We have all heard the phrase, It is better to be lucky rather than good.
Last night, St. Thomas represented both the lucky and the good.
The Tommies used a fast first period to throw BG off balance early, eventually leading to a 4-1 victory at Slater Family Ice Arena Friday night.
Bowling Green came out in a stunning way against the Tommies, recording 12 shots on goal before St. Thomas registered one, finishing the period 15-9 in shots on the goaltender.
The Falcons controlled the majority of the position spurred by Josh Nodler, winning six unanswered faceoffs, and continued the pressure with constant hits and fore-checking, making it inhabitable for St. Thomas on the ice.
Such great momentum was halted with the first shot on goal for the Tommies, a goal by Liam Malmquist after what fans, referees, and even head coach Ty Eigner expressed as an unbelievable ricochet off the base of the boards, catching Christian Stoever behind the goal, allowing the puck to trickle to Malmquist for an easy tap in.
“Unfortunately, a bad bounce on our penalty kill,” said Eigner in his postgame presser. “It’s not anybody’s fault, the puck was hardly moving it was going right back out to the front and the next thing you know you are down one nothing.”
Later in the same period, a near collision by two BG players resulted in a loose puck, a one-on-one scenario for Cooper Gay against Stoever, and another goal for the Tommies.
“The momentum we built in the first 10 minutes got taken away pretty quick,” said Eigner.
That statement was certainly true regarding the energy in the arena dissipating, as it was a 3-0 game going into the first intermission after a cross-pass goal by Malmquist, his second on the day.
A lone goal by BG’s Jaden Grant was the only point for the Falcons, as it came less than a minute into the second period.
Late in the third period, the Tommies ended the night with an empty-netter to make things 4-1, the eventual final score.
St. Thomas proved their worth of taking the next step in their program’s turnaround, creating all sorts of problems for BG all night long.
Yet both Eigner and forward Jaden Grant remained optimistic about their odds tomorrow.
“We are really good at bouncing back,” said Grant. “We are good at keeping each other accountable on the bench and making sure we have that next goal mentality.”
With some luck that next goal will come in their next game against St. Thomas at 7:07 p.m. in Slater Family Ice Arena as the Falcons still seek their first conference win of the CCHA regular season.
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