | 37 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 118 | 75 |
| Bemidji State | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 83 | 81 | 39 | 19 | 20 | 0 | 118 | 121 |
| Lake Superior State | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 69 | 64 | 37 | 18 | 18 | 1 | 107 | 104 |
| Northern Michigan | 26 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 86 | 99 | 37 | 20 | 16 | 1 | 132 | 136 |
| Bowling Green | 26 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 67 | 87 | 37 | 15 | 19 | 3 | 94 | 119 |
| Ferris State | 26 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 66 | 99 | 36 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 90 | 135 |
| St. Thomas | 26 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 45 | 112 | 36 | 3 | 32 | 1 | 61 | 168 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll ||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 2 | 6:07 PM | Miami* | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | L 4–7 | 1,757 | 0–1–0 |
| October 3 | 4:07 PM | Miami* | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,507 | 1–1–0 |
| October 8 | 7:05 PM | at Western Michigan* | Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, MI | | Stein | L 0–4 | 3,669 | 1–2–0 |
| October 9 | 7:07 PM | Western Michigan* | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | L 3–4 | 1,827 | 1–3–0 |
| October 22 | 8:07 PM | at St. Thomas | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, MN | | Stein | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 0 | 2–3–0 (1–0–0) |
| October 23 | 8:07 PM | at St. Thomas | St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, MN | | Stein | L 2–5 | 0 | 2–4–0 (1–1–0) |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, NY | | Stein | L 4–6 | 569 | 2–5–0 |
| October 30 | 7:00 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, NY | | Salmenkangas | W 4–2 | 523 | 3–5–0 |
| November 5 | 7:07 PM | #2 Minnesota State | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | W 2–1 | 1,745 | 4–5–0 (2–1–0) |
| November 6 | 6:07 PM | #2 Minnesota State | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Salmenkangas | L 1–5 | 1,776 | 4–6–0 (2–2–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | at Michigan State* | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI | | Stein | L 0–2 | 4,622 | 4–7–0 |
| November 13 | 7:07 PM | at Michigan State* | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI | | Stein | L 3–4 | 2,490 | 4–8–0 |
| November 19 | 7:07 PM | Northern Michigan | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | L 3–6 | 1,097 | 4–9–0 (2–3–0) |
| November 20 | 6:07 PM | Northern Michigan | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | L 6–7 $^{OT}$ | 1,589 | 4–10–0 (2–4–0) |
| November 26 | 7:07 PM | at Michigan Tech | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, MI | | Salmenkangas | L 4–6 | 1,894 | 4–11–0 (2–5–0) |
| November 27 | 6:07 PM | at Michigan Tech | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, MI | | Stein | L 1–6 | 1,982 | 4–12–0 (2–6–0) |
| December 3 | 7:07 PM | Lake Superior State | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | L 0–3 | 1,344 | 4–13–0 (2–7–0) |
| December 4 | 6:07 PM | Lake Superior State | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | W 3–1 | 1,640 | 5–13–0 (3–7–0) |
| December 10 | 7:07 PM | at Bowling Green | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, OH | | Stein | W 6–3 | 2,392 | 6–13–0 (4–7–0) |
| December 11 | 7:07 PM | at Bowling Green | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, OH | | Stein | L 1–2 | 2,302 | 6–14–0 (4–8–0) |
| January 7 | 8:07 PM | at #1 Minnesota State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, MN | CCMk–14 | Stein | L 1–7 | 4,016 | 6–15–0 (4–9–0) |
| January 8 | 7:07 PM | at #1 Minnesota State | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center • Mankato, MN | CCMk–14 | Giesbrecht | L 0–7 | 4,032 | 6–16–0 (4–10–0) |
| January 14 | 7:07 PM | St. Thomas | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Giesbrecht | W 3–1 | 1,647 | 7–16–0 (5–10–0) |
| January 15 | 6:07 PM | St. Thomas | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Giesbrecht | L 3–4 | 1,749 | 7–17–0 (5–11–0) |
| January 21 | 8:07 PM | at Bemidji State | Sanford Center • Bemidji, MN | | Giesbrecht | W 2–1 | 2,446 | 8–17–0 (6–11–0) |
| January 22 | 7:07 PM | at Bemidji State | Sanford Center • Bemidji, MN | | Giesbrecht | W 5–2 | 2,681 | 9–17–0 (7–11–0) |
| January 28 | 7:07 PM | Bowling Green | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Giesbrecht | L 3–4 | 1,507 | 9–18–0 (7–12–0) |
| January 29 | 6:07 PM | Bowling Green | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | W 2–1 | 1,547 | 10–18–0 (8–12–0) |
| February 11 | 7:07 PM | at Lake Superior State | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, MI | | Giesbrecht | L 3–5 | 1,037 | 10–19–0 (8–13–0) |
| February 12 | 6:07 PM | at Lake Superior State | Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, MI | | Giesbrecht | L 0–4 | 1,310 | 10–20–0 (8–14–0) |
| February 18 | 7:07 PM | #14 Michigan Tech | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Stein | L 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 1,901 | 10–21–0 (8–15–0) |
| February 19 | 6:07 PM | #14 Michigan Tech | Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, MI | | Giesbrecht | T 5–5 $^{SOL}$ | 2,495 | 10–21–1 (8–15–1) |
| February 25 | 6:37 PM | at Northern Michigan | Berry Events Center • Marquette, MI | | Stein | L 1–7 | 2,114 | 10–22–1 (8–16–1) |
| February 26 | 6:37 PM | at Northern Michigan | Berry Events Center • Marquette, MI | | Stein | W 4–2 | 2,556 | 11–22–1 (9–16–1) |
| CCHA Tournament ||||||||||
| March 4 | 7:07 PM | at #15 Michigan Tech* | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, MI (Quarterfinal game 1) | | Stein | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 2,016 | 11–23–1 |
| March 5 | 6:07 PM | at #15 Michigan Tech* | MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, MI (Quarterfinal game 2) | | Giesbrecht | L 2–3 $^{2OT}$ | 2,272 | 11–24–1 |
| Ferris State Lost Series 0–2 ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Justin Michaelian | F | 35 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 12 |
| Bradley Marek | F | 36 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 12 |
| Dallas Tulik | F | 29 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 32 |
| Liam MacDougall | F | 35 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 49 |
| Štěpán Pokorný | F | 31 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 16 |
| Marshall Moise | F | 34 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 50 |
| Ethan Stewart | F | 30 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 23 |
| Brendon Michaelian | D | 34 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 10 |
| Mitchel Deelstra | LW | 28 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 22 |
| Blake Evennou | D | 36 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 28 |
| Kaleb Ergang | RW | 21 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| Jake Transit | F | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
| Nick Nardecchia | RW | 25 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| Brenden Rons | D | 36 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| Zach Faremouth | F | 32 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 48 |
| Drew Cooper | D | 29 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Jacob Dirks | F | 25 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Sam Skinner | D | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Luke Farthing | D | 24 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Antonio Venuto | RW | 28 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Brenden MacLaren | F | 23 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 27 |
| Ben Schultheis | D | 28 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
| Nico DeVita | D | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Jason Brancheau | F | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Austin McCarthy | F | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Carter McPhail | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roni Salmenkangas | G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noah Giesbrecht | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor Fedorek | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Logan Stein | G | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | | | 90 | 147 | 237 | 494 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Carter McPhail | 4 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 0 | .920 | 2.74 |
| Noah Giesbrecht | 10 | 598 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 32 | 269 | 0 | .894 | 3.21 |
| Logan Stein | 26 | 1316 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 79 | 608 | 0 | .885 | 3.60 |
| Roni Salmenkangas | 8 | 229 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 89 | 0 | .840 | 4.45 |
| Empty Net | - | 15 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2201 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 135 | 989 | 0 | .881 | 3.65 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR |
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Bradley Marek | CCHA Rookie of the Year | |
| Bradley Marek | CCHA Rookie Team | |