Entering Friday night’s game against St. Thomas (18-8-3, 15-4-2), Bowling Green (14-7-6, 11-5-3) defenseman Gustav Stjernberg led the conference in penalty minutes with 77 minutes. 22 minutes separated Stjernberg from the next closest player, Ferris State’s Trevor Taulien (55 minutes).
On a night where penalties came back to haunt the Falcons, Stjernberg etched his name into the history books in a way that most skaters don’t aspire to.
With 3:50 left in the first period, Stjernberg was assessed with a five-minute major penalty for contact to the head, as well as a ten-minute game misconduct penalty, resulting in his ejection from the contest. St. Thomas found the back of the net on the power play off the stick of Nathan Pilling.
By the end of his night, Stjernberg’s penalty minute total sat at 92 minutes. Not only a staggering lead in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), but the new record for penalty minutes in a single season since the CCHA return in the 2021-2022 season. Stjernberg’s record overtook the previous record of 80 minutes earned by former Falcon Sam Craggs in the 2021-22 season.
The catch? Craggs earned his total in 37 games played. Stjernberg’s 12-minute (and counting) lead has been earned through only 18 games played this year.
For context, Stjernberg’s penalty total constitutes over four-and-a-half full periods of hockey. In the last 10 contests for the Falcons, Stjernberg has been ejected five times.
The record-breaking season aside, Stjernberg is no stranger to the CCHA’s penalty leaderboard.
Two years ago, during the 2023-24 season, Stjernberg finished 10th in the CCHA with 40 minutes in penalties from 20 penalties in 31 games. This mark was the highest for the Falcons that season. Just last year, Stjernberg finished 11th in the conference with 35 minutes through 30 games, on 16 penalties, good for third-most on the team.
Stjernberg’s frequent absence from the ice is detrimental to the Falcons in more ways than just giving opponents power plays.
The defenseman serves as an alternate captain alongside Jaden Grant, and the on-ice leadership is something the Falcons need badly, as captain Dalton Norris has been sidelined by injury since the team’s Jan. 17 loss to Lake Superior State.
“You have to have control…it’s that simple,” said head coach Dennis Williams postgame. “You’ve got to come in, you’ve got to close, you’ve got to be smart. Every time we take [a penalty], we put ourselves in a tough predicament. Often, they score to tie it up. [Stjernberg]’s going to have to learn from it.”
Despite having the most penalty minutes on the team, Stjernberg is just one piece of the Falcons’ penalty puzzle. The Orange and Brown lead the entire CCHA with 419 total penalty minutes despite still having the fewest games played in the CCHA with 27.
This tendency towards finding the box was on full display in Friday’s action, as Pilling tied the score for his second time in the game following a penalty against Bowling Green’s Maxwell Martin. This goal would be enough to force overtime, where St. Thomas would claim the extra point in their eventual 3-2 win in the five-minute extra period.
Even with the penalties, players felt confident about their ability to contend against the current top seed in the CCHA.
“I think we’re right there,” said Brody Waters. “I think we’re going to be able to get [power play goals allowed] down to zero. Five-on-five, we’re a really good team.”
The Falcons will look to improve on their tie on Saturday night as they finish their weekend series against St. Thomas, with the puck dropping at 6:07 p.m. at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
