BGSU hockey (6-4-3, 5-2-3) kicked off its weekend series against the Princeton University Tigers (5-3-0, 2-2-0) with a commanding 4-1 victory in front of a large crowd at the Slater Family Ice Arena on Nov. 28.
Despite being the first time the two teams played each other since 2010, the Falcons and Tigers showed a lot of animosity, with big hits being abundant throughout the game.
BGSU would strike early with senior forward and alternate captain Jaden Grant banging in a rebound opportunity just one minute and 36 seconds into the game. Sophomore forward Max Martin and freshman forward Jérémie Minville were credited with the assists on the play.
Grant’s tally would be the only goal of the first period as BGSU outshot Princeton 10-7 in the first frame of play.
Despite being outshot, Princeton seemed to create more scoring chances than the Falcons in the first period, but was unable to convert their chances to shots on goal thanks to the strong defensive effort of the Orange and Brown.
BGSU would score early in the second as well after a pass from Martin found freshman forward Connor Levis wide open on the back door just over three minutes into the second period. Levis promptly backhanded the puck into the net to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead with assists going to Martin and junior defenseman Breck McKinley.
Just 74 seconds later, freshman forward Dominik Rymon beat Princeton’s junior goaltender Conor Callaghan to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. The lone assist on the play was credited to senior defenseman and Bowling Green’s captain Dalton Norris.
Halfway through the second period, BG would be tasked with killing off a major penalty following a five-minute major and game misconduct being called against sophomore defenseman Ivan Korodiuk for boarding. Korodiuk was kicked out of the game, forcing the Falcons to play with only five defensemen for the rest of the game.
The BGSU penalty kill would not only kill off the entirety of the five-minute major without conceding a goal, but would also hold Princeton’s power play to just two shots, thanks in large part to strong defensive performances, including a key blocked shot by Levis.
In total, nine different Falcons blocked shots throughout the course of the game, with Levis leading the team with two.
“Having a big penalty kill is just, it brings a lot of momentum for us, and he’s (Levis) a big part of that. Obviously, a big block there on that five-minute penalty kill,” said sophomore goaltender Tyler Palmer. “We were able to generate a ton of momentum off of that five-minute kill, so it’s big.”
Following the major penalty, almost as if to show the momentum that his team had gained from killing off the major penalty, junior forward Tyler Hotson would fire a shot from the slot past Callaghan for the Falcons’ fourth straight goal and third goal of the period. Junior forward Ben Doran, along with Norris, was credited with the assists on the play.
Following Hotson’s goal, Princeton pulled Callaghan in favor of freshman goaltender Dan Moor. Callaghan finished the game having made 15 saves and posted a .789 save percentage.
After taking over for Callaghan, Moor would save all 11 shots he faced in his collegiate debut.
Bowling Green finished the second period having outscored Princeton 3-0 while also outshooting the Tigers 14-2.
“The second was by far the best period, in my whole time here,” said head coach Dennis Williams.
Junior forward Kai Daniells would score the lone goal of the third period and Princeton’s lone goal of the game with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Sophomore defenseman Kai Greaves and junior defenseman Ian Devlin were credited with assists on the play.
Palmer finished the game for the Falcons, having made 17 saves and posted a .944 save percentage in the game.
Despite students still being on break for Thanksgiving, the Falcons were still able to draw a large crowd with over 3,000 fans in attendance at the Slater.
“It was pretty surreal, actually,” said Levis. “I think our whole team didn’t really know what to expect cause obviously we were missing a lot of people with Thanksgiving, but it was a great turnout. When we have fans like that in the stands, that really contributes to our success as well because we want to play as hard as we can for them. Very thankful for them to have come out today and support us.”
Bowling Green will look to claim a series sweep over Princeton tonight, Nov. 29, as they return to action at the Slater Family Ice Arena with puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Daniel Ridenour will have the call on WBGU 88.1 FM.
