Despite finishing the season with an overall record of 23-11-5 and earning a trip to the WCHA Semifinals, the Bowling Green hockey team was unable to make it into the NCAA tournament.
The Falcons lost to Michigan Tech 5-2 Friday night in the WCHA Final Five in Minnesota.
“We’ve put ourselves into that predicament,” head coach Chris Bergeron said. “We’ve left it in other people’s hands and there’s nothing we can do about that.”
In Friday’s WCHA tournament semifinal, Mitch McClain gave BG an early 1-0 lead in the first period with a goal. Pierre-Luc Mercier recorded an assist on the play.
However, Michigan Tech answered with a goal less than two minutes later to tie the game. Then, they scored again to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
After a scoreless second period, Brent Tate’s goal early in the third period tied the game 2-2. Dajon Mingo and Sean Walker tallied assists on the goal.
“The feeling going into the third period was that we were going to win this game,” Bergeron said. “And then when we tied it at 2-2, it was a really good feeling.”
Ultimately, Michigan Tech scored three goals in the third period, including an empty-net goal to win 5-2. The Huskies advanced to the WCHA Championship game on Saturday night, and lost to Minnesota State 5-2.
“We stress execution,” Bergeron said. “We had a game plan and we just weren’t able to get to that plan.”
Michigan Tech outshot BG 32-24 on the night. BG was held scoreless on the power play going 0-for-3, while the Huskies went 0-for-1 on the power play.
BG goalie Tommy Burke recorded 27 saves in the losing effort. This is the second consecutive year that the BG hockey team lost in the WCHA tournament semifinals.
Additionally, the team finishes with a 17-8-3 record in conference play and a 12-5-2 record at the BGSU Ice Arena this season. They will enter next season with a four game winning streak at home, including a series sweep in the first round of the WCHA playoffs against Northern Michigan.
The Falcons finished the season with 23 wins, which are five more than their win total last season. Last December, their program was ranked as high as sixth in the nation.
Friday’s game was the final one for seniors Adam Berkle, Dan DeSalvo, Connor Kucera, Ted Pletsch and Mike Sullivan. The Falcons have improved their record every season under Coach Bergeron.
