BGSU hockey (5-5-2) made some pivotal changes in preparation for their second game against conference rival Michigan Tech (7-4-1). This includes adding sophomore forwards Brandon Santa Juana and Matvei Kabanov, senior forward Brayden Krieger and senior goaltender Christian Stoever into the lineup.
“We shook up our lineup from last night, lotta new guys in, lotta guys out,” said head coach Dennis Williams after the game.
Arguably, the most impactful of the additions was goaltender Stoever, who missed the first part of the season due to a nagging injury and debuted last night. Stoever made 43 saves and had a .956 save percentage before having to leave the contest in the third period with an injury.
Sophomore goaltender Cole Moore did not concede a single goal after stepping in. Moore made 12 saves, including three in overtime and an additional two stops in the shootout.
The first period didn’t feature any goals from the other side but did display new energy from the Falcon team that wasn’t present the night before.
Coach Williams started a line featuring Krieger and Santa Juana at the wings and freshman forward Johannes Løkkeberg at center. This line had a superb opening shift full of physicality, hard forechecking, and a handful of scoring chances.
“They came out and gave us a spark we needed; we were missing that yesterday. I was real happy with their game,” said Coach Williams after the game.
This tone would carry over to the 2nd period when BG got a powerplay opportunity off a Michigan Tech too-many-men penalty. Less than 15 seconds into the powerplay, junior defenseman Dalton Norris scored from a nice passing play that was set up by senior forward Ryan O’Hara and sophomore Brody Waters.
Later in the second period, freshman forward Maxwell Martin would score a powerplay goal of his own after a puck took a lucky bounce off the boards and right to Martin’s stick while Huskie’s goalie Derek Mullahy was behind the net intending to play the puck. O’Hara and Norris were credited with assists on the play.
Michigan Tech would respond in the third period when they scored two goals only 22 seconds apart to tie the game. The first goal was a display of junior forward Stiven Sardarian’s incredible skill level as he skated around patiently before firing the puck past Stoever. Assists were awarded to freshman defenseman Rylan Brown and sophomore forward Max Koskipirtti.
Tech’s second goal was by sophomore forward Isaac Gordon off an odd-man rush due to a Bowling Green turnover in the defensive zone. Freshman forward, Elias Jansson set up the play and was credited with an assist.
Both teams created quality scoring chances throughout overtime, but neither team was able to fully capitalize on the opportunities.
Waters and Brett Pfoh both scored on their chances in the shootout, while Moore turned away Brown and Sardarian, giving BG the shootout win and the extra point.
Next week, the Falcons will travel to Mankato, Minnesota, to challenge Minnesota State at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the call for both games on WBGU 88.1 FM.
