Falcons Drop 5-2 Final at Northern Michigan Friday Night

Friday, January 12

Marquette, Mich.

7:07PM

Bowling Green State University

12-7-6, 9-2-5-2WCHA

Northern Michigan

12-10-3,10-5-2-2WCHA

Bowling Green

Northern Mich.

January 12, 2018 | Ice Hockey

Box Score

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

MARQUETTE, Mich. – The No. 14 Bowling Green hockey program (12-7-6, 9-3-5 WCHA) was unable to hold off a dominate Northern Michigan (12-10-3, 10-5-2 WCHA) power play on Friday night, ultimately dropping a 5-2 final on the road. Despite a pair of goals by seniors Brett D'Andrea and Mitch McLain, the Wildcats responded with four goals with the man advantage on the night for the home victory.

The Falcons will look for redemption tomorrow in a critical matchup with the Wildcats. By snapping the Falcons four-game winning streak, Bowling Green and Northern Michigan are now tied for second in the conference standings with 34 points apiece. The winner of tomorrow's faceoff will claim sole possession of second place.

Box Score

Scoring Plays

In a quick play off of the faceoff, junior Stephen Baylis took a shot from the hashmarks that was tipped by senior Brett D'Andrea at the crease just 5:15 into the second. The goal got the Falcons on the board, and narrowed the score to 2-1 Wildcats with D'Andrea's fifth of the season.
Senior captain Mitch McLain came soaring down the nearside boards before taking a shot from left faceoff circle. The puck was sniped to the top shelf to narrow the score to 4-2 unassisted, making it McLain's team-leading 11th goal of the season with 12:19 remaining in regulation.

Statistical Standouts

The seniors highlighted the box score as both goals for the Falcons were tallied by Brett D'Andrea and fellow senior Mitch McLain.
With his even strength goal, McLain extended his point streak to four straight games. A native of Baxter, Minn., McLain also marked a team-high of five of the Falcons 25 shots on goal on the night.
With the lone assist on D'Andrea's goal, junior Stephen Baylis tallied his second point in the last three games.
In goal, freshman Eric Dop marked 29 saves on the night, including a high of 11 in the opening period of play.
Overall, the Falcons went 0-for-2 on the power play, and 0-for-4 on the penalty kill, while the Wildcats held the edge in shots on goal by a 34-25 margin.

Coach Bergeron's Take

"It was a special teams game tonight and we weathered the storm early. Northern Michigan pushed hard like we knew they would. We took four selfish penalties early on and four ended up in our net. There were a few positives when we were able to make it 2-1 and 4-2 but not enough to change the outcome."
"For tomorrow we need to be more disciplined and stay out of the box. Overall, we need to execute better all over the ice. Whether that be in the offensive zone, on the power play or on the penalty kill, we just need to execute better."

Up Next

The Falcons will round out the series against the Wildcats tomorrow, Jan. 13 in a 7:07 p.m. puck drop. All fans can watch the series finale on WCHA.tv.

Follow the Falcons

For more information on the Bowling Green hockey program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGFalconHockey and @BGAthletics) and now on Instagram (bgfalconhockey) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.