Falcon’s find Valentine’s Day loss against USA Hockey
The Falcons (15-11-4) spent their Valentine’s Day Friday night in Plymouth, Michigan, to face off against the US Hockey National Team Development Program (19-22-2) at the USA Hockey Arena. BGSU fell short in the contest, suffering a 6-4 loss.
The scoring started early in the first period on the other side, with USNTDP forward Jacob Kvasnicka finding the back of the net just under two minutes into the game.
The Falcons quickly gained possession of the puck with two shots on goal before BGSU sophomore defenseman Nick O’Hanisain miraculously tied up the game only three minutes later.
The Orange and Brown continued to find themselves more possessive of the puck in the first period, as they had a continuous lead on shots on goal, with USNTDP slowly creeping behind, 9-7, by the end of the first period.
Starting the second period of the game, USA defenseman Donny Bracco got the puck past Falcon sophomore goalie Cole Moore, giving the USNTDP a 2-1 lead.
Team USA kept possession of the puck after Bracco’s goal, adding to their shots on goal before forward LJ Mooney scored against BGSU, making the score 3-1.
The Falcons would quickly overtake this possession as they gained six shots on goal before junior forward Brett Pfoh passed the puck to graduate forward Ethan Scardina, who shot the puck into USA’s net, cutting BG’s deficit to 3-2 with five minutes left in the second period.
The tension between the two teams seemed to rise by the end of the second period. Both teams had players enter the penalty box: Falcon junior defenseman Dalton Norris for roughing and USA forward Richard Gallant for holding.
The action did not stop there for these teams, even with the period coming to an end. With two minutes left in the period, USNTDP forward Conrad Fondrk scored on the Orange and Brown, extending their lead to 4-2.
Tensions were high coming into the third period. Both teams, once again, had players sent to the box barely a minute into the period. Following these penalties, USA forward Jack Murtagh would score against the Falcons, expanding the lead to 5-2.
As both teams fought for possession of the puck, both Team USA and BGSU would yet again find players going into the box for minor penalties not even a minute after the first set of penalties were called in the last period of this tension-filled game.
Team USA defenseman Charlie Tretheway would be sent to the dressing rooms due to a game misconduct penalty after grabbing a Falcon’s facemask after another fight broke out on the ice, where another set of penalties would be given to Falcon senior forward Owen Ozar and USA’s Gallant for cross-checking.
BGSU’s possession of the puck for the last few minutes of the period would be strong, staying down at Team USA’s side of the ice with five shots on goal. Falcon sophomore forward Matvei Kabanov would try and successfully make the sixth shot on goal, making it into the net and cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Fondrk would make his second goal of the night for Team USA, but the Falcons would quickly fly in for a quick recovery of the puck, landing a goal in the net by freshman forward Adam Zlnka, making the score 6-4 with 20 seconds left in the game.
Although the Orange and Brown lost by two goals, they led in shots on goal (31-23).
Next week, BGSU hockey will travel to Minnesota to face the Bemidji State Beavers at the Sanford Center on Friday at 8:07 p.m., and Saturday at 7:07 p.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the call of both games on WBGU 88.1 FM.
