Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Michigan
Two Third-Period Goals Push Michigan Past Falcons, 5-2
February 21, 2004 | Ice Hockey
Feb. 21, 2004
Ann Arbor, Mich. - Two four-on-four goals within a 35-second span late in the game by #3 Michigan propelled the Wolverines to a 5-2 victory over visiting Bowling Green Saturday night at Yost Ice Arena.
The two goals, with BGSU's Don Morrison and UM's Jason Ryznor in the penalty box, opened up what had been a tight battle between the Falcons and Wolverines. Dwight Helminen scored his second goal of the night at 10:12 of the third period to build UM's lead to 4-2 and then Michael Woolford followed with a goal at 10:47 of the third for the final 5-2 verdict.
"Tonight we competed extremely hard, played smart, unfortunately with Michigan when you do break down they score goals," said BGSU Coach Scott Paluch. "I like the way our guys worked. A big key was how our penalty-kill held up early in the game. It gave us a chance."
Senior defenseman Kevin Bieksa brought the Falcons to within one, 3-2, when he fired in his second power-play goal of the night at 7:27 of the third period. Mike Falk and D'Arcy McConvey earned helpers on the goal.
Bieksa had given the Falcons an early 1-0 lead when he let go a slapshot from between the slot that was deflected by a UM defenseman and got past Al Montoya at 4:23 of the first period. Ryan Minnabarriet earned an assist on the play.
UM's Milan Gajic evened the game up at 11:50 of the first period and Brandon Rogers scored with just 50 seconds remaining in the first period to give the home team a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission. UM held a 14-8 shot advantage in the first period.
Both teams battled to a scoreless second period with UM holding a slim 14-13 shot advantage. In the second period alone, BGSU's penalty-kill unit held the Wolverines to 0-for-5 on the power play, including just six shots on net with the man advantage.
With BGSU on the power play early in the third period, Helminen scored his first of two goals shorthanded at 6:30 for a 3-1 Wolverine edge.
UM held a 42-34 shot advantage for the game. BGSU's penalty-kill unit held UM to 1-for-11 on the power play, while the Falcons' power-play unit was 2-for-6. BGSU committed 16 penalties (32 PIM) while UM had 11 penalties (22 PIM).
Jordan Sigalet ended with 37 saves on 42 shots faced, giving him a nation's best 997 saves. Montoya stopped 32 shots.
"We gave up a few too many turnovers, especially late in the game," said Bieksa. "Tonight our penalty kill was a lot better. We blocked more shots, cleared more pucks, and Siggy made some big saves. We still gave up too many penalties."
UM improves to 23-8-1 overall and 18-5-1 in the CCHA. BGSU drops to 9-16-8 overall and 7-13-5 in the league. UM ended the season a perfect 13-0 vs. league opponents in Yost Ice Arena.
The Falcons return home to the BGSU Ice Arena for the final two home games of the regular season when they host Northern Michigan (Feb. 27-28). Friday's game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. while Saturday's game, Senior Night, is a 7:35 p.m. start that will be televised live on Fox Sports Net Detroit. It will mark the third-straight season that BGSU has hosted a televised game.
Falcon Notes...
JR Ryan Minnbarriet has scored a point in eight of his last 10 games (3-6--9), giving him 5-12--17 for the season. His 12 assists this year are just one off his two-year total from his freshman and sophomore years (13) combined.
All five goals scored this weekend by the Falcons vs. #3 Michigan were netted by defensemen. On Feb. 20, SR Brian Escobedo scored two goals while SO Jon Sitko netted his first career goal. Saturday night SR Kevin Bieksa scored both Falcon goals.
Saturday's 5-2 loss at Michigan was just BGSU's fourth of the season when netting a power-play goal. The Falcons are now 8-4-4 when scoring a power play goal.
SR D'Arcy McConvey's assist on Kevin Bieksa's goal Saturday night brought him to within two points of the 100-point plateau for his career. He now has 29-69--98 in 148 career games.
SR Kevin Bieksa's two goals on Saturday vs. UM were a career-high, giving him seven goals this season. His career-best is eight goals set last season. The two goals were the first power-play goals of the year for Bieksa.
