BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — The Northern Michigan hockey team dropped a 5-2 decision to Ferris State in the second game of their WCHA quarterfinal series at Ewigleben Ice Arena.

With the result, the Bulldogs eliminated the Wildcats from the WCHA tournament. Northern Michigan closes the 2015-16 campaign with a 15-16-7 (12-11-5 WCHA) record.

The Bulldogs outshot the Wildcats, 5-0, in the opening stanza's first five minutes, but Atte Tolvanen was up for the test. Less than 30 seconds in, Gerald Mayhew sent a drop pass to Simon Denis on the doorstep, but Tolvanen turned Denis's bid aside. Just past the 17-minute mark, Tolvanen denied Mayhew, who was left alone by the right post to fire a shot.

The Wildcats took their first lead of the series at 13:33, capitalizing on their second man advantage of the game. From the point, Zach Urban fired a hard pass to Robbie Payne at the left post for a tap-in goal.

The Bulldogs responded less than three minutes later when Chad McDonald tipped a Tyler Dorantes point shot past Tolvanen at 16:14.

In the second period, the top line generated two of Northern Michigan's best scoring opportunities early on.

Less than four minutes in, a Wildcat 3-on-1 developed after one of Tolvanen's 12 saves of the frame. Dominik Shine dished the puck to Darren Nowick on the left wing, but Smith managed to glove Nowick's bullet. Then, just past the halfway point, Shine played the puck to Nowick from the corner, and Nowick beat his defender to dart across the top of the crease uncontested. Nowick couldn't get the best handle on the puck, and Smith closed up the five hole and sent his shot wide.

Northern Michigan successfully killed off a Shine major assessed at the 13:45 mark to preserve the tie going into the final period.

At 5:22 of the third, Nowick netted his 14th goal of the season to put the Wildcats back on top. After taking a pass from Anthony Paskaruk along the right boards, Nowick walked in on net, made a nifty move to fake out his defender and then flipped a shot over Smith's shoulder just inside the right post.

Ferris State took advantage of its second five-minute power play of the game to net the game-tying and go-ahead goals. First, at 16:00, Jared VanWormer sent a drop pass through a Wildcat's legs to Mayhew in the slot, and Mayhew beat Tolvanen to even the score. Thirty seven seconds later, Mayhew struck again, this time in transition after a Bulldog defender blocked a Nowick shorthanded bid. Though Tolvanen got a piece of Mayhew's shot, the puck bounced behind him and over the line.

The Bulldogs tacked on two empty net goals in the game's final minute to make the final score 5-2.

NOTES: Northern Michigan leads the all-time series, 53-30-5 ... Nowick finished the season with career highs in goals (14), assists (18) and points (31); he led the Wildcats in assists and points in 2015-16 and finished his collegiate career with 75 points (34g-41a) ...  Payne's goal was his first since Feb. 12 at Ferris State; he has netted five of his 17 career goals against the Bulldogs ... Freshmen Paskaruk and Denver Pierce picked up assists on Nowick's goal; Pierce's assist was his first point since he netted a goal at Ferris State Feb. 13 while Paskaruk's was his first since he notched his first collegiate goal against Alabama-Huntsville Feb. 19 ... Tolvanen made 32 saves; it was his 14th 30-save effort ... Northern Michigan's record was its best since re-joining the WCHA in 2013-14.