It was a hard fought weekend for the BG hockey team in New York, as they earned ties against two teams in the national spotlight. On Friday, they were able to earn a tie at No. 11 Cornell (1-1) and then Saturday they tied at Colgate (2-2), who is just outside the national top 15.

“We knew it was going to be a tough trip and wanted to see how our guys would hold up,” head coach Scott Paluch said. “And to come out of it with two ties in these environments, we take that and build off that.”

In Friday night’s game, the Falcons were able to start the game with a power-play chance right off the bat and took advantage of the opportunity. Steve Brudzewski got his third goal of the season off a deflection of Taylor Christie’s shot from the top of the crease to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead just 1:35 into the game. BG was the more aggressive team in the period, despite trailing 10-6 in shots and was able to kill off three penalties.

Cornell answered back though with just four seconds remaining in the period, as Cam Abbott put in a rebound on the power-play to even the game at 1-1.

The power-play goal ended a streak of 39 straight penalty-kills for the Falcons that covered 6 games. Cornell controlled the second period getting 10 shots on goal to only two for the Falcons. The Big Red held the puck in the Falcon zone for most of the period, but Jordan Sigalet came up big for the Falcons getting 10 saves in the period.

The two teams both ended the final period with 16 shots apiece, but Sigalet and Big Red goaltender David McKee came up big and kept the game tied at 1-1.

In the five minute overtime, Cornell was the only team to get a shot off as the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

“I thought it was a terrific college hockey game,” Paluch said.

“Cornell plays so well in the offensive zone. I thought our guys were pretty patient. I thought our guys held up well against a top team in the country.”

Sigalet had 36 saves in the game and McKee finished with 23, as the Falcons were out-shot 37-24. The Falcons went 1-4 on the power-play and the Big Red went 1-6.

On Saturday afternoon, the Falcons played the Raiders of Colgate and once again were able to take an early lead. Mark Wires got his fifth goal of the year off a rebound at 8:19 of the first period to give BG a 1-0 lead. Jonathan Sigalet and Ryan Minnabarriet got assists on the goal.

In the second period, Colgate tied the game at 1-1 off a goal by Kyle Doyle at 516 in off the power-play. Colgate out-shot the Falcons 11-5 in the period, as they were out-shot by the Falcons 15-5 in the first.

Ryan Barnett got his first goal of the season at 8:16 into the final period to give BG a 2-1 lead. Minnabarriet got his second assist on the night and Don Morrison was also credited for an assist on the goal. Colgate answered back though almost four minutes later to tie it at 2-2 off a goal by Jon Smyth.

Colgate had a 5-1 shot advantage in the overtime, but Sigalet and Raiders goalie Steve Silverthorn kept it tied at 2-2.

BG had a 31-26 shot advantage for the game, as Sigalet had 24 saves and Silverthorn had 29. The Falcons went 0-3 on the power-play and the Raiders went 1-5.

“Coming back from a hard-fought tie the night before, I thought our guys did a good job of turning around and getting ready for a 3 p.m. game today,” Paluch said.

Sigalet talked about how big of a weekend it was for the team to get the two points on the road.

“It was a huge weekend for us because we played two really good teams and one nationally ranked team,” Sigalet said. “We didn’t win the games, but getting the points is huge. Getting two of four points is good.”

The Falcons’ record is now 3-5-5 on the year, as they get ready to head up to Western Michigan on Tuesday night.