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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Nebraska Omaha
Falcons Score Late To Earn Win Over Nebraska-Omaha
November 01, 2008 | Ice Hockey
Nov. 1, 2008
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BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - Bowling Green State University sophomore forward Dan Sexton scored with just over three minutes left to give the Falcons a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the University of Nebraska-Omaha Friday night at the BGSU Ice Arena.
The Falcons had forged a seemingly safe 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from sophomore forward David Solway and a Sexton tally. Neither team scored in the second period and Bowling Green had carried a majority of the play in the first two periods building a 34-13 edge in shots.
But, the Mavericks made it interesting notching a goal just 37 seconds into the final stanza and that seemed to put some wind back in their sails. UNO tied the game on a Joey Martin goal at 10:54 of the third period, and it was a new game.
But, Sexton's goal, with assists from senior forward Brandon Svendsen and Solway, gave the Falcons the victory in a game that seemed destined for overtime and possibly a shootout.
The line of Svendsen (0-2), Solway (1-2) and Sexton (2-0) accounted for all the points for the Falcons except an assist for freshman defenseman Nick Bailen, the first point of his career, on Sexton's first goal. Solway's three points was a career-best.
Senior Jimmy Spratt made 18 saves in the game as the Falcons held UNO scoreless on four power-play attempts. The Falcons tested UNO junior goaltender Jeremie Dupont time and time again and he was up to the test most of the time. The Falcons forced Dupont to make 41 saves. BG failed on all six of their power-play opportunities.
The Falcons' last win, the first game of the Alaska series last week, came on a goal at the 16:46 mark of the third period and Sexton's first career game-winner came at the 16:44 mark of the final stanza.
The Falcons are now 3-3-1 overall and 2-1-0-0 in the CCHA while UNO dropped to 4-1-0 overall and were playing in their CCHA opener. The two teams meet again Saturday night at the Ice Arena in a game that starts at 7:05.
"For a majority of the 60 minutes our team played extremely well," BGSU head coach Scott Paluch said after the game. "Omaha did a great job answering the bell in the third period, getting a quick goal and staying with it to tie it up. We did a good job down the stretch and didn't allow many chances with their goalie pulled.
"They were terrific (talking about the Solway, Svendsen, Sexton line) right from the beginning and all the way through. They battled hard for pucks, won a lot of those battles, and finished things off with grit and finesse. They kind of did it all. To cap it off, for the most part, they are the guys who were out there in the end."
"To have the opportunity to come back after giving up two quick goals tells a lot about our team," Sexton said. "Once they tied it up, I thought we kind of turned it around and stayed very positive on the bench. Luckily, we got a bounce and were able to fend them off the rest of the way. It's huge for our team because it could have been pretty devastating if they would have come back because we were feeling pretty good throughout the game."
