BGSU hockey (5-3-1, 2-0-1 CCHA) finished off their third straight victory in a tight, well-played match from both sides that took a penalty shootout to decide it, as junior defenseman Jack Blake slotted in the shootout-winning penalty, giving the Orange and Brown two points while leaving St. Thomas (2-5-3, 1-2-2 CCHA) with just one point.
St. Thomas would strike early on a puck left on the doorstep a bit too long, allowing senior forward Matthew Gleason to get his fourth goal of the year, putting the Tommies up early in the first period.
Brett Pfoh would get the grandest of opportunities to even up the game after a roughing penalty from Gleason awards a penalty shot for Pfoh, who would slot it into the back of the net, making good use of the opportunity and bringing the game back to 1-1 towards the end of the first period.
The Tommies would rebound at the beginning of the second period, which counts as a power play thanks to a BG hitting from-behind penalty at the end of the first period. It was the assister of the opening goal, junior Cooper Gay, who took a shot from Ryan O’Neill, took control of the rebound right in front of the net, and slotted it for his fifth goal of the year.
Missed opportunities combined with fantastic defense kept the Falcons with the deficit in a 2-1 score after the second period, as 20 shots on goal for the Falcons compared to 18 for the Tommies showed that the opportunities were there, they just weren’t going through.
Many of those opportunities came on three first half power plays, but BG was 0-3 in those 10 minutes while St. Thomas scored on one of their four power plays.
The Falcons finally scored an equalizing goal with just under nine minutes left in the third. Breck McKinley scored his first goal of the year on the fifth power play, which turned out to be the lucky one after they failed to convert on the first four.
Despite three shots in the final three minutes of the third period, BG would be unable to get the game-winning goal ahead of overtime, as the Falcons and the Tommies played an even and intense three periods of hockey.
After both teams failed to put one in the net in overtime, the game headed to a penalty shootout, where Blake would break a long deadlock by scoring the shootout’s game-winning goal.
It was a great game from the goalies on both sides of St. Thomas Ice Arena, as BG’s Cole Moore allowed only two goals on 28 shots, good for a .929 save percentage, his fifth above a .900 this season, while St. Thomas goaltender Jake Sibell allowed two from 33 shots on goal, good for a .939 save percentage, besting Moore.
Bowling Green, now 2-0-1 in the CCHA, sit in third place with eight points.
The Falcons play game two of the weekend series against the Tommies on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:07 p.m.
