The BG men’s hockey team defeated the Minnesota State Mavericks 4-3 on Friday night but lost Saturday night 1-0 in overtime against the 18th ranked Mavericks.
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke made 30 saves and all four of BG’s goals on Friday night were scored by different skaters. The Falcons who scored were Adam Berkle, Dan DeSalvo, Pierre Luc Mercier and Brent Tate. This was the first road win of the season for the Falcons and it earned them their third conference win of the season.
Minnesota State took advantage of a power play early and scored 2:08 into the game. BG answered back two minutes later with a goal from Brent Tate. The Falcons went on to score three goals in the second period. The Falcons had a chance to increase their lead in the third period, but failed to score on a power play. However, BG held off the Mavericks in the final period for the 4-3 victory.
“I hope the guys feel good about the win,” BG Head Coach Chris Bergeron said. “From a coaching perspective, there are always things we can improve on. We found a way to win, and we should feel good about the way we played.”
On Saturday night, BG was held scoreless for the first time since Oct. 26, 2012 as they lost 1-0 in overtime. This was also the Falcons first WCHA conference loss of the year.
Freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl made 24 saves in the losing effort. BG was also a perfect 3 for 3 on the penalty kill Saturday night.
Both teams could not score in regulation and the game had to be decided in overtime. The Mavericks scored 1:11 into overtime and avoided the weekend sweep.
The Falcons power play finished 0 for 3 in the game and 0 for 8 overall in the weekend series.
“We weren’t very good on the power play,” coach Bergeron said. “Our effort was better on the power play tonight, but our execution wasn’t.”
The Falcons now have an overall record of 5-3-2 and a 3-1-0 conference record following the overtime loss. Minnesota State now has an overall record of 4-4-0 and a 2-2-0 record in conference play.
BG will be on the road this Friday and Saturday to face the Ferris State University Bulldogs. BG will continue their WCHA conference schedule when the puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both nights.
