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Ferris State stuns top-seeded St. Cloud in overtime of NCAA tourney

MiHockey Staff
Photo by Michael Miller/MiHockey
Photo by Michael Miller/MiHockey

 

By Michael Caples –

It only took 18 seconds for Jared VanWormer to find the back of the net.

Eighteen seconds into overtime, that is.

The Traverse City native buried a rebound off an initial shot by Gerald Mayhew to give the Bulldogs a 5-4 overtime victory over top-seeded St. Cloud State Saturday afternoon in Minnesota.

The win sends Ferris State to the West Region’s final game, with a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four on the line. They will play the winner of Boston University and Denver, which is slated to start at 6:30 p.m.

Mitch Maloney, Kenny Babinski and Mayhew joined VanWormer on the scoresheet in the Bulldogs’ upset victory.

Rookie Darren Smith recorded yet another victory for Ferris State between the pipes.

Mikey Eyssimont scored twice for St. Cloud, while Jacob Benson and Joey Benik also found the back of the net.

The Huskies were ranked No. 2 in the nation, and held the top seed in the West Region for the NCAA Tournament.

Ferris State was first to strike, as Brandon Anselmini carried the puck all the way down to the Huskies’ goal line before sending the puck towards the goal. Maloney got his stick on the puck to give the Bulldogs the early lead.

St. Cloud answered back in a hurry, with Benson scoring just 17 seconds later.

VanWormer sent the Bulldogs into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead after he executed a quick give-and-go with Trevor Recktenwald and fired a shot past Lindgren with 23 seconds left in the opening period.

Babinski increased the Bulldogs’ lead early in the second period, beating Lindgren with a wrister 1:04 into the middle frame.

Eyssimont cut the lead in half with a goal for St. Cloud five minutes into the second period.

Seven minutes later, Mayhew struck for Ferris, firing a wrist shot into the St. Cloud net at the 12:01 mark of the middle frame.

St. Cloud controlled play in the third period, however, forcing overtime after goals from Eyssimont and Benik.

Eyssimont scored his second goal of the game at the 4:38 mark of the third period, burying a rebound that bounced off the end boards and landed right on his stick for a wide-open net.

Benik tied the game with 8:31 remaining in regulation on a fortunate bounce for St. Cloud. A shot from Smith’s left was tipped and it turned into a tremendous scoring opportunity for Benik, who finished off the play to even the score.

The two teams played to a 4-4 tie through the rest of regulation, despite chances at either end. Ferris State freshman Corey Mackin had the best chance of the bunch, getting stopped on a breakaway with four minutes left in the third.