Bowling Green State University
Lake Superior State
#21 Falcon Hockey Falls, 4-1, On Saturday Evening At Lake State
January 12, 2008 | Ice Hockey
Jan. 12, 2008
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - Two first period Lake Superior State goals would be too much to overcome for the No. 21 Bowling Green State University hockey team as they fell to the Lakers,4-1, in the second-game of their two-game set . The Saturday night Central Collegiate Hockey Association contest was held at LSSU's Taffy Abel Arena.
With the victory the Lakers improved to 3-13-4 overall and 1-10-3 in the CCHA, dropping the Falcons to 10-10-0 and 7-7-0, respectively.
The Falcons lone tally on the night would come from senior forward Derek Whitmore, who scored a second period power-play goal that brought the score to, 3-1, at that point. BG junior goaltender Jimmy Spratt would try to keep the Falcons close on the night making 14 saves, but it wouldn't be enough as the Falcons dropped their fifth-game in their last eight played at Taffy Abel Arena.
LSSU grabbed two first period goals, before knotting a second period power-play goal that gave them a 3-0 lead at the 12:49 mark. After Whitmore's goal at 16:19 of the second period though, that would be all the scoring the game saw as a late empty-net goal sealed the game's final score.
LSSU got the game's scoring started for the second night in-a-row when defenseman Simon Gysbers netted a wrister from the near side of Spratt from the right-wing circle. The goal at 4:56 gave the Lakers a, 1-0 lead, which they'd hold thru a majority of the opening 20 minutes. BG would try to answer back at times during the period, but were unable to find the net despite some quality chances in front.
The best Falcon chance may have come from sophomore forward Todd McIlrath, who had a shot in the center of the slot go off LSSU goaltender Brian Mahoney-Wilson's pad. The scoring chance developed after McIlrath received a nice pass from behind the net on right-wing side.
With the Falcons struggling to find the scoreboard, the Lakers took advantage of a late first period power play to give them a two-goal cushion heading into the first intermission. The goal came about when LSSU forward Zac MacVoy brought the puck into the right side of the Falcon zone and flipped a cross ice pass from the right corner into the slot area in front of the net. That was where forward Dan Eves would be standing for a tip in shot that gave LSSU a, 2-0, lead with just 12 seconds remaining.
The Lakers would build upon that lead with another power-play strike at the 12:56 mark of the second period as Gysbers collected his second point of the night. His shot from the left side of the crease would get blocked by Spratt, but forward Rick Schofield was sitting there to collect the rebound and tap it in to give LSSU a, 3-0, lead.
BG continued to see good opportunities turned away by Mahoney-Wilson as they had 15 second period shots to only seven from the Lakers. One of those opportunities would come from freshman forward Jacob Cepis, who found the post on one of four BG chances in the period on the man-advantage. BG would collect seven shots on net with the extra-attacker in the second stanza.
Finally, with just 3:41 remaining in the second period, Whitmore was able to find the LSSU net on the Falcons last power play of the period. Whitmore collected a rebound chance off a shot by senior linemate John Mazzei on the right side of the crease and pounded it past Mahoney-Wilson for his team-leading 15th-goal of the season. Picking up helpers on the goal were Mazzei and Cepis as the Falcons finally solved their scoring woes.
BG would once again see some chances go by the wayside in the game's final period, much like the second. Sophomore forward Kai Kantola found the iron just when a power play was expiring with 7:45 to play, while numerous other chances were unable to beat Mahoney-Wilson. Mahoney-Wilson finished his evening with 28 stops on 29 BG shots as the Falcons held a,29-18, advantage in shots on goal in the contest.
LSSU would finish the game off with an empty-net goal at the end as the Falcons fell to 2-4-0 on the year in game two of a CCHA series.
BG would finish 1-for-8 with the man-advantage, while the Lakers finished 2-for-7.
BG will return to action next Friday and Saturday when they play a two-game CCHA home-and-home series with Western Michigan. The two teams will drop the puck at 7:05 p.m. on Friday at the BGSU Ice Arena, before concluding the series with a 7:35 p.m. faceoff on Saturday at Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. Both games of the series can be heard by tuning into WBGU 88.1 FM as Danny Nieves will bring you all the play-by-play.
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