After claiming a commanding 4-1 victory on Friday night, BGSU hockey (7-4-3, 5-2-3) would play far from commanding hockey on Saturday night, but was still able to squeak out a 4-3 victory over Princeton University (5-4-0, 2-2-0) to complete the series sweep.
After outshooting Tigers 30-18 the night before, BG would lose the shots battle on Nov. 29 as BG could only muster 16 shots to Princeton’s 22.
Redshirt senior forward Jackson Niedermayer would start the scoring for Bowling Green on the first shot of the game. With a delayed penalty pending for Princeton for tripping junior defenseman Breck McKinley, McKinley was able to steer the puck towards Niedermayer from his stomach, which would lead to Niedermayer firing the puck past Princeton’s freshman netminder, Dan Moor, and McKinley picking up the lone assist on the play.
Sophomore forward Luc Pelletier would respond for Princeton via a shot from the slot that beat freshman goaltender Jacob Steinman. Alternate captains junior defenseman Ian Devlin and senior forward Kevin Anderson were awarded assists on the play.
Before the end of the first period, Bowling Green would retake the lead thanks to a point shot from senior forward Brett Pfoh that found its way into the net through traffic. Pfoh’s shot came directly off a faceoff win by junior forward Ben Doran, who was awarded with the lone assist on the goal.
Princeton would outshoot BG 10-5 in the second period and would control possession for much of the period.
“It’s funny how 24 hours work,” said head coach Dennis Williams. “Last night, I think I recall saying we probably played the best period of hockey I’ve seen here in my 18 months (as head coach), just to match it to the worst period of hockey I’ve seen us play in 18 months in the second period.”
This translated to the scoreboard as the Tigers would tie the game when a tight-angle shot by freshman forward Seamus Latta would be tipped in by senior defenseman Jayden Sison. Latta’s assist on the play marked the first career collegiate point in the freshman’s career.
Princeton would take the lead, and Latta would pick up an additional assist when senior forward and alternate captain Brendan Gorman would score on a breakout play to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. Along with Latta, sophomore forward Julian Facchinelli was also credited with an assist on the play.
Despite being outplayed throughout the entire period, Bowling Green was able to tie the game at three apiece before the end of the second frame thanks to a power-play goal from junior forward Tyler Hotson, which was backhanded in from a tight angle. Freshmen forward Dominik Rymon and defenseman Brayden Crampton were credited with the assists on the play.
“Our second period wasn’t great but good teams find a way to win, and we kinda weathered the storm there in the second, came out in the third and got the job done,” said Hotson.
In the third period, neither team could find the back of the net until senior forward Quinn Emerson scored on a one-timer opportunity from the slot during a power play to give the Falcons the lead and eventually the win with less than three minutes remaining in the period. Freshman forward Jérémie Minville and senior defenseman and BGSU captain Dalton Norris were awarded assists for their contributions to the play.
Princeton’s Dan Moor finished the game with 12 saves and recorded a .750 save percentage during the freshman’s first career collegiate start after making his collegiate debut on Friday night.
Steinman finished the game with a .864 save percentage after making 19 saves on the 22 shots he faced during the contest.
Other impressive efforts from the Falcons included Niedermayer, Norris, and junior forward Brody Waters, who all blocked two shots apiece. In total, seven different Falcons blocked at least one shot during the contest, with Minville, Emerson, McKinley, and senior defenseman Jack Blake all blocking one shot apiece.
Bowling Green will have another home series next weekend at the Slater Family Ice Arena as the Falcons return to CCHA play against the Northern Michigan Wildcats (0-16-0, 0-8-0).
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the call for both games on WBGU 88.1 FM and will be joined by Sean Connelly on Friday night and by Nathan Burkett on Saturday night.
