BGSU hockey (6-7-2) played the Northern Michigan University Wildcats (1-15-1) on Friday night in a game where the scoreboard doesn’t tell the full story.
Senior Goaltender Christian Stoever returned to the lineup from an injury and played lights out all night for the Falcons, making 24 saves in a shutout performance.
“Whenever you have a guy like Christian Stoever in net, the guys have confidence,” said teammate Quinn Emerson during postgame, “Without him, I don’t think we get that win.”
The first period of play featured very little action, as much of the gameplay consisted of dump-and-chase hockey from both teams.
In the second frame, Bowling Green played with a fire and passion that has been missing at times throughout the season. BG obtained momentum and never looked back, outshooting the Wildcats 16-4 in the second period while creating prime scoring chances galore.
Sophomore forward Ben Doran was able to capitalize on one of those prime scoring chances after a pass from Doran that was intended for senior forward Ryan O’Hara was inadvertently kicked in by NMU defenseman Jakob Peterson. Junior forward Quinn Emerson was credited with an assist on the play.
Bowling Green’s next and only other goal would come in the final minutes of the third period when junior forward Jaden Grant made a selfless pass to Emerson for the tap-in on an empty net. Graduate student forward Ville Immonen also assisted in the play.
Northern Michigan’s senior goaltender Ryan Ouellette was the only force preventing BG from having an absolute scoring frenzy. Ouellette made 31 saves, including multiple that seemed nearly impossible as he recorded a .969 save percentage.
Despite the win, the Falcons are hungry for more. “We need to play way better tomorrow, way better and dominant,” said Emerson after the game.
The Orange and Brown will have their opportunity to play way better and more dominant tonight as they will play their second game of the series against Northern Michigan at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
Join Falcon Media Sports Network’s Nathan Burkett at 6:45 for pregame and 7:00 for puck drop on WBGU 88.1 FM.
