BGSU Hockey swept the RPI Engineers on Thursday and Friday, winning 3-1 in game one, before putting on an offensive show in game two, 5-2.

Here’s how the weekend happened.

Game One

The first 10 minutes of the game for BG saw lots of chances but no goals. That was until halfway through the period, when Ryan O’Hara skated into the zone, found fellow sophomore Austen Swankler with nifty puck control, and beat the goaltender, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Engineers freshman Jakob Lee was sent to the box for roughing, putting BG on the powerplay. A minute into the power play, the Falcons would capitalize as Swankler’s pass would find Ethan Scardina on the right side of the net, beating the RPI netminder five hole. 

Around three minutes later, the Engineers cut the lead in half as TJ Walsh would connect with a crashing Mason Klee, who beat Christian Stoever, making the game 2-1 with five minutes left in the opening frame. 

The crazy goal-scoring first would not hold up in the second, as both Stoever and Carson Cherepak went on a shutout streak from five minutes left in the first to the final five minutes of the game, an impressive 35 minutes of scoreless play.

O’Hara put the final nail in the coffin when Swankler stole the puck and found O’Hara to complete a 3-1 victory. 

It was a great game for the Falcon sophomores, as Stoever saved 31 of the 32 shots he faced. Swankler scored in his third straight game with a three-point night—one goal and two assists, with O’Hara adding a goal and an assist.

Game Two 

Game two did not start off the way the Falcons wanted, as RPI took an early one-goal lead. That goal came from Engineer freshman John Evans, who beat a diving Cristian Stoever off a beautiful feed from Brendan Budy.

Less than four minutes later, RPI doubled their lead as the passing shined again. T.J. Walsh found a crashing Austin Heidemann to make it 2-0 by beating a diving Stoever once again.

This forced Falcons coach Ty Eigner to call a timeout only six minutes and five seconds into the game to calm his team down. This would work, as RPI would be contained after the break.

With just over four minutes remaining in the period, BG went on the power play as Sutter Muzzatti was called for boarding. A minute into the powerplay, BG scored as Taylor Schneider threw a puck in front, finding fifth-year forward Chase Gresock, who cut the Engineer lead in half. 

BG tied the game just over seven minutes into the second period. Christian Stoever sent the puck all the way to the other end of the ice, finding Quinn Emerson, who passed it to Nathan Burke, making the game 2-2. This was goalie Christain Stoever’s first collegiate point.

Both teams came into the final frame tied at two apiece. That wasn’t for long, however, as Ryan O’Hara, 39 seconds in, scored while falling, giving the Falcons their first lead of the game.

O’Hara was not done there, as RPI’s Muzzatti was called for another boarding, this time a major. O’Hara capitalized on this man advantage after Austen Swankler’s pass found his stick, resulting in the puck finding the back of the net. This play also extended Swankler’s point streak to 12 games.

Two minutes later, fifth-year Zach Vinell would be called for interference, giving Jakob Lee a penalty shot. Stoever would stand tall, however, saving the shot.

With around six minutes left in the game, BG would score one last goal as a beautiful passing play from Barber to Burke to Schneider would end the game at 5-2 in favor of the orange and brown.

That last goal made Barber the 75th Falcon to earn 100 collegiate points, which made head coach Ty Eigner so proud of his captain.

“I’m really happy for Alex,” Eigner said. “I believe someone asked me about him and another player getting close; are we okay with having a graphic on the board? The answer was yes, we are proud of those accomplishments… ‘He is a guy who bleeds brown and orange and believes in what we are doing.”

The Falcons will take the ice once again on Jan. 6 against the Lake Superior  State Lakers, with puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m. at the Slater Family Ice Arena.

For more information about the team, visit the Athletics Department website.