Falcons Hold On To Defeat Chargers 2-1

Friday, October 14

Huntsville, Ala.

8:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Alabama Huntsville

October 14, 2011 | Ice Hockey

By: John Enright-Athletic Communications Intern

Box Score (PDF)
Box Score (HTML)

Dan DeSalvo Audio
Brett Mohler Audio

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Alabama-Huntsville in their first road contest of the year Friday night, by a score of 2-1. Goals by rookie stand-outs Ryan Carpenter and Dan DeSalvo were all junior Andrew Hammond needed in the victory. The Falcons' starting goaltender turned away 29 of 30 shots in the contest to record his second win of the season.

The game started in Huntsville's favor, as the Chargers began the tilt with a 7-1 lead in the shot department. Hammond came up big for the Falcons early, turning away all 13 shots he faced in the opening period.

Despite being heavily outshot early, the Falcons lit the lamp first on a goal by Carpenter 7:39 into the contest. The Chargers turned the puck over behind the net to sophomore Brett Mohler, who fed Carpenter on the left side of the pipes. Carpenter buried his second goal of the young season, giving him a team leading five points on the year.

The second period was full of opportunities for the Falcons, as they outshot Huntsville 14-6 in the frame. The period was also filled with special team's play, as Bowling Green failed to convert on six minutes of power play time.

The third period started fast for the Falcons, as DeSalvo scored just 19 seconds into the frame. Junior defenseman Ian Ruel carried the puck through the neutral zone, passing to DeSalvo just as he crossed the blue line. DeSalvo buried his second goal of the year on a wrist shot from the left circle, giving the Falcons the 2-0 lead.

The Chargers responded 10 minutes later with a goal of their own. Freshman Jeff Vanderlugt scored an even-strength tally to cut the Bowling Green lead to one.

Huntsville outshot the Falcons 11-8 in the third period, but would not score again, as Hammond shut the door on the Chargers to secure the 2-1 victory.

Mohler and Ruel each recorded their first points (both assists) of the season, while DeSalvo and Carpenter extended personal point scoring streaks to two and three games respectively.

Both teams struggled on the power play, as neither team registered a power play goal in the contest. Bowling Green went 0-6 while the Chargers went 0-5.

The win keeps the Falcons undefeated streak alive, putting their overall record at 2-0-1 on the year. An encore game between the Falcons and Chargers takes place Saturday night at 8 p.m. EST.