| Team Name: | Ferris State Bulldogs |
| Team Link: | |
| Current: | 2023–24 Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey season |
| University: | Ferris State University |
| Sex: | men's |
| Conference: | Central Collegiate Hockey Association |
| Conference Short: | CCHA |
| Division: | Division I |
| Location: | Big Rapids, Michigan |
| First Year: | 1975–76 |
| Coach: | Bob Daniels |
| Coach Year: | 32nd |
| Coach Wins: | 487 |
| Coach Losses: | 581 |
| Coach Ties: | 112 |
| Arena: | Ewigleben Arena |
| Capacity: | 2,490 |
| Surface: | 200' x 85' |
| Ncaarunnerup: | 2012 |
| Ncaafrozenfour: | 2012 |
| Ncaatourneys: | 2003, 2012, 2014, 2016 |
| Conference Tournament: | 2016 |
| Conference Season: | 2002–03, 2011–12, 2013–14 |
| Uniform Image: | WCHA-Uniform-FSU.png |
The Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Ferris State University. The Bulldogs are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). They play at Ewigleben Arena in Big Rapids, Michigan.[1]
Ferris State's ice hockey program began in 1975 as a member of the NAIA and joined the CCHA as an affiliate member.[2] In the program's four seasons in the NAIA the team compiled an overall record of 58-40-1-.591, including three seasons above .700 winning percentage and a program best winning percentage of .795 in the 1976–77 season.[3] The program moved up to NCAA Division I status and became a full member of the CCHA in 1979. They joined the WCHA in 2013[3] before returning to the CCHA prior to the 2021–22 season.[4] Ferris State turned in its best season performance ever in the program's NCAA Division I history for the 2002-03 campaign with a school-best 31-10-1 overall record. The Ferris Bulldogs also claimed their first-ever CCHA Regular-Season Championship title with a first-place 22-5-1 league mark. Ferris State received an at-large bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament and beat North Dakota 5-2 and advanced to the West Regional title game in their initial NCAA Tourney appearance, before losing a high scoring game to Minnesota 4–7.[5] [6] FSU also earned the distinction of being the nation's first team to reach the 30-win plateau in 2002-03 and also competed in the CCHA Super Six Championship Tourney for the first time since 1993.[7] The 2011–12 season was historic for the Ferris State ice hockey program. The Bulldogs began the season on a six-game win streak, their best start to a season since 1979-80 when The Bulldogs recorded an eight-game streak.[8] The team ended the regular season with their first CCHA Regular Season Championship since the program's first in 2002–03. The season was highlighted by a 14-game unbeaten streak from January 6, 2012, to February 25 in which the team recorded 11 wins and 4 ties.[9] The Bulldogs were also ranked first in the NCAA men's ice hockey poll for a two-week period in the season for the first time in school history.[10] After the team finished with the top record in the CCHA, the Bulldogs received a first round bye for the 2012 CCHA Tournament. Ferris State played Bowling Green in the second round, after the Falcons upset Northern Michigan. In the best-of-three series, the Falcons picked up a win in overtime in the opening game followed by goal outburst in the second game that saw Ferris State even the series with a 7–4 win.[11] In the final game of the series, Ferris State was unable to hold on to a three-goal lead as BGSU rallied back to force overtime. The Falcons scored in the extra period to win the CCHA quarterfinal series.[12] Despite the loss in the CCHA playoffs, the Bulldogs received an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Ferris State defeated Denver and Cornell in the first two rounds of the tournament with a pair of 2-1 games.[13] In the program's first appearance in the Frozen Four, the Bulldogs defeated Union 3-1 and advanced to the championship game against Boston College.[14] Ferris State was unable to stop the Eagles' offense en route to BC's third title in five seasons. The team finished with a record of 26-12-5.[15]
See main article: article and List of Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey seasons. Source:[16]
The team has been coached by Bob Daniels since 1992. Daniels is a two-time recipient of the Spencer Penrose Award, awarded by the American Hockey Coaches Association to the NCAA men's ice hockey coach of the year, having won the award in 2003 and 2012.[17] In 2012, he was also named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association coach of the year after he led the Bulldogs to their first appearance in the Frozen Four and NCAA championship game.[18] Daniels is the longest tenured coach of the Bulldogs and is the only coach in program history to record over 300 wins.[19]
As of completion of 2022–23 season[3] [7]
| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–present | 31 | 487–581–112 | |||
| 1990–1991 | 2 | 36–32–12 | |||
| 1986–1990 | 4 | 54–92–17 | |||
| 1986 | Peter Esdale† | 1† | 6–9–1 | ||
| 1982–1986 | 4 | 56–74–9 | |||
| 1975–1982 | 7 | 119–83–7 | |||
| Totals | 6 coaches | 48 seasons | 758–871–158 |
2003, 2012
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
Rookie of the Year
Defensive player of the year
Scoring Champion
Student-Athlete of the Year
Coach of the Year
Most Valuable Player in Tournament
Source:[20]
This is a list of Ferris State alumni who played on an Olympic team.
| Name | Position | Ferris State Tenure | Team | Year | Finish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | 1988–1991 | 12th, 11th | ||||
| Center | 1988–1992 | 14th | ||||
| Center | 1994–1995 | 8th | ||||
| Left wing | 1999–2003 | |||||
| Defenseman | 2008–2012 | 7th | ||||
| Goaltender | 2007–2011 | 5th |
Source:[21]
| Player | Years | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–1987 | 158 | 101 | 107 | 208 | |||
| 1978–1982 | 137 | 82 | 123 | 205 | |||
| 1987–1991 | 145 | 73 | 130 | 203 | |||
| 1983–1987 | 158 | 74 | 125 | 199 | |||
| 1984–1989 | 164 | 93 | 96 | 189 | |||
| 1979–1983 | 139 | 76 | 99 | 175 | |||
| 1999–2003 | 152 | 99 | 76 | 175 | |||
| 1976–1981 | 124 | 60 | 112 | 172 | |||
| 2001–2005 | 152 | 67 | 90 | 157 | |||
| 1978–1982 | 136 | 69 | 83 | 152 |
Source:[22] GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 30 games
| Player | Years | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2015 | 127 | 7679 | 66 | 49 | 12 | 272 | 15 | .926 | 2.13 | |
| 1998–2001 | 59 | 3198 | 24 | 22 | 6 | 116 | 2 | .916 | 2.18 | |
| 2007–2011 | 101 | 5801 | 45 | 42 | 11 | 224 | 5 | .916 | 2.32 | |
| 2008–2012 | 70 | 4031 | 35 | 20 | 10 | 157 | 4 | .917 | 2.34 | |
| 2005–2008 | 86 | 5074 | 31 | 39 | 15 | 227 | 6 | .903 | 2.68 | |
The following is a list of people associated with the Ferris State men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Ferris State Athletic Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses).[23]
As of September 18, 2023.[24]
As of July 1, 2024.
| = NHL All-Star team | = NHL All-Star[25] | = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team | = Hall of Famers---> |
| Player | Position | Team(s) | Years | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Billins | Defenseman | CGY | 2013–2014 | 10 | 0 |
| Jason Blake | Right wing | LAK, NYI, TOR, ANA | 1998–2012 | 871 | 0 |
| Dean Clark | Left wing | EDM | 1983–1984 | 1 | 0 |
| Rob Collins | Right wing | NYI | 2005–2006 | 8 | 0 |
| Mike Colman | Defenseman | SJS | 1991–1992 | 15 | 0 |
| John Gruden | Defenseman | BOS, OTT, WAS | 1993–2004 | 92 | 0 |
| Dave Karpa | Defenseman | QUE, ANA, CAR, NYR | 1991–2003 | 557 | 0 |
| Chris Kunitz | Left wing | , ATL, , TBL, CHI | 2003–2019 | 1,022 | 4 |
| Gerald Mayhew | Right wing | MIN, PHI, ANA | 2019–2022 | 57 | 0 |
| Greg Rallo | Center | FLA | 2011–2013 | 11 | 0 |
| Zach Redmond | Defenseman | WPG, COL, MTL, BUF | 2012–2018 | 133 | 0 |
| Andy Roach | Defenseman | STL | 2005–2006 | 5 | 0 |
Source:[26]