If BGSU hockey (16-13-4, 12-10-4 CCHA) wanted to make a statement prior to the CCHA playoffs, they couldn’t have picked a better time.
On night two of the final series of the regular season against the Lake Superior State Lakers, The Falcons dominated after a scoreless opening period.
First Period:
At first glance, the box score suggests an uneventful period, and in fairness, neither team was able to find the net. Despite this, the fireworks in the Slater Family Ice Arena were obvious to anyone in attendance.
The Falcons and Lakers both failed on their power play opportunities, with LSSU holding strong through two penalties and BGSU killing their sole penalty. The Falcons led handily in shooting, outpacing the Lakers 26-18 in shots, and 17-10 in shots on goal.
Second Period:
Defenseman Ben Wozney scored the first goal of his senior season with about 7:30 to go in the second frame. Assisted by Jackson Niedermayer and Ethan Scardina.
Ben Doran would capitalize with just over two minutes remaining in the period, using a pass from Ryan O’Hara to score his ninth goal of the season. LSSU would challenge the goal, but a quick review upheld the initial call.
A bench minor penalty following the goal’s confirmation led to a Falcon power play, but the Orange and Brown were caught with too many men on the ice about a minute later, setting up a penalty kill to begin the third period, with the Falcons leading 2-0.
Third Period:
Less than 10 seconds into the final period, Lakers’ Dawson Tritt was ejected for illegal contact to the head, and the Lakers assessed a five-minute major penalty. Shortly after, a hit from Scardina led quickly to a bench scuffle. BG’s Dalton Norris received a roughing call, and LSSU’s Mike Brown received a cross-checking penalty. With forty seconds remaining on the power play, Brody Waters broke his 9-game point drought, scoring to put the Falcons up 3-0.
It was at this point that the wheels fell off for the Lakers.
O’Hara set a career-high for single-season points with 31, by scoring the Falcons’ fourth goal of the night. 24 seconds later Waters scored his second of the night, after which Lake Superior State pulled goalie Rorke Applebee, seemingly packing in the rest of the game.
Jacob Conrad found the net to prevent the Lakers from being shut out, and as the game seemed to be all but over, Lake Superior State brought the Falcons within arm’s reach. William Ahlrik found the net with 4:35 left, and just 16 seconds later Branden Piku cut the BG lead to just two.
With 2:31 remaining, LSSU pulled their goalie in favor of another skater but ultimately the Falcons held onto their lead, securing a 5-3 victory.
Takeaways:
With the win, BGSU secures a home series in the first round of the Mason Cup playoffs, playing against Michigan Tech next weekend.
First-year Head Coach Dennis Williams completes his first regular season at the helm of the Falcons with a 16-13-4 record (12-10-4 CCHA). This marks an improvement from last year’s record of 13-20-1 (11-12-1 CCHA)
Goaltender Christian Stoever allowed three goals against 24 saves in the win, bringing him to 10-2-3 on the season.
The Falcons will host the Michigan Tech Huskies in a best-of-three series in the first round of the CCHA playoffs starting next Friday.
