MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Wildcat hockey team welcomed the Ferris State Bulldogs back to the Berry for game two of the weekend series, and routed the Bulldogs once again, by a score of 8-3. The Wildcats improved to 16-16-0 and 12-12-0 in CCHA play, and the Bulldogs fall to 12-16-4 and 9-12-3 in conference play. 

Five different seniors recorded points for the Wildcats, led by Andre Ghantous' explosion for 2 goals and an assist. Jett Jungels recorded a goal and an assist, and Vincent de May, David Keefer, and Michael Van Unen all registered assists. Overall, six different Wildcats scored and 13 different 'Cats registered at least one point. Beni Halasz stopped 21/24 shots faced.

The special teams were once again on point for the Wildcats, going 4/5 (80%) on the PK and 4/6 (66.7%) on the PP. The 'Cats won 31 of 57 faceoffs and blocked 22 shots.

How It Happened
Beni Halasz had to be sharp immediately, as the first shot of the game came from a Wildcat turnover that landed on a Ferris stick in the slot. An emphatic blocker save, and the puck got deflected into the corner.

The 'Cats started how they left off, striking first off a blast from senior Colby Enns from the right circle. This was Colby's first goal of the season and second point of the weekend. Artem Shlaine and Joey Larson picked up assists on the goal.

Two minutes later the Bulldogs got a power play and Travis Shoudy collected a rebound off the pad of Beni Halasz and had a wide-open net to look at. This was NMU's first power-play goal allowed since January 21 of this year. 

The Wildcats got a man advantage for themselves, and another senior found the back of the net as Andre Ghantous received a sweet feed from Artem Shlaine and went upstairs over the glove hand of Giesbrecht. This was Andre's second goal and Artem's third point of the weekend.

The seniors continued to fill the net for the Wildcats, as Jett Jungels corralled a puck on the glove-hand side of Giesbrecht and fired it top shelf for his first of the season and second of his career. Andre Ghantous picked up an assist, giving him two points on the evening, along with Connor Eddy, giving him three points on the weekend. 

The 'Cats dominated the Bulldogs in almost every category in the opening frame, as they were up on the scoreboard 3-1, outshot their opposition 14-6, and blocked four shots to Ferris' three.

The Bulldogs made a goaltending change to start the middle frame, and Logan Stein manned the crease. He didn't get much time to settle in as the Wildcats earned a power-play opportunity. Simon Kjellberg made a defenseman look silly and walked in from the blue line and fired a wicked wrister over the glove hand of Stein. Seniors continued to fill the score sheet, as Vincent de Mey and David Keefer registered helpers on Kjellberg's power-play strike.

The 'Cats got another power-play opportunity and generated a lot of chances in front of Stein. The Bulldogs returned to full strength, but relentless forechecking from Jett Jungels as he stripped the puck from a defender and fed Rylan Van Unen in the slot who roofed a shot over the stick hand of Stein. This was Rylan's second goal of the weekend and Jett's second point on the evening. 

The 'Cats were whistled for a penalty, and Beni Halasz had to make a few ten-bell saves from in tight to maintain the 'Cats four-goal cushion. After the successful kill, Josh Zinger carried the puck end-to-end and beat a defender before he fired a hum-dinger of a wrister and beat Stein over the catching glove. This was Zinger's third goal of the season and the third goal from an NMU defender. 

The Wildcats scored three unanswered goals in the middle frame, outshot their opponent 12-10, and had a slight edge in the faceoff margin winning 10 of 19. 

The momentum coming into the third period started in favor of the Bulldogs, as Beni Halasz slid across to make a miraculous desperation save. The rebound found its way to a Bulldog who was staring at a wide-open net, but Aiden Gallacher got in front of the puck blocking yet again another shot.

The 'Cats struck gold once again on the power play, as Artem Shlaine fired a puck through a seam that re-directed off Joey Larson's stick and landed perfectly on the blade of Kristof Papp, who made a nifty stickhandle to corral the puck and tuck it in the wide open cage. 

The 'Cats continued their onslaught as the Wildcats once again registered a power play goal, as senior Michael Van Unen walked in from the blue line and fired a shot and Andre Ghantous found the rebound and snuck it short side on Stein. 

Travis Shoudy was left all alone in between the hash marks and made a move to the backhand that trickled under the arm of Beni Halasz. This was Shoudy's second goal of the evening. In the dying minutes of the third, Tyler Schleppe fired a wrister from the hash marks that squeaked its way under the arm of Halasz, giving the Bulldogs three on the evening. 

The 'Cats once again put in an outstanding all-around effort in all facets of the game and rode that success to an 8-3 victory.


Postgame Notes

• Senior Andre Ghantous led the way for the Wildcats on senior night, scoring two goals and registering an assist for five points on the weekend (3G, 2A) and eight points in his last six games (5G, 3A). 
• Artem Shlaine also had three points (3A) on the evening. Artem recorded five points (1G, 4A) over the weekend, and now has nine points in his last seven games (2G, 7A).
• Senior Jett Jungels registered a goal and an assist on the evening. This was Jett's first goal of the season and second multi-point game of the year. 
• The 'Cats blueline was rather productive tonight with Simon Kjellberg, Colby Enns, and Josh Zinger all scoring a goal, and Michael Van Unen registered an assist. Kjellberg had a three-point weekend (2G, A) and has five points in his last five games, Enns had two points in two games and has points in three consecutive games, and Zinger and Van Unen both had a two-point weekend. 
• Kristof Papp registered a goal, giving him four points on the weekend (G, 3A), and Rylan Van Unen also found the twine, giving him two goals in his last two games.
• Joey Larson continued his hot streak and recorded two assists on the evening, and now has 10 points in his last nine games (6G, 4A). 
• The Wildcats PK went 8/9 on the weekend and scored two goals, and the PP was a dominant 6/10. The 'Cats were 60.3% in the faceoff circle and blocked 44 shots over the two games.
• Travis Shoudy recorded two goals for the Bulldogs. 

Scoring Summary 
1st
2:56 - Colby Enns (NMU, 1-0), Assisted by Artem Shlaine and Joey Larson.
4:41 - Travis Shoudy (FSU PP, 1-1), Assisted by Tyler Schleppe and Blake Evennou.
11:04 - Andre Ghantous (NMU PP, 2-1), Assisted by Artem Shlaine.
15:07 - Jett Jungels (NMU 3-1), Assisted by Andre Ghantous and Connor Eddy. 

2nd
5:08 - Simon Kjellberg (NMU PP, 4-1), Assisted by Vincent de Mey and David Keefer.
12:17 - Rylan Van Unen (NMU, 5-1), Assisted by Jett Jungels. 
18:05 - Josh Zinger (NMU, 6-1), Unassisted. 

3rd
3:32 - Kristof Papp (NMU PP, 7-1), Assisted by Joey Larson and Artem Shlaine.
10:12 - Andre Ghantous (NMU PP, 8-1), Assisted by Michael Van Unen.
11:48 - Travis Shoudy (FSU, 8-2), Assisted by Connor McGrath and Jacob Dirks.

Up Next
The Wildcats will travel to Bowling Green, Ohio for their last regular season games on Friday, February 24, and Saturday, February 25.