BGSU hockey (11-7-2) (7-4-2 in CCHA) narrowly defeated the Bemidji State Beavers (8-10-3) (5-6-2 in CCHA) 4-3 in overtime Friday evening at the Slater Ice Arena to start their two-game series. The matchup was the first of four the two schools will have with each other this season.
There was an unusually high number of empty seats around the main two sides of the arena in Friday’s contest. This may have had something to do with the snowstorm that hit northwest Ohio Friday evening, leaving severely icy and dangerous roads in Bowling Green that labeled the area under a winter weather advisory.
However, unlike the snowstorm, the Orange and Brown are scorching hot right now. Friday’s win was their sixth in a row.
Bowling Green and Bemidji State have historically matched up very evenly. The Falcons now have a slight edge with a 21-19-3 record all-time against the Beavers. Last season, however, Bowling Green got swept by Bemidji State on the road in Minnesota.
The Falcons headed into the game in fourth place in the CCHA, three games back from first place and one game behind third-place Michigan Tech. The Beavers were in sixth place in the conference heading into Friday night and on a three-game skid.
1st Period:
Bowling Green’s starting lineup included senior goaltender Christian Stoever, grad student defenseman Tommy Pasanen, junior defenseman Dalton Norris, grad student center Ethan Scardina, junior right-wing Quinn Emerson and freshman left wing Maxwell Martin.
The starting lineup was quickly altered though as Pasanen got called for a two-minute slashing penalty just 33 seconds into the first period. During the power play, Bemidji State accumulated 2 shots on goal, one of which was missed wide of the net, and the other was blocked nicely by grad student left-wing Seth Fyten.
“I thought our defense played well. They capitalized on a couple of things but overall we didn’t give much up,” Assistant Coach Curtis Carr said postgame.
On the other side of the ice, the Falcons struck first with a goal scored by sophomore center Ben Doran with 10:22 left on the clock. The goal was Doran’s sixth of the season and was assisted by Arizona State transfer, senior right-wing Jackson Niedermayer, his second of the season.
The goal infused some energy into the small crowd at the “Madhouse on Mercer.” The Falcons then began to push the puck in their offensive zone often throughout the rest of the quarter.
This strong puck possession combined with the Falcon’s strong opening-period defense resulted in a period shutout for Stoever and an 11-7 faceoff advantage for Bowling Green. Most importantly, the Orange and Brown held a 1-0 lead at the end of one.
2nd Period:
Junior forward, Kirklan Irey, got the Beavers on the board with a goal just 45 seconds into the period, off an opening faceoff win. The goal was Irey’s ninth of the season, which is by far the most goals on the team. The goal was assisted by sophomore forward Noah Quinn. This was Quinn’s first collegiate assist.
The momentum continued to shift Bemidji State’s way as Bowling Green’s sophomore defenseman Gustav Stjernberg got called for a two-minute interference penalty shortly after the Irey goal was scored.
However, the Falcons power play defense was once again perfect. Stoever had 2 saves on the power play and Quinn Emerson had 2 blocks.
As the second period went on into the middle stages, the Beavers began to take control of the puck more and more often and had a 12 to eight shot-on-goal lead by the 5-minute mark.
Bowling Green assistant coach Curtis Carr commented post-game on the Beaver’s ability to take control of the puck throughout the game and the Falcon’s lack of offensive zone possession time.
“Having the puck a little bit more in their zone, being able to control it, getting into kind of our structure offensively, and being able to wear them down. We’re going to look at that tonight and try and make some adjustments for tomorrow,” Coach Carr said.
The game remained tied at one a piece at the end of 2 periods, with both teams playing extremely comparable. Both teams’ goalies were playing solid with Stoever having nine saves and Bemidji State senior goaltender Mattias Sholl saving seven goals. Both defenses were aggressive and suffocating and each team scored a 1 v 1 goal in open space by star players. The game was set up to be a showdown in the third period.
3rd Period:
Like the starts of the other two periods, Bowling Green quickly got a penalty called against them. This time, Maxwell Martin was the culprit with a two-minute roughing penalty.
However, unlike the other two periods, Bemidji State finally capitalized on the power play with a quick slapshot goal by Junior center Reilly Funk. The goal was Funk’s sixth of the season, and it was assisted by Kirklan Irey and Junior right wing Adam Flammang. This was Irey’s ninth assist of the season and Flammang’s third.
All air was sucked out of the Slater Ice Arena as the fans went dead silent. But not for long! Immediately after the Falcons got back to full strength, less than a minute after the Funk goal, Falcons senior right wing Owen Ozar scored his first goal and point of the season. The goal was unassisted and shot directly in front of the net to tie the game at two.
“Willie (Coach Dennis Williams) talks a lot about being even keel so that we’re staying not too high and not too low. We gave up a goal and gave up the lead, but we knew we just had to keep pushing,” Ozar said postgame.
A few minutes later, Bowling Green got yet another penalty called against them, this time it was a two-minute goalkeeper interference called on senior captain left wing Ryan O’Hara. The Falcon’s defense went back to their stifling ways and only let a single shot on goal during the power play, improving their power play defense to three out of four on the night.
Similar to the previous goal, the Orange and Brown scored yet again immediately after they were back at full strength. A face-off win by junior center Jaden Grant was passed off to Stjernberg for the goal, giving the Falcons a 3-2 lead with eight minutes to go in the game. This was Stjernberg’s 3rd goal of the season and Grant’s 2nd assist of the year.
From the eight to the two-minute mark, the Falcons defense was fantastic. However, the Beavers pulled their goalie with under two minutes to go in the game and they began an offensive onslaught on Bowling Green.
Bemidji State gained six shots on goal before tying the game up on a Flammang goal with just 44 seconds left in regulation. The goal was Flammang’s 2nd of the year, and it was assisted by Funk and senior center Jere Vaisanen. This was Funk’s sixth assist of the season and Vaisanen’s seventh assist. The score remained at three a piece and the game was sent to overtime.
Overtime:
With three minutes left in overtime, Doran got a steal and looked like he had an opportunity for a breakaway goal. However, he slipped and fell before shooting the puck.
Despite this mistake, a minute later, Falcons captain O’Hara scored the game-winning overtime goal. The goal was assisted by Grant and it gave the Falcons an impressive 4-3 overtime win.
With Michigan Tech losing on Friday to Lake Superior State, Bowling Green is now in third place in the CCHA and on its longest winning streak of the season.
Game-winning goal scorer and senior captain, O’Hara, commented postgame on how the team will remain focused amidst this streak.
“We’re focused on becoming a great team and there’s going to be more ups and downs. Right now, we’re lucky enough that we’re in an upswing but that doesn’t mean we can take our foot off the gas,” O’Hara said.
Bowling Green will look to complete the sweep against Bemidji State on Saturday at 7:07 p.m. at the Slater Ice Arena.
The game will feature Schools Night and Autograph Night. You can listen to the game on WBGU with Falcon Media’s Ben Corak and Sean Connelly on the call.
