Bowling Green State University
MIAMI
No. 1 RedHawks Survive Falcon Comeback To Down #24 Hockey, 5-2, On Saturday Evening
January 05, 2008 | Ice Hockey
Jan. 5, 2008
Final Stats |
Quotes |
Photo Gallery 
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - A second period goal by Miami forward Bill Loupee at the 13:40 mark, broke a 2-2 tie and wound up being the difference in a 5-2 win for the top-ranked RedHawks over the Bowling Green State University hockey team. The Saturday night Central Collegiate Hockey Association contest was held at the BGSU Ice Arena.
Loupee and his linemates Justin Vaive and Alexandre Lacombe would combine for seven total points as the RedHawks got an early 2-0 lead, then withstood a valiant comeback by BG to tie the game in the second, before tallying three unanswered goals in the late second and third period to seize control of the game. Loupee finished the night with a goal and assist, along with Lacombe, while Vaive tallied a play-maker with three helpers in the game.
The win improved the No. 1 RedHawks to 19-3-0 overall and 11-3-0 in the CCHA, dropping the Falcons to 9-9-0 and 6-6-0, respectively.
BG got a 25-save performance out of junior goaltender Jimmy Spratt and a two-point night from sophomore forward James Perkin in the losing effort. Also collecting points on the evening would be freshman forward David Solway and senior defenseman Mike Nesdill, who both added a goal, while junior defenseman Tim Maxwell and freshman forward Jacob Cepis both tallied assists.
"I thought we got the focus of a pretty good hockey team [Miami] right from the start," said BG coach Scott Paluch. "They had a really good start to the game, but I like the way our team was able to battle back and gives ourselves a chance by making some plays to get the game evened up. Unfortunately in doing so, we spent so much energy trying to get back in the game and the depth of their team really allowed them to take control of the game. They [Miami] made a lot of strong plays as the game went on and ultimately, they were the much stronger team in the final periods of the weekend."
That RedHawk focus was evident from the drop of the puck as MU only took 1:44 to get on the scoreboard on their first power play attempt of the evening. Forward Brian Kaufman tallied his eighth-goal of the season as Pat Cannone and Carter Camper found him open on the right side of the BG goal to give MU a 1-0 lead.
The line of Lacombe, Loupee and Vaive then went to work just 1:47 later to increase the RedHawk lead to 2-0 as Lacombe found the net from the left-side of the slot with Loupee and Vaive both adding helpers.
BG wouldn't let the nation's top-ranked opponent run them out of their own building though as they tallied their first goal of the night at the 8:38 mark of the opening period. After Perkin and Cepis passed it around, they found Nesdill open at the top of the right-wing circle, whose shot from just inside the blue line beat MU goaltender Jeff Zatkoff to cut the MU to, 2-1.
The Falcons wouldn't stop there though as their power play knotted the game up at, 2-2, when Solway was able to knock home a rebound in front from a shot by Perkin in the left circle for his seventh of the season. For Perkin it was his 12th assist of the season as his effort tied him with BG senior forward Derek Whitmore for the team-lead in points with 18.
Just when it looked like BG may have their first shot at a sweep of the nation's top opponent since 1992, a season when they swept No. 1 Michigan in a two-game home-and-home series, MU struck with a big-blow. Loupee's game-winning tally came just 56 seconds after the Falcons tied things up as he was able to collect a rebound in front of Spratt in scramble to put the RedHawks up, 3-2.
Justin Mercier and Alec Martinez would then tally third period goals for MU as the Falcons dropped their seventh-game this season to a ranked foe, who they have now had seven of their nine losses come against.
Zatkoff collected 26 saves on 28 BG shots as the RedHawks held a 30-28 advantage for the night.
The lethal power plays of both squads would finish the evening 1-for-4 with the man-advantage.
BG will return to the ice this next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 11-12) when they head to Saulte Ste. Marie, Mich. to take on the Lakers of Lake Superior State. Faceoff for game one of the two-game CCHA series is set for 7:05 p.m. for LSSU's Taffy Abel Arena. The two teams will then conclude their series with a 5:05 p.m. faceoff on Saturday. Both games can be heard by tuning into WBGU 88.1 FM as Danny Nieves will provide all the play-by-play of the action.
NOTES: With David Solway's second period power-play goal, the Falcon freshmen now have 12 of BG's last 15 goals and 14 of the last 22 ... BG forward James Perkin ended his weekend with five total points (1-4-5) against the RedHawks as he now has accumulated 12 total points in his last eight contests ... Perkin's multiple-assist game gave him three for the year and ties him Derek Whitmore for the team-lead with five multiple-point games ... freshman forward Jacob Cepis has now tallied eight points (6-2-8) in his last seven games, while senior defenseman Mike Nesdill has a point per game average with eight points (2-6-8) in his last eight ... The loss marked the first time this season the Falcons lost a game decided by three or more goals.
