It has been said that hockey is really just a game of goaltending. Famous goalies like Hendrik Lundqvist, Carey Price, Dominik Hasek, and Patrick Roy rose to fame by almost single-handedly carrying their teams to wins and championships.
Last night’s game between Bowling Green(12-9-3, 8-6-3) and Augustana (14-7-2, 6-3-0) was certainly an example of how, despite the sport being in an era of high scorelines and scoring records being broken, goaltenders are still the true difference-makers.
BG’s senior goaltender Christian Stoever and Augustana’s sophomore goaltender Josh Kotai are both among the best goalies in college hockey and rank very highly among the NCAA in almost all statistics. The two goaltending stars certainly put on a show for the fans in attendance.
Kotai secured a shutout after stopping all 33 shots he was challenged with. This marks Kotai’s third shutout of the season which ties him with Minnesota State’s Alex Tracy for the most in the CCHA.
Stoever made 34 saves before finally conceding a goal in overtime. He can hold his head high because he recorded a .971 save percentage and would have claimed a shutout if the game had ended in regulation.
“It’s just kinda one of those games where you put pucks on the net and somehow [Kotai] finds them,” said BG’s co-captain Ethan Scardina. “He [Kotai] got lucky and he played well; same with [Stoever] obviously, two really good goalies”
“He’s [Stoever] been good. Even tonight he made some really big saves at times, key saves”, said Coach Dennis Williams about his goaltender’s performance.
While fans of goaltending were treated to a game that featured 67 saves between the two goalies, fans of goal-scoring weren’t as happy.
The only goal of the game came in overtime when Augustana’s Hayden Hennen scored from the high slot to secure a victory for the Vikings. Junior forward Colton Friesen was given the lone assist on the play.
The gameplay was back and forth all game, with neither team being able to hold on to momentum for long periods.
Additional Falcons who played well despite the outcome were the defensive pairing of sophomore Gustav Stjernberg and junior Dalton Norris. Stjernberg tallied five shots on goal throughout the contest, with Norris piling on an additional four. Both also laid multiple hits throughout all three periods and continued to play the defensive sound game they’ve become known for.
Bowling Green will look for a response in tonight’s game as they once again take on Augustana at the Slater Family Ice Arena to complete the only series between the two teams this season.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Nathan Burkett will have the call starting at 6:45 pm on WBGU 88.1 FM.
