Story, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- In a game plagued by penalties, the Northern Michigan University Wildcats fell 6-0 on the Ferris State University Bulldogs Senior Night Saturday in Big Rapids.
The Wildcats and Bulldogs combined for 18 penalties and 47 minutes, with each team being whistled for nine infractions. The 'Cats 29 penalty minutes are the most in a single game since two seasons ago (January 27, 2024, 30 PIM), and the fourth-most in the past seven seasons.
NMU netminder William Gramme had to be sharp in the opening 20 minutes; aside from Caden Brown scoring on a rebound through traffic, the netminder made 19 saves, including a crucial sequence in the final 30 seconds of the period. While the period was fast, there were a lot of whistles; NMU and FSU combined for 12 penalties, and the teams even skated three-on-three for a short period.
The 'Cats took six penalties and 23 penalty minutes in the second period, as the teams combined for nine penalties and 29 total minutes, including Peter Cisar receiving a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Tyler Schleppe scored the first short-handed goal of his career, and Tyler Rapalje scored nine seconds into the five-minute major to give Ferris a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs outshot the Wildcats 12-4 in the middle frame.
Schleppe scored his fourth goal of the weekend after redirecting a blast from the point, Tanner Rowe added the fifth tally of the game, and freshman Max Weilandt replaced Gramme. Rapalaje converted on a two-on-one as a Bulldog penalty was expiring, and netminder Martin Lundberg recorded a 25-save shutout.
For the game, the 'Cats were outshot 41-26 despite the shot attempts being just about even at 59-58. NMU went 0/7 on the man advantage, FSU scored on one of its seven power play attempts, Ferris won 37 faceoffs to 25, and blocked 17 shots to seven.