.png&type=webp)
Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Notre Dame
21st-Ranked Falcon Hockey Falls 2-1 On Tuesday Night To #9 Notre Dame
November 21, 2007 | Ice Hockey
Nov. 21, 2007
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Despite a 22-save performance by freshman goaltender Nick Eno, an early second period goal by Notre Dame's Kyle Lawson would be enough to lift the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish to a 2-1 victory over the 21st-ranked Bowling Green State University hockey team on Tuesday evening. The Tuesday night Central Collegiate Hockey Association contest that featured the third and fourth-place teams in the league was held at the Joyce Center on the ND campus.
With the win, the Fighting Irish improved to 10-4-0 on the season with a CCHA record of 8-2-0. In the loss, the Falcons fell to 6-4-0 and 5-3-0 respectively.
For Eno, the loss in net was the first of his career after the Howell, Mich. native started his freshman campaign with a 4-0 mark in his first four career starts.
"I thought our team played a very good hockey game against a very good hockey team in a tough place to play," said BG coach Scott Paluch. "I think when it's all said and done, both penalty kills were good on both teams and it's pretty simple; there was a series in the second period where we don't score on our 3-on-1 and they score on their 4-on-2 coming back the other way. It could've easily been 2-1 us, coming into the third period there. Overall though, I'm pretty proud of the way this team played, unfortunately we just couldn't win the game."
A few good shifts by BG to start the game would generate some good chances early, including a power play chance just 2:09 in. Despite the opportunity though, the Falcons could only muster a few shots on net at Irish goaltender Jordan Pearce, as they failed to capitalize on the great opportunity to steal some early momentum.
Two costly mistakes would doom the Falcons on the evening, with the first coming around the six-minute mark of the first. A misplayed attempt to clear the puck out their zone would lead to the Irish's first goal of the night from freshman forward Ben Ryan. Ryan would skate the misplayed puck off the board into the high slot area where he sent a hard-wrister into the high upper glove side of the net past Eno for an unassisted tally at the 6:09 mark.
BG wouldn't let the Irish enjoy the lead for long though, as tri-captain Derek Whitmore tallied his 12th goal of the season just 2:46 later to tie the game up at 1-1. The Rochester, N.Y. native knocked home a rebound on the right side of crease off a hard shot by Kevin Schmidt from the point. Brandon Svendsen would also pick up a helper on the goal as Whitmore tallied his ninth-goal in the last five games.
The Falcon offense would keep the dangerous Irish attack away from their net then for most of the opening period as BG fired 14 shots on net, while the Irish were only able to get five. One of those five chances however, would come on a great breakaway stop by Eno on ND forward Dan Kissel after another turnover that nearly proved to be costly. Eno was able to sprawl out in his crease though to make the save and keep the game tied heading into the first intermission.
With momentum shifted to their side, BG came out hard again to start the second, looking to get the lead. Their best chance however, may have ended up costing them the game, as their second costly mistake on the night occurred just around two minutes into the period. A BG rush towards the ND end quickly turned into a 3-on-1 chance, as Schmidt brought the puck up the ice and skated to the right side but, was unable to make a play on net, which in turn, turned into a 4-on-2 the other way for the Irish.
That's where Lawson would tally the eventual game-winner. After the rush reached the Falcon end, he took a pass from Erik Condra and sent the puck into the net thru a screen in front that hit off a BG defenseman's shin and found the net on the right side to give the Irish a 2-1 lead.
There would be no quit in the Falcons though, as they earned themselves a few big power plays down the stretch of the game. One came right at the beginning of the third period where Tim Maxwell and Whitmore got great chances on net but, were denied by Pearce.
Eno tried to keep BG close, stopping all nine shots he faced in the final frame. It wouldn't be enough. A 6-on-4 power play in the final 1:19 of the game with an empty net couldn't generate any real quality chances, as the Falcons fell for just the fourth-time this season and for the second-straight contest.
The Falcons would finish the game 0-5 with the man-advantage, while the Irish power play finished 0-4. BG held a 28-24 advantage in the shots on goal department, as Pearce made 27 saves for the Irish.
BG will return to action next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 30 - Dec. 1) when they face-off with the Wayne State Warriors of College Hockey America in a two-game home-and-home set. The Falcons and Warriors will drop the puck at 7:05 p.m. on Friday from the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Detroit, Mich. before returning home to the BGSU Ice Arena for a 7:05 tilt on Saturday. Both games can be heard by tuning into WBGU 88.1 FM with Danny Nieves bringing you all the play-by-play.
Notes: Derek Whitmore's 12th goal of the season leaves him just seven shy of his career single-season high of 19 goals ... Whitmore is also just 13 goals away now from tying for 19th on the all-time BGSU career list for goals in a career ... The Falcon power play was held scoreless for the first time in six games ... Freshman forward Jacob Cepis saw his team-high five-game point streak snapped in the loss.
