BGSU hockey (0-1-0) started their regular season with a 2-0 loss on the road against Niagara University (2-0-0).
The Falcons had multiple freshmen skate in their first career games as forwards Dominik Rymon, Noah Morneau, Connor Levis, Jake Sloan and Jérémie Minville and defenseman Brayden Crampton all made their respective collegiate debuts during the game.
Additionally, junior forward Tyler Hotson and junior defenseman Rihards Simanovičs both made their debuts for the Orange and Brown after transferring from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Miami (OH), respectively.
The first period saw the two teams remain tied at 0-0 despite Niagara outshooting BG 8-3.
Niagara would start the scoring in the second period when freshman forward Maxim Muranov scored his first career collegiate goal after taking advantage of a one-on-one opportunity with Bowling Green’s junior goaltender Cole Moore following a turnover by BG in the neutral zone. Junior forward Declan McDonnell and sophomore defenseman Ray Murakami were credited with assists on the play.
Muranov would strike again later in the second period to give the Purple Eagles a two-goal lead. Muranov scored off a rebound opportunity after a shot by senior defenseman Mitchell Becker rang off the post and directly to Muranov, who buried the opportunity past Moore. Becker and Sophomore forward Andy Reist were credited with the assists on the play.
BGSU outshot NU 11-2 in the third period and finished the game leading the shot battle 26-20. BGSU also had three power play opportunities during the game, all within the third period.
Despite their strong third period, the Falcons couldn’t crack sophomore goaltender Deivs Rolovs, who turned away all 26 of the Falcons’ shots en route to achieving his first career collegiate shutout and a 2-0 victory for Niagara.
Moore, despite the loss, also had a strong effort as the junior netmender made 18 saves and recorded a .900 save percentage by the end of the contest. While Moore conceded two goals, both of them could be attributed to defensive lapses by his Bowling Green teammates as opposed to mistakes by Moore.
Multiple BG players had noteworthy performances despite the final score.
Brayden Crampton, in his first collegiate game, led the team in shots on goal with four. Minville and Hotson, along with senior forward Brett Pfoh and junior forward Brody Waters, all had three shots on goal apiece.
On the defensive side of the puck, nine different Falcons had at least one blocked shot, with sophomore defenseman Ivan Korodiuk leading the team with four. Korodiuk was seconded by senior defenseman Jack Blake, who had two blocked shots of his own.
The Falcon penalty kill also had a solid game, killing off all three of Niagara’s three power play opportunities, including a five-on-three NU power play in the first period.
Head Coach Dennis Williams and the Orange and Brown will look for a better result next game as they continue their weekend series against the Niagara University Purple Eagles at NU’s Dwyer Arena on Oct. 11. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM with puck drop scheduled for 5 p.m.
