Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Lake Superior State
Falcons Record First Conference Win Of The Season, Down Lakers 4-2
November 04, 2006 | Ice Hockey
Nov. 4, 2006
Final Stats | Quotes
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University hockey team got back on the right foot with a 4-2 victory over Lake Superior Saturday night inside the BG Ice Arena. The Falcons, who snapped a four game losing streak, got goals from four different players in the win.
"You have to be desperate all of the time, said BGSU head coach Scott Paluch. "The amount of contact tonight probably can be translated that way. I think it's clearly a sign of what our team does. We've done it fairly consistently but we have to be that way to be successful."
BGSU (3-4-1, 1-3-0 CCHA) took just 2:53 into the contest to take the lead on Derek Whitmore's team-leading seventh goal of the season. Freshman Tomas Petruska found Jonathan Matsumoto behind the LSSU goal and the Orleans, Ontario native did like-wise, finding Whitmore on the right-circle for a backhander past Jeff Jakaitis.
The Whitmore goal was the only goal of the opening 20 minutes.
LSSU (5-3-1, 2-2-0 CCHA) had a great opportunity midway through the second period with a 2-on-1 breakaway on Jimmy Spratt, but sophomore defenseman Russ Sinkewich made a great diving play to break up the LSSU scoring chance.
Just minutes later the Falcons stretched their lead to 2-0 when Whitmore, Petruska and Matsumoto once again hooked up. This time, Whitmore found Matsumoto behind the net, who fed the puck onto the stick of Petruska directly in front of the LSSU cage. Petruska fired once, was denied, but grabbed his own rebound and lifted the puck over the glove-hand of Jakaitis.
Senior Rich Meloche scored just 22 seconds later to push the lead to 3-0. Mike Nesdill fired a shot from the point, allowing Meloche to grab the rebound and place it in the back of the net. The Falcons third goal sent Jakaitis to the bench for the rest of the night.
The Lakers made a game of it midway through the third period with goals by Trent Campbell and Dominic Osman, but the Falcons would respond nicely.
Freshman James Perkin recorded his first career collegiate goal at the 14:21 mark of the third to seal the victory for the Orange and Brown. Fellow classmate Kai Kantola took a big hit at center ice, but was able to get enough of the puck to cause a Laker turnover. The puck would find the blade of Perkin's, who skated to his right and fired left past LSSU netminder Pat Inglis.
BGSU held a 43-28 shot differential for the contest, including a 20-9 advantage in the second period. The Falcons were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Lakers went 0-for-4.
Sophomore Jimmy Spratt (2-2-0) had 26 saves in the win. LSSU's Jakaitis (3-3-0) had 22 saves and Inglis recorded 17.
Up next is a trip to Notre Dame for a pair of road contests with the Irish. Friday's contest is a 7:35 p.m. tilt, while Saturday's face-off will begin at 7:05 p.m.
