Following BGSU hockey’s (16-9-6, 13-7-3) 5-4 loss to the No. 17 Minnesota State Mavericks at the Slater Family Ice Arena, Bowling Green fell to fifth in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) standings as Minnesota State leapfrogged them and took over the fourth position.
In losing their position among the top four teams in the CCHA standings, BGSU is currently out of position to receive home ice advantage in the first round of the CCHA Mason Cup playoffs.
The game itself contained a little bit of everything: goals, saves, hits, penalties and even a full-line brawl halfway through the second period.
The Purple and Gold would strike first in the goal column as junior forward Sawyer Scholl beat an out-of-position Cole Moore on a rebound opportunity. Senior defenseman and alternate captain Campbell Cichosz and junior forward Jakob Stender were credited with the assists on the play.
Following Scholl’s goal, it was all Orange and Brown for the rest of the first period as BG scored three straight.
Junior forward Tyler Hotson scored the Falcons’ first goal of the night off a pass from sophomore forward Max Martin that Hotson promptly directed behind Alex Tracy. Along with Martin, redshirt senior defenseman Jackson Niedermayer was credited with an assist on the play.
Martin then scored a goal himself by deking his way by two MSU defenders before deking out Tracy and beating the senior netminder with a backhand shot. Junior defenseman and alternate captain Gustav Stjernberg and freshman defenseman Brayden Crampton were credited with the assists on the play.
Freshman forward Jérémie Minville scored the third goal of the first frame for the Falcons by ripping a shot from the right faceoff dot during a fast break. Junior forward Brody Waters was awarded the lone assist on the play.
The second period was not kind to the Falcons, as the Mavericks scored three to retake the lead.
Junior forward Ean Somoza scored just under six minutes into the frame to bring the Mavericks to within one while senior forward Jack Smith and senior defenseman and team captain Mason Wheeler picked up assists.
Junior defenseman and alternate captain Evan Murr tied the game at 3-3 while on a power-play opportunity. Assists were awarded to sophomore forward Alex Zetterberg and Smith.
Halfway through the period, tempers boiled over, and a full line brawl would result in a total of eight penalties being awarded to the teams that totaled out to 22 minutes.
The fight, while thrilling to the BGSU crowd, did not slow down the Mavericks offensively as a one-timed blast from the point by sophomore defenseman Jacob Conrad reinstated the Purple and Gold’s lead a little over two minutes after the brawl. Senior forward Tristan Lemyre and sophomore forward Liam Watkins were credited with assists.
In total, MSU outscored Bowling Green 3-0 in the second frame while outshooting the Falcons 19-7.
Bowling Green tied the game at 4-4 thanks to an up-close shot from freshman forward Brandon Whynott. Freshman forward Jake Sloan and junior defenseman Breck McKinley were credited with the assists on the goal.
A sloppy turnover from Bowling Green allowed Minnesota State to steal away the puck and let Stender score his second goal of the game to give the Mavericks the 5-4 victory with two minutes remaining in the third period. Junior forward Fin Williams was awarded the lone assist on the game-winning goal by Stender.
Minnesota State finished the game having outshot the Falcons 36-29 while also blocking 24 of Bowling Green’s shots.
“We can’t sit here and feel sorry for ourselves,” said head coach Dennis Williams after the game. “It is what it is. We had an opportunity to, we had (an) opportunity to create separation today. Now tomorrow becomes a must-win game”
BG will look to retake its position among the top four teams in the CCHA standings as they close out their series against the Mavericks tonight at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Daniel Ridenour will have the call of the game on WBGU 88.1 FM with puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.
