BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Slater Family Ice Arena saw a rematch of last year’s WCHA semi-final with the Bemidji State Beavers in town to take on the Bowling Green Falcons.
Despite the Falcons sweeping the series last year, they did so by a margin of only one goal in both contests. This time around would be no different, as the Falcons came through with the game-winning goal from an unlikely hero on their way to a 3-1 win and a first place spot atop the conference.
This game started out with both teams trading off puck possession with Bemidji St. getting the most of the scoring chances. The first period could be summed up as an all-out goaltending display from both Eric Dop and Michael Bitzer. The Falcons started gaining momentum towards the end of the period, putting up five power-play shots right in front of Bitzer’s crease; all would be denied.
The second period saw its share of chaos starting with Falcon forward Lukas Craggs being assessed a roughing penalty after crashing a defenseless Beaver into the board, ultimately being ruled a game misconduct and five minute major.
Although the Beavers mustered six shots during the power play, three of those were saved and two would be blocked while one missed the cage.
“Our penalty kill hasn’t been good enough in our second segment of the season,” said Bowling Green head coach Chris Bergeron. ”I feel those guys took it personally and wanted to do better. I thought we were on the same page and we made them earned the zone for the most part.”
After that stellar performance from the Bowling Green penalty kill unit, Brandon Kruse powered his way up the left side of the ice, beating Bitzer through the five-hole for the game’s first goal, Kruse’s fourth of the season. The scoring would stop there, and the Falcons led 1-0 going into the third.
Bemidji St. had been missing golden opportunities all night, but they finally found a spark off the stick of Mike Soucier, cleaning up a rebound from Jordan Heller and putting the game tying goal over the right shoulder of Dop. Both teams went back to a stalemate of a game until Falcon defenseman Niko Coffman rifled a shot from the right point that would beat Bitzer for the second goal for the Orange and Brown, and Coffman’s first of his collegiate career.
”I saw Connor Ford go to the net and get closed off, I was calling for it and took a half slap-shot towards the net with some traffic in front and luckily it went in,” said Coffman.
The Falcons have been struggling with depth in the defensive end, and Coffman made the most of his opportunity. When asked what this game winner meant to him, he said “it’s a lot of hard work in practice over the last couple years and it’s a dream come true for me; it was awesome.”
The Beavers would pull Bitzer off the face-off with just over a minute to play in regulation. The Falcon defense stepped up again and forced a turn-over in the neutral zone, leading to an empty netter for the Falcon captain, Mitch McLain. The Falcons did something Bergeron has preached to his team all season; close out the game. Kruse would mention that after the game, saying “Anytime you can get a conference win, end of the year is when it counts.”
With the win, the Falcons extended a four-game winning streak over the Beavers and lead the all-time series 12-7-1. Bemidji will look to capitalize on their scoring chances better tomorrow night and snap the streak. Puck will drop in BG at 7:07ET.
WCHA Roundup:
Ferris St. 2, Alaska Anchorage 0
The Bulldogs offense was all over the place, garnering 48 shots on goal on their way to a 2-0 shutout of the Seawolves. Both goals came in the second period, with Jacob Hetz and Trevor Recktenwald both earning their first goals of the season. Despite taking the loss, the Seawolves goaltender Olivier Mantha was lights-out with a staggering 46 saves on the night. Look for the series to conclude tomorrow night in Big Rapids, puck drop at 7:37ET.
Alaska Fairbanks 5, Lake Superior St. 3
After putting up a 4-spot in the first frame, the Nanooks would go on to take the first game of the series, defeating the Lakers 5-3. Justin Woods continues his stellar season and started the high scoring affair with his eighth tally. Troy Van Tetering would go on to have a 2-goal night with a power-play and even strength in the first and second period. Despite the late efforts of Lakers Max Humitz and J.T. Henke, and the defense not allowing a goal in the third, the game would end in the Nanooks’ favor. The series will conclude tomorrow night at 7:07ET.
Northern Michigan 3, Alabama Huntsville 1
The Wildcats of Northern Michigan defended home ice tonight, defeating the Chargers of Alabama Huntsville by a score of 3-1. The Wildcats were led by Adam Rockwood, tallying an assist and a short-handed goal that would end up being the contests’ game winner. The Wildcats improve to 8-7-0 on the year while the Chargers fall to 5-9-1. Northern Michigan will look to sweep tomorrow at 7:07ET.
