Billy Renfrew scores first collegiate goals for Wildcats
| BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The NMU hockey team dropped the penultimate game of the season in a defeat against the Ferris State Bulldogs. Down by one goal and out shooting the Bulldogs 29-16 going into the third period, Ferris State scored three unanswered goals in the final ten minutes and change en-route to the 5-1 final. The Wildcats (5-27-1, 4-20-1 CCHA) posted a single-season high in shots on goal with 38, out-shooting the Bulldogs 18-9 after the first and 29-16 after the second before landing at 38-31, the third-highest positive shot margin on the year. This also marked the fourth time this season the Wildcats have out shot its opponent, and first since December 6, 2024, when NMU hosted Ferris State in Marquette. The Wildcats goal came right before the first period came to a close. Billy Renfrew (1-2–3) picked up his first career collegiate goal by deflecting a point shot from Trevor Mitchell (0-1–1), who registered his first career collegiate point on the play. Matthew Argentina (2-2–4) picked up the secondary assist. The Bulldogs (13-18-2, 12-13-0 CCHA) were led by Zach Faremouth on the night, who scored the first two Bulldog goals and picked up an assist for a three-point evening. Caiden Gault recorded a pair with the last two Ferris State tallies, and both Travis Shoudy and Gavin Best had multi-point nights. NMU was 2/2 on the PK, won 23 faceoffs to 29, and blocked 10 shots to 18. Danny Ciccarello went 8/10 (80%) on the faceoff dot, and the trio of Grayden Daul, Anthony Cliche, and Jakub Lewandowski all recorded a pair of blocks. NMU’s season will come to a close in Big Rapids tomorrow, on Saturday, February 29. Puck drop is set for 6:07 p.m. after the Bulldogs recognize its seven seniors. How It Happened After a scoreless first 13 minutes, the Bulldogs opened the scoring on its ninth shot on target. Jean-Louis won a battle along the far side boards, spun around and made a pass all in one motion to Faremouth in front of the net who redirected the pass past Ouellette. The ‘Cats poured on the pressure and evened the score just a handful of seconds before the first period horn sounded. On the heels of a good, hard-working shift, Mitchell fired a shot through traffic toward the goal. Renfrew was able to get the blade of his stick on the shot, deflecting the shot past West to earn his first career collegiate goal. Billy Renfrew’s first career collegiate goal comes from a deflection on Trevor Mitchell’s first career point. The teams played another 15 minutes of the second period before another goal, with Faremouth scoring his second of the night. The Bulldogs capitalized on two-on-one after a turnover in the WIldcat defensive zone. The Bulldogs extended the lead to two halfway through the third period on a seeing-eye shot from the point. Shoudy was on the left point where the blueline meets the boards, fired a shot to the glove side that went through a mass of bodies, and found the back of the net. The Bulldogs extended its lead with six and a half minutes to play, as a shot from the point was deflected from just outside the top of the crease to beat a defenseless Ouellette. The Bulldogs capped off the evening by taking advantage of a breakaway with just over a minute left to play, as a left-handed shot beat Ouellette under the stick side arm from in tight. |
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