The Falcons started off their regular season schedule by travelling to Troy, New York to take on the Rensselaer PI Engineers in two matches on Oct. 8 and 9.
To start the game, the Falcons jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a first period power play goal from Nathan Burke.
The team then fell behind early in the third period on two consecutive RPI goals during minutes 2:04 and 5:48 in the period.
The score was evened out only two minutes later by Adam Conquest to make the score 2-2. The game ended in a tie after overtime failed to decide the contest.
BGSU goaltender Zack Rose received the draw after allowing only two goals on 26 shots.
The two teams returned to the ice on the next day, where the Falcons struck early once again, with a goal from sophomore Ethan Scardina just over five and a half minutes into the game.
RPI tied the game at the 10:23 mark in the first with a power play goal courtesy of a slashing penalty from Falcon forward Sam Craggs.
Burke struck in this game as well, scoring with 2:03 left in the second period to put BG back on top. But RPI tied the game in the third, sending the teams to overtime for the second consecutive game.
Burke was the Falcons’ hero of the night after he scored the game-winning goal, his second goal of the night, just under two minutes into the overtime period.
RPI has historically had a strong hockey program, with two national titles and nine NCAA tournament appearances. Time will tell if this strong early season showing against a formidable opponent will translate to prolonged success for this Falcon team as we head into conference play soon.
