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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Michigan State
BGSU Ends Playoffs With 4-2 Loss at Michigan State
March 09, 2002 | Ice Hockey
March 9, 2002
East Lansing, Mich. - Despite two goals in the last five minutes of the game to cut its deficit in half, Bowling Green lost the second game in a best-of-three series at Michigan State on Saturday in Munn Ice Arena, 4-2. The loss ends the BGSU hockey season in the first round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.
Michigan State gained the early advantage when Steve Jackson took a rebound off of goalie Tyler Masters' pads and pushed the puck between his legs for a 1-0 Spartan lead at 3:43. Lee Falardeau had the assist.
"Tonight we needed to not have them make a big play first," said BGSU coach Buddy Powers. "Our defense was trying to push the puck away when Masters reached for it. Their guys were aggressive and hammered it into the net. They had some puck luck and we didn't have any puck luck."
That was the extent of the scoring in the first period with MSU holding a 10-6 shot advantage. There were no penalties in the first 20 minutes.
"The first period there wasn't a lot going on by either team," said Powers. "We didn't seem to have the same aggressiveness in the first period as we did last night. We came out in the second, there were some opportunities early and then the penalties started. That basically killed the whole second period, the penalty situation."
In the second period, BGSU came out the aggressors with a solid forecheck for the first five minutes. A shot by Scott Hewson early in the period fell onto and off of MSU goalie Ryan Miller's left shoulder just outside of the right post to keep MSU ahead, 1-0.
Bowling Green's first penalty of the game was called at 5:04 on Roger Leonard for slashing. Then 54 seconds later Tyler Knight was called for slashing, giving MSU a 5-on-3 power play for 1:06. BG killed off the 5-on-3 power play, but the Spartans scored the 5-on-4 power play goal at 7:50 by John-Michael Liles for a 2-0 Michigan State lead.
Hewson was then called for a check from behind (5:00) and a game misconduct, which ejected him from the game. Just eight seconds away from killing off the five-minute penalty, D'Arcy McConvey was called for a check from behind to give MSU another 5-on-3 power play in the second period.
BGSU was outshot 18-2 in the second period but went to the lockerroom down just 2-0 heading into the final period. MSU changed that when Jim Slater scored at 5:17 and Andrew Hutchinson added another power play goal just over a minute later (6:34) in the third period to give the home team a 4-0 lead.
The Falcon offense turned on the offensive pressure after the two goals, finishing the period with a 16-6 shot advantage. Senior defenseman Marc Barlow lit up the lamp for the first BG score with a slapshot from the redline that sailed head-high past Miller, cutting the visitors' deficit to 4-1 at 16:54. Tyler Knight assisted on the goal. Then, Grady Moore took the rebound of a Barlow wrister from the point and lifted it past Miller for BG's second goal at 19:11, making it a 4-2 Michigan State lead. But it was too little too late.
MSU outshot the Falcons 34-24 and were 2-for-6 on their power plays for the game. BG was 0-for-1. The Falcons were whistled for seven penalties while the Spartans were called for just one minor.
"We had to take some chances tonight," said Powers. "But, too many penalties tonight. Last night it's Hall and Slater making big plays...tonight they get the lead and we commit the penalties, so we never really challenged them.
Tyler Masters finished with 30 saves on 34 shots faced in 59:22 of action. Miller had 22 saves on 24 shots faced. The loss ended a six-game point streak for senior Greg Day.
BGSU ends the season with a 9-25-6 overall record and were 7-18-3 in the CCHA during the regular season. Michigan State (26-7-5) advances to the Super Six at Joe Louis Arena next weekend.
