After claiming a 1-0 victory on Friday night, BGSU hockey (16-8-6, 13-6-3) fell to No. 18 Augustana (19-10-3, 13-8-3) on Saturday night, 4-2.
Bowling Green faced a major setback early in the game as freshman goaltender Jacob Steinman was forced to leave the game just 11-and-a-half minutes into the first period with a non-contact injury. Steinman had saved all five shots he faced prior to his injury and was helped off the ice with an apparent lower-body injury.
Tyler Palmer entered the game in relief of Steinman for the sophomore netminder’s first appearance since Dec. 5. Palmer played the rest of the game for the Falcons and finished the game having made 26 saves while recording a .897 save percentage.
Sophomore defenseman Easton Young started the scoring for Augustana via a one-timer from the point that beat Palmer. Sophomore forward Nace Langus and junior forward Will Howard were credited with the assists on the play.
Bowling Green tied the game at one apiece in the second period when a pass from junior defenseman Breck McKinley was tipped in by junior forward Tyler Hotson. Along with McKinley, junior forward Ben Doran was also credited with an assist on the play.
The Vikings would retake the lead later in the second period when Quinn Rudrud deflected a shot from the point past Palmer for the senior forward’s first goal of the season on Augustana’s senior night. Junior defenseman Owen Baumgartner and Callum Gau were awarded with assists on the goal.
Junior defenseman Hayden Hennen further extended Augustana’s lead before the end of the second frame of play via a shot from the point. Langus was credited with the lone assist on the play, his second of three assists on the game.
Freshman defenseman Brayden Crampton scored for the Orange and Brown halfway through the third period to bring the Falcons to within one goal of tying the game. Sophomore forward Max Martin and junior defenseman and alternate captain Gustav Stjernberg were credited with the assists on the goal.
While Bowling Green would pick up momentum from the Crampton tally, the Falcons were unable to crack the Augustana defense and junior netminder Josh Kotai again.
Kotai finished the contest having made 32 saves while recording a .941 save percentage on the game.
The Augustana defense also played great throughout the game, consistently breaking up plays and forcing the Falcons to take shots from the outside as opposed to letting the Orange and Brown work their way into the slot.
Augustana was also good at blocking shots, as the team blocked a total of 17 and had 10 different players block at least one. Hayden Hennen led the team in the category with four, which was followed by Easton Young, freshman defenseman Landon Fandel, sophomore defenseman Samo Meritähti and sophomore forward Joey DelGreco, who all blocked two apiece.
DelGreco put the game fully out of reach for the Falcons with 30 seconds remaining in the third period via an empty net goal after BGSU head coach Dennis Williams pulled Palmer for an extra attacker. Langus and freshman forward Jacob Jastrzebski were credited with the assists on the tally.
The shot count remained close between the two teams all game, with Augustana taking the advantage at the very end as they outshot the Falcons 35-34 at the end of the contest.
The Vikings were led in shots by Hayden Hennen’s five shots on goal and Jastrzebski and Rudrud’s four shots apiece.
The Falcons saw freshman forward Noah Morneau and senior forward and alternate captain Quinn Emerson lead the team in shots with five apiece.
After splitting their series with Augustana, BGSU claimed three of a possible six points towards the CCHA standings and finish the weekend in fourth place in the CCHA standings. The Falcons (43 points) now trail Augustana (45 points) by two points for third place, while leading the fifth place Minnesota State (41 points) by two points.
Williams and the Falcons will return home to the Slater Family Ice Arena next weekend when they take on the Minnesota State Mavericks (16-9-5, 12-7-3) in Bowling Green’s last home series of the regular season on Feb. 20 and 21.
