BGSU hockey (14-6-6, 11-4-3) took on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-18-3, 1-13) at a sold-out Slater Family Ice Arena on Saturday night. The game was tied 2-2 and went to overtime, but that wasn’t enough to decide a winner. Following overtime, they went into a shootout, which Notre Dame won,
“I thought tonight especially was a different game; we handled the puck better and created more offensive opportunities,” said head coach Dennis Williams after the game’s conclusion.
Bowling Green was very aggressive, recording 50 shots and winning 35 faceoffs. Their defense played well, with 13 blocks and freshman goalie Jacob Steinman having 25 saves.
The Falcons opened the first period strongly, scoring their first goal in under five minutes. Freshman forward Jeremie Minville was responsible for the goal, with his third goal of the season putting Bowling Green in the lead 1-0. The sold-out crowd exploded, and their excitement was palpable.
“For every fan showing up tonight, we thank them. It was our goal to have a good start and to put that one in during the first period; it was huge for us,” said Minville postgame.
The first period was filled with penalties for both sides. Notre Dame sent three players to the penalty box, two for cross-checking and one for interference.
The Falcons didn’t play clean either, with junior defenseman Gustav Stjernberg guilty of holding and senior forward Quinn Emerson guilty of cross-checking.
Notre Dame wasted no time in the second period to score their first goal. After only 1:01 off the clock, junior forward Evan Werner scored the Irish’s first goal, tying the game at 1-1. The energy from the crowd died down a little after the goal, leaving many fans nervous.
ND took control of the second period, with graduate student Sutter Muzzatti scoring a goal, pushing the Fighting Irish out in front 2-1.
With only nine seconds left in the period, the Orange and Brown found some much-needed momentum. Freshman defenseman Brayden Crampton scored a goal, his third of the season, tying up the game 2-2 right before the final period.
“Our game plan was to move pucks around and get them out of spots, and I thought we did a good job of that on the power play tonight. A lane just opened up for me in the middle,” Crampton said after the game. “It was a big goal for us.”
Early in the third period, emotions frequently got the better of both sides, creating multiple moments of pushing and shoving. These moments rarely resulted in any penalties, though, as only one roughing penalty was called.
Neither team was able to score in the third, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Bowling Green had 15 shots on goal, and Notre Dame had 10. With the score remaining 2-2, they both would now have a final opportunity in overtime to decide a winner.
Overtime wasn’t enough to determine the outcome, and Notre Dame would end up winning the shootout, despite the game counting as a tie for both teams.
“We played some really good hockey against a Big Ten team, but we’re not satisfied with the results,” Minville said at the press conference. “We’re happy, but as I said, we’re not satisfied.”
The Falcons now look ahead to their next opponent, St. Thomas. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
