Lakers Drown Out Loud Crowd in Friday Night Loss

Friday, January 28

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:05 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Lake Superior State

January 29, 2011 | Ice Hockey

The Falcons had the crowd but not the score on their side in a 4-2 loss, Friday night.

By: by Ryan Gasser, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The atmosphere in the BGSU Ice Arena (Bowling Green, Ohio) was one of the loudest and wildest that a Falcon hockey team had played in front of in quite some time. Despite the energy racing through the stands and a tireless fight from beginning to end, BGSU fell short of a victory to Lake Superior State, 4-2, on Friday night.

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For the second straight game, Bowling Green scored the game's opening goal to take a lead and put pressure on their opponent early. Sophomore forward Jordan Samuels-Thomas (South Windsor, Conn.) displayed some impressive stick handling in the low slot leading to an easy back-handed shot that wrapped around LSSU goaltending Kevin Kapalka's outstretched stick. Coming up the ice, Andrew Wallace slowly split the defense between the far faceoff circles and hit Samuels-Thomas with a pass in the slot leading to the sophomore's team-leading seventh goal of the season. Robert Shea (Harrison Township, Mich.) recorded the second assist on the score, his third of the year.

Lake Superior answered with three straight goals, the first two scored while on the power play. The first power-play goal was scored at 15:44 of the first period, just over three minutes after the Falcons' goal. After penalties from BGSU defensemen Ryan Peltoma (Brainerd, Minn.) and Ian Ruel (Ann Arbor, Mich.) created a five-on-three power play advantage for LSSU, the Lakers took less than a minute after the last whistle to score their first goal. Zach Trotman was the end recipient of a series of passes around the three-man Bowling Green penalty kill unit. Trotman took a hard, left-handed shot beating Falcon goaltender Nick Eno (Howell, Mich.).

Just five minutes into the second period, the Lakers took the lead courtesy of a Domenic Monardo goal at the 4:50 mark. Monardo scored his ninth goal of the season while on the power play with a sharp shot that went top-shelf on Eno. The Laker was falling away from the play when he took his shot and beat Eno glove-side. Assists on the play were awarded to Rick Schofield and Zach Trotman.

Less than two minutes after the Lakers' second goal, LSSU scored its first even-strength goal at 6:18 of the second period. On a shot initially taken by Tyson Hobbins from outside the top, far faceoff circle Chad Nehring redirected the puck around the Bowling Green defense and past Eno to create a 3-1 Laker advantage.

The third goal prompted head coach Chris Bergeron to make a change between the pipes, sending sophomore Andrew Hammond (Surrey, British Columbia) out to relieve Eno. It marked the first time that the Falcons made an in-game goaltending change that was not brought on by an injury on the ice.

Shortly after the change, Bowling Green added a second goal that energized the fans in attendance and the rest of the team. In his thirteenth game this season, Nathan Pageau (Stoney Creek, Ontario) scored his first goal of the season with 12:24 remaining in the second period. After establishing an offensive presence in the Lake Superior defensive zone, the Falcons moved the puck around the end boards until Mike Fink (Minnetonka, Minn.) back-handed a pass to Pageau whose wrist shot zipped past Kapalka and cut the lead to one goal, 3-2.

The Falcons and Lakers skated deadlocked for nearly 20 minutes straight, though action and scoring opportunities did not cease. After Hammond's entrance into the game, Lake Superior put 15 shots on goal. Hammond made 14 saves, keeping the Brown and Orange in the mix until the last two minutes of the game.

The Falcons acquired a prime opportunity to tie the game when Laker defenseman Andrew Perrault as penalized for tripping with 2:20 remaining in the game, putting BGSU on the power play. However, before the Falcons could conjure an offensive attack they too were called for a penalty, killing their power play attempt. While skating four-on-four, LSSU's Will Acton turned a Bowling Green turnover into a Laker goal, sealing the win with a 4-2 score.

Kapalka acquired his sixth win of the year on a 21-save day while Eno earned the loss, saving 11-of-14 shots taken against him in 26:18 of play before being relieved. In 32:33 of time, Hammond made 14 straight saves before surrendering the late goal.

Bowling Green went 0-for-4 on their power play chances Friday evening, extending their power play scoreless streak to 33 chances. Lake Superior went 2-for-7 on the night and have now scored three power-play goals against the Falcons this season through three games.

Bowling (7-12-2, 2-15-2-0) and Lakers (7-11-7, 5-8-6-4) will set up for a rematch on Saturday night, 7:05 p.m. ET, for the regular season finale. It is “Pack the House Night” at the BGSU Ice Arena, so bring your friends, family and hockey fans alike to support the Falcons. The first 750 fans will receive a free brown, knit hat on entrance.

Full coverage of Falcon hockey and all 18 varsity sports can be found on the official online home of BGSU athletics, www.BGSUFalcons.com.