Saturday night, Bowling Green Hockey (15-7-6, 12-5-3) shook off the previous night’s overtime loss by beating the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s (CCHA) top-ranked St. Thomas Tommies (18-9-3, 15-5-2) in a 3-1 result. The win evens the score between the Falcons and Tommies for the year, as both teams earned six out of a possible 12 points in their four meetings this season.
First period
Shades of Friday’s defeat echoed early in the first period, as Quinn Emerson was assessed with a penalty only 12 seconds into play. The Tommies wasted little time, as Alex Gaffney scored an unassisted goal on the ensuing power play after just 44 seconds of five-on-four hockey.
The Falcons didn’t simply go away quietly after this. Ben Doran struck back less than 5 minutes later, finding the net to equalize the score at one goal each.
The rest of the first period came and went with minimal fanfare, as a penalty against the Falcons for goaltender interference wasn’t enough for St. Thomas to score again. A puck did find the net behind Jacob Steinman with only 10.2 seconds remaining in the period, but the Tommies were whistled for high-sticking, and the Falcons escaped the opening frame with a tied score and 34 seconds of penalty time to kill off.
Second period
The second period, often a point of weakness for the Falcons, would prove to be the most pivotal period of the entire contest. Less than four minutes into the period, Dominik Rymon gave the Falcons their first lead of the night on an even-strength goal.
Just over three minutes later, Jackson Niedermayer converted a goal on a Falcon power play, to the raucous cheers of the Slater Family Ice Arena.
This lead would prove to be an insurmountable one for the Tommies. Despite some St. Thomas offensive chances in the remainder of the second period, the Bowling Green defense stood strong in front of Steinman.
3rd period
Despite some late-game fireworks in recent Falcon contests, the 3rd period ended up scoreless for either team. The Falcons’ defence, without veterans Dalton Norris and Gustav Stjernberg, stood strong against a St. Thomas attack that had only been held to one goal once all season.
With around 4:30 remaining in the game, the Tommies pulled Aaron Trotter from their net in favor of an extra skater. Despite the change, Bowling Green would not budge, and the late barrage did not give way to any further goals. A few icings from the Orange and Brown would be enough for the Falcons to take the win, with a 3-1 final score.
“We’ve got a long way to go” said Head Coach Dennis Williams. “But when I look back to where we were in our first two games [against] Niagara…credit to the guys in our locker room, credit to our leaders.”
Following the series against St. Thomas, the Falcons currently sit in fourth in the CCHA, in position for home ice in the Mason Cup Tournament should they remain at that place or better.
“We’re confident…we’ve got depth,” said Niedermayer. “We believe that every guy in that locker room can come in and make an impact for us. Obviously, it’s a good weekend for us, we’ll enjoy it for a little bit, then focus on next weekend.
Next weekend provides yet another test as the Falcons go back on the road to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to take on the Augustana Vikings. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Lucas Kleimeyer will have the call for both Friday and Saturday’s games on WBGU 88.1 FM.
