For the third season in a row, BGSU hockey (18-10-7, 15-7-4) and No. Michigan Tech (22-12-3, 16-7-3) opened Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Mason Cup playoff play against one another, and for the third season in a row, the home team took the early series lead, as the Huskies defeated BGSU by a score of 5-3.
With the Falcons’ early loss in the series, they will need to win game two of the series tonight in order to force a game three on Sunday and keep their season alive.
The scoring was back and forth all game, with the Huskies drawing first blood in the first period as a shot from freshman forward Carson Birnie worked its way through Tyler Palmer to give the Huskies an early one-goal lead. Assists were awarded to freshman forward Matthew Van Blaricom and sophomore defenseman Tyler Miller.
An odd goal that was credited to sophomore forward Max Martin tied the game at one apiece after a cross-ice pass from freshman defenseman Brayden Crampton was deflected into the net by Martin. Along with Crampton, junior forward Ben Doran was awarded the other assist on the goal.
Another odd goal restored the lead for the Huskies in the first frame, as a shot from the point off the stick of senior forward and MTU’s team captain Isaac Gordon was deflected by sophomore forward Elias Jansson, hit the post, deflected off of Palmer and was finally guided into the net off a Falcon defender’s skate. In the end, Jansson was credited with the goal, while Gordon and Miller were credited with assists.
Despite outshooting the Huskies 10-5 in the first period, Bowling Green trailed going into the first intermission.
The second period saw the Falcons outshoot the Huskies again,15-7, but the goal deficit remained the same for the Falcons heading into the second intermission.
Junior defenseman and alternate captain Gustav Stjernberg finished off a pretty passing play to tie the game up for the Falcons around the halfway point of the second period, with assists being awarded to redshirt senior defenseman Jackson Niedermayer and Brody Waters.
However, a late powerplay opportunity for Michigan Tech allowed freshman forward Noah Reinhart to restore the Huskies’ lead off a one timed shot from the slot. Assists were awarded to sophomore forward Tom Leppa and junior forward Max Koskipirtti.
Michigan Tech claimed their first two-goal lead of the game in the third period when a major defense lapse for the Falcons gave MTU’s freshman forward Teydon Trembecky a breakaway opportunity, which he promptly capitalized on by beating Palmer on the backhand. Assists on the goal were credited to senior defenseman Joe Prouty and MTU’s junior goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz.
With less than four minutes to go in regulation, BGSU head coach Dennis Williams pulled Palmer for the extra attacker during a powerplay opportunity, and freshman forward Jérémie Minville took advantage of the six-on-four opportunity by banging in a shot from the blue paint. Assists were credited to senior forward Quinn Emerson and freshman forward Dominik Rymon.
Bowling Green pulled their goalie for the extra attacker again, but this time Michigan Tech were the ones taking advantage, as Gordon scored on the empty net to give the Huskies the 5-3 victory with 23 seconds remaining in the final frame. Prouty was awarded the lone assist on the goal.
In the end, BGSU outshot MTU 39-18 while also winning 40 faceoffs to Tech’s 25 but were unable to leave the game with a win.
Bowling Green was led in the shots on goal category by Niedermayer, Doran, Waters and senior forward and alternate captain Jaden Grant, who all took four shots apiece during the game.
As for faceoffs, Grant and Doran both stepped up by winning 15 and 14 faceoffs, respectively.
Bartoszkiewicz played well all night for the Huskies and made many crucial saves throughout the game. The Northville, Michigan, native finished the contest having made 36 saves and recorded a .923 save percentage.
On the other side of the ice, it was a rough night at the office for sophomore netminder Tyler Palmer who did make a handful of key saves but also finished the game with a .765 save percentage after stopping only 13 of the 17 shots he faced.
Tonight, Michigan Tech will have the opportunity to close out the sweep on the series and end Bowling Green’s season early as the Falcons will look to push for a game three.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak will have the live call from Houghton, Michigan on WBGU 88.1 FM with puck drop scheduled for 6:07 p.m.
