The No. 18-ranked Bulldogs ended 2010 with a loss, but earned a tie to ring in 2011 at the 20th annual Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis, Minn.

Ferris and tour­na­ment host No. 19-ranked Minnesota bat­tled to a 2–2 over­time tie on the first day of 2011. Ferris sopho­more right wing Matthew Kirzinger knocked in his third goal of the sea­son after the Bulldogs took advan­tage of good puck move­ment to set up Kirzinger for the goal and jump to a 1–0 lead just 4:09 into the game.

Minnesota knot­ted the score at 1–1 when Jake Hansen scored on a rebound off of a stop by Ferris senior goalie Pat Nagle at the end of the first period. Nagle had 32 saves on the night and is fourth in the NCAA in goals against aver­age at 1.84 goals per game. (more…)

The Ferris State women’s bas­ket­ball team fell in the sec­ond game of the Lady Bulldogs Holiday Classic after win­ning by dou­ble dig­its in the open­ing contest.

The Bulldogs of Bowie State University hosted the four-team tour­na­ment in Bowie, Md.

Ferris is 6–6 over­all after split­ting its two games in Maryland.

The Bulldogs fell 63–60 to host Bowie State in the tournament’s final game on December 30. Ferris led 44–37 with 12:30 left to play, but an 8–0 run by Bowie State changed the momen­tum. FSU fresh­man guard Sarah DeShone missed a poten­tial game-tying 3-pointer as time expired as Bowie State held on.

Ferris senior guard/forward Tiara Adams tal­lied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Juniors Kelsey DeNoyelles and Tricia Principe added 16 and 12 points respec­tively for Ferris.

Ferris defeated the Virginia Union Panthers 69–43 in its first game of the tour­na­ment on December 29.

The Bulldogs opened up a 38–13 lead at half­time behind 46.7 per­cent shoot­ing from the field as a team. Ferris forced 17 first-half turnovers and held the Panthers to 24 per­cent shooting.

The Bulldogs and Panthers traded bas­kets in the sec­ond half, but Ferris held a 20-point or larger lead through­out the rest of the contest.

Principe led the Bulldog offense with 19 points, includ­ing 5 for 8 shoot­ing from behind the 3-point line. Adams added 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs return to action on Jan. 6 at home against Lake Superior State. Ferris is 2–4 in GLIAC play through six con­fer­ence games this season.