Pittsburgh, Pa. ? Although the Robert Morris University men's ice hockey team jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, the Ferris State Bulldogs fought back scoring three unanswered goals in the second and third periods Saturday night at the Island Sports Center.
Ferris State started off the game with a quick goal to go up 1-0 on the Colonials when Chad Billins scored off an assist from Corey Couturier. However, the Bulldog lead would be short lived.
Four minutes later, sophomore Chris Kushneriuk (Ottawa, Ontario / Wayne State Univ.) tied the game at one when he knocked one past Bulldog goaltender Taylor Nelson off of assists from senior Chris Margott (Thousand Oaks, Ca. / Bay State Breakers) and sophomore Nathan Longpre (Peterborough, Ontario / Mahoning Valley Phantoms).
The Colonials would take a 2-1 lead as sophomore Kyle Burton (Calgary, Alberta / Calgary Canucks) put the puck past Nelson off of a deflection from Margott in front of the net. Freshman James Lyle (Nepean, Ontario / Smiths Falls Bears) also picked up a helper on the goal.
While playing shorthanded in a five on four situation, Jake Obermeyer (Chanhassen, Minn. / Tri-City Storm) and Margott hit up Longpre down ice as he put away a break-away goal to give the Colonials a 3-1 advantage at the 15:15 mark of the first period.
Robert Morris got right back to where they ended the first period when Kushneriuk struck for the second time of the night only seven minutes into the second. He was able to push the puck past the Bulldog goaltender off a strong pass from senior Jason Towsley (LaSalle, Ontario / Leamington Flyers).
From that point on, the Colonials offense would sputter to a halt. At the 13:42 mark of the second, Ferris State's Brandan Connolly slipped on past Colonial goaltender Wes Russell (Springfield, Ill. / Quinnipiac Univ.) off feeds from Derek Graham and Blair Riley.
The Bulldogs took only 30 seconds to regroup as Corey Couturier pulled Ferris State within one with his goal. Assists on the goal were credited to Jordie Johnson and Zach Redmond.
Only behind by one with 52 seconds remaining in regulation, the Bulldogs pulled Nelson for an extra attacker. Their strategy would be a successful one as Aaron Lewicki fired a shot past Russell to tie the game at four all.
Both teams would fight hard in the five minute overtime period, however both came up empty handed and were forced to settle for a 4-4 a tie.
Overall, Ferris State outshot Robert Morris 40 to 21. Russell made 36 saves. First star honors went to Kushneriuk for his two goal performance. Longpre earned the second star for his goal and assist. The third star was given to Corey Couturier of Ferris State.
On Friday, October 24, the Colonials will travel to Albany, NY for their first appearance in the Governor's Cup Tournament. Robert Morris will match up with Colgate at 4:05 p.m.
