Michigan scored three second-period goals and freshman goaltender Steve Racine blocked 15 of 16 shots as the Wolverines defeated BG 3-1 Wednesday night.
Michigan outshot the Falcons 38-16 and put double-digit shots on goalie Andrew Hammond in each of the three periods.
“[It was a] poor effort, poor,” said BG Coach Chris Bergeron. “We have a tough time getting it going if we don’t have it right away.”
“[We have a] 1-0 lead after the first period, Andrew Hammond is standing on his head,” he said. “We’re getting beat … but still, we’re winning. And then the first shift of the second period, we come out and give up a breakaway.”
BG got on the board first with two seconds left in the first period on Bobby Shea’s third goal of the season. He received a pass from Adam Berkle at the point and threw a shot through traffic that beat Racine over the left shoulder.
It was the first time this season, in four games, that BG lost a game in which it led after the first period.
Michigan would up the pressure in the second period, putting 15 shots on Hammond and scoring three times.
“They weren’t really anything that we didn’t expect, but we didn’t play up to what we expect,” Hammond said. “I came down to them, making a few more plays around our net and taking advantage of some of our defensive lapses.”
Despite that, Hammond made countless big saves to keep the game within reach for BG. He stopped 35 of 38 shots.
“I thought I played very well,” he said. “I battled hard and that’s kind of the one thing to getting my game back on track; that’s a good place to start, just making sure I’m working hard out there and I thought I did for the most part.”
Bergeron was complimentary of the way Hammond played. He was also complimentary of the way Michigan responded to the late first period goal by taking over the second period.
“They handled their adversity like a championship program does,” Bergeron said. “They had a little bit of a skid [at the end of the first] and then they came out and took it to us.”
BG had a chance to set the tone midway though the first period on the power play. Travis Lynch was given a five-minute major for checking from behind.
However, in those five minutes of power play time, BG put only one shot on net. In three power play opportunities, the Falcons had only three total shots.
“I thought that was our worst power play, the five minute one,” Bergeron said. “After that, I thought we had some decent chances. But we’re just not sharp enough on the power play, not enough guys playing intense.”
BG will have a bye this weekend. The Falcons return to action Dec. 7 at Alaska.
