2023–24 Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 49th season of play for the program and the 38th in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). The Bulldogs represent Ferris State University, played their home games at Ewigleben Arena and were coached by Bob Daniels in his 32nd season.

2023–24 Ferris State Bulldogs
men's ice hockey season
Conference8th CCHA
Home iceEwigleben Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall10–24–2
Conference6–17–1
Home5–10–2
Road5–12–0
Neutral0–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachBob Daniels
Assistant coachesDrew Famulak
Mark Kaufman
Dave Cencer
Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

Season

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Ferris State began the year with a stretch of up-and-down hockey. In the first two months of the season, the offense was middling but consistent. The goaltending duties were split between Logan Stein and Noah Giesbrecht with both providing reliable netminding. By early December, the team was near .500 and had shown signs of improvement. Unfortunately, that was when their season began to unravel. A dip in scoring resulted in seven game losing streak that set the team at the bottom of the standings, where they would remain for the rest of the year.

The team recovered a bit after the Great Lakes Invitational, earning a split with league champion Bemidji State and then winning four in a row to close out January. However, the scoring faltered for a second time afterwards and the team was unable to win any of its final nine games.

Despite its poor finish, Ferris State was nearly able to pull off an upset in the first round of the conference tournament. Twice the team was able to get a 2-goal advantage in their opening game against Bemidji State but they were unable to hold onto either of their leads. The overtime goal appeared to sap whatever energy the team had left and they were swept out of the conference tournament with an 0–4 loss.[1]

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Mitchel Deelstra Forward   Canada Transferred to Northern Michigan
Blake Evennou Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Atlanta Gladiators)
Luke Farthing Defenseman   United States Transferred to Canisius
Cade Kowalski Forward   Canada Graduate transfer to Prince Edward Island
Bradley Marek Forward   United States Signed professional contract (San Jose Barracuda)
Brenden Rons Defenseman   United States Graduate transfer to Lindenwood
Matt Slick Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder)
Dallas Tulik Forward   United States Graduate transfer to Robert Morris

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Luigi Benincasa Forward   Canada 20 Edmonton, AB
Nico DeVita Defenseman   United States 22 Bellevue, WA; transfer from New Hampshire
Holden Doell Forward   Canada 19 Martensville SK
Emerson Goode Forward   United States 20 Anaheim, CA
Nick Hale Defenseman   United States 24 Raleigh, NC; graduate transfer from Holy Cross
Jack Mesic Defenseman   United States 20 Plymouth, MI
Trevor Taulien Defenseman   United States 20 Crystal Lake, IL

Roster

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As of September 18, 2023.[2]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1   Logan Stein Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 2001-04-26 Suwanee, Georgia Waterloo (USHL)
2   Travis Shoudy Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2002-03-15 Marysville, Michigan Cedar Rapids (USHL)
3   Ben Schultheis Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2000-02-17 Mount Juliet, Tennessee Dubuque (USHL)
4   Drew Cooper Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 2000-08-28 Ann Arbor, Michigan Coquitlam (BCHL)
6   Nico DeVita Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2001-05-24 Bellevue, Washington New Hampshire (HEA)
6   Jack Mesic Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2002-10-18 Plymouth, Michigan North Iowa (NAHL)
7   Connor McGrath Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 2003-09-04 Leroy, Saskatchewan Humboldt (SJHL)
8   Austin McCarthy Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-03-01 Ludington, Michigan Topeka (NAHL)
9   Nick Nardecchia Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2001-01-01 Macomb, Michigan Lincoln (USHL)
10   Holden Doell Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-12-01 Martensville, Saskatchewan Battlefords (SJHL)
11   Jacob Dirks Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-09-15 Mindoro, Wisconsin Chippewa (NAHL)
12   Luigi Benincasa Freshman F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 159 lb (72 kg) 2002-10-07 Edmonton, Alberta Spruce Grove (AJHL)
15   Tyler Schleppe Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-11-11 Vancouver, British Columbia Langley (BCHL)
16   Caiden Gault Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-04-16 Oakbank, Manitoba Spruce Grove (AJHL)
18   Kaleb Ergang Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-12-31 Spruce Grove, Alberta Whitecourt (AJHL)
19   Štěpán Pokorný Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2000-06-08 Kolín, Czech Republic Madison (USHL)
20   Andrew Noel Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-01-02 Maynard, Massachusetts Nanaimo (BCHL)
21   Jason Brancheau Graduate F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-08-15 Brownstown, Michigan Amarillo (NAHL)
22   Nick Hale Senior D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1999-05-07 Raleigh, North Carolina Holy Cross (AHA)
23   Antonio Venuto Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2000-02-26 Whitmore Lake, Michigan Dubuque (USHL)
24   Brenden MacLaren Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1998-11-30 Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Fairbanks (NAHL)
25   Zach Faremouth Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-01-04 Jackson, Michigan Des Moines (USHL)
26   Jacob Badal Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-10-05 Flushing, Michigan Johnstown (NAHL)
27   Emerson Goode Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-10-16 Anaheim, California Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)
28   Trevor Taulien Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 2003-04-14 Crystal Lake, Illinois Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)
30   Joey Henson Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 2001-08-15 Troy, Michigan Philadelphia Little Flyers (EHL)
31   Noah Giesbrecht Junior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-04-18 White Rock, British Columbia Windsor (OUA)
34   Nick Grimaldi Junior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 140 lb (64 kg) 1999-06-26 Plymouth, Michigan Odessa (NAHL)

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Bemidji State 24 15 7 2 2 1 2 48 82 64 38 20 16 2 117 111
St. Thomas 24 12 11 1 0 2 0 39 68 62 37 15 20 2 97 105
#19 Michigan Tech* 24 12 10 2 1 2 0 39 63 54 40 19 15 6 109 102
Minnesota State 24 12 10 2 2 1 1 38 73 62 37 18 15 4 111 96
Northern Michigan 24 10 10 4 1 1 2 36 57 67 34 12 16 6 83 105
Bowling Green 24 11 12 1 1 1 1 35 60 69 36 13 22 1 86 116
Lake Superior State 24 11 12 1 2 2 0 34 79 73 38 17 20 1 114 113
Ferris State 24 6 17 1 3 2 1 19 49 80 36 10 24 2 83 125
Augustana ^ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 12 18 4 90 105
Championship: March 22, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup)
^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 games against conference opponents that are not counted in the standings
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular season
October 7 7:07 pm Miami* Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht W 5–4 OT 1,678 1–0–0
October 8 5:07 pm Miami* Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht L 2–5  1,250 1–1–0
October 12 7:00 pm at #12 Western Michigan* Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Giesbrecht L 4–6  3,640 1–2–0
October 13 7:07 pm #12 Western Michigan* Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein T 3–3 OT 1,675 1–2–1
October 20 7:07 pm Grand Valley State* Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan (Exhibition) FloHockey Stein W 9–0  1,910
October 27 7:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht W 2–1 OT 4,040 2–2–1 (1–0–0)
October 28 6:07 pm at Northern Michigan Berry Events CenterMarquette, Michigan FloHockey Stein L 1–4  4,135 2–3–1 (1–1–0)
November 3 7:07 pm St. Lawrence* Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht L 2–5  1,640 2–4–1
November 4 6:07 pm St. Lawrence* Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein W 2–1 OT 1,712 3–4–1
November 10 7:07 pm Minnesota State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht L 2–6  1,537 3–5–1 (1–2–0)
November 11 6:07 pm Minnesota State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein L 2–3 OT 3–6–1 (1–3–0)
November 17 7:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Stein W 3–2 OT 2,379 4–6–1 (2–3–0)
November 18 6:07 pm at Michigan Tech MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, Michigan FloHockey Stein L 2–3  2,279 4–7–1 (2–4–0)
December 1 7:07 pm St. Thomas Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein W 5–2  1,754 5–7–1 (3–4–0)
December 2 6:07 pm St. Thomas Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht L 1–7  1,834 5–8–1 (3–5–0)
December 8 7:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Stein L 0–1  1,836 5–9–1 (3–6–0)
December 9 7:07 pm at Bowling Green Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, Ohio FloHockey Stein L 3–4  1,816 5–10–1 (3–7–0)
December 16 6:07 pm Lake Superior State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein L 1–5  1,492 5–11–1 (3–8–0)
Great Lakes Invitational
December 28 7:00 pm vs. #7 Michigan State* Van Andel ArenaGrand Rapids, Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational Semifinal) FloHockey Stein L 1–4  7,950 5–12–1
December 29 3:30 pm vs. Alaska* Van Andel ArenaGrand Rapids, Michigan (Great Lakes Invitational Consolation Game) FloHockey Giesbrecht L 2–3  5–13–1
January 5 7:07 pm Bemidji State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein L 1–4  1,504 5–14–1 (3–9–0)
January 6 6:07 pm Bemidji State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht W 5–3  1,734 6–14–1 (4–9–0)
January 12 8:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Stein L 2–4  4,244 6–15–1 (4–10–0)
January 13 7:07 pm at Minnesota State Mayo Clinic Health System Event CenterMankato, Minnesota FloHockey Giesbrecht L 0–4  4,615 6–16–1 (4–11–0)
January 19 7:07 pm Lake Superior State Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein W 3–5  2,040 7–16–1 (5–11–0)
January 20 6:07 pm at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht W 3–2 OT 1,112 8–16–1 (6–11–0)
January 26 8:07 pm at Augustana* Midco ArenaSioux Falls, South Dakota FloHockey Stein W 5–2  3,183 9–16–1
January 27 7:07 pm at Augustana* Midco ArenaSioux Falls, South Dakota FloHockey Giesbrecht W 4–3 OT 3,141 10–16–1
February 2 7:07 pm Bowling Green Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein L 3–4  1,901 10–17–1 (6–12–0)
February 3 6:07 pm Bowling Green Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht L 1–3  2,275 10–18–1 (6–13–0)
February 15 8:07 pm at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Stein L 2–3 OT 1,256 10–19–1 (6–14–0)
February 16 7:07 pm at Bemidji State Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota FloHockey Giesbrecht L 1–4  2,153 10–20–1 (6–15–0)
February 23 7:07 pm Northern Michigan Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Stein L 2–3  1,950 10–21–1 (6–16–0)
February 24 5:07 pm Northern Michigan Ewigleben ArenaBig Rapids, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht T 1–1 SOW 2,389 10–21–2 (6–16–1)
March 1 7:07 pm at Lake Superior State Taffy Abel ArenaSault Ste. Marie, Michigan FloHockey Giesbrecht L 1–4  1,122 10–22–2 (6–17–1)
CCHA Tournament
March 8 8:07 pm at Bemidji State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Giesbrecht L 4–5 OT 1,725 10–23–2
March 9 7:07 pm at Bemidji State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Stein L 0–4  2,176 10–24–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Antonio Venuto RW 36 12 14 26 44
Luigi Benincasa F 33 6 16 22 6
Travis Shoudy D 36 4 17 21 14
Štěpán Pokorný F 36 8 10 18 26
Jason Brancheau F 35 9 7 16 16
Kaleb Ergang RW 34 6 9 15 10
Zach Faremouth F 34 6 6 12 24
Emerson Goode C/W 32 7 5 12 24
Jack Mesic D 36 2 8 10 8
Tyler Schleppe F 25 3 7 10 11
Nick Hale D 34 2 6 8 12
Trevor Taulien D 27 2 6 8 20
Nick Nardecchia RW 34 3 4 7 27
Jacob Dirks F 27 3 4 7 2
Austin McCarthy F 20 3 2 5 4
Caiden Gault F 19 2 3 5 4
Drew Cooper D 24 2 3 5 4
Connor McGrath C 28 1 3 4 6
Holden Doell F 24 1 3 4 12
Andrew Noel D 35 1 3 4 4
Brenden MacLaren F 27 0 2 2 11
Ben Schultheis D 21 0 2 2 6
Jacob Badal LW 5 0 0 0 0
Nico DeVita D 19 0 0 0 2
Noah Giesbrecht G 18 0 0 0 0
Logan Stein G 21 0 0 0 0
Total 83 140 223 303

[4]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Logan Stein 22 1219:18 5 13 1 59 595 0 .910 2.90
Noah Giesbrecht 19 960:41 5 11 1 62 480 0 .886 3.87
Empty Net - 14:57 - - - 1 - - - -
Total 36 2194:56 10 24 2 126 1075 0 .895 3.44

Rankings

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Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[5]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Luigi Benincasa CCHA Rookie Team [6]

References

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  1. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2024". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "2023-24 Ferris State Hockey Roster". Ferris State Bulldogs. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Ferris State Ice Hockey Schedule". Ferris State Bulldogs. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "Ferris State Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "CCHA All-Rookie Team Revealed". CCHA.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.