Falcons Open Road Series With 3-1 Win Over Alaska-Fairbanks

Friday, January 20

Fairbanks, Alaska

11:05 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Alaska

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

January 21, 2012 | Ice Hockey

By: John Enright-Athletic Communications

BOXSCORE

FAIRBANKS, Alaska.- The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated the University of Alaska-Fairbanks 3-1 Friday night, snapping their streak of 12 games without a regulation win. Sophomore Cam Wojtala, freshman Adam Berkle and junior Marc Rodriguez lit-the-lamp for the Falcons, while junior goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped 27-of-28 shots in the win.

The Nanooks opened the first period with a flurry of shots on Hammond, outshooting the Falcons 11-4 in the opening stanza. Despite the heavy Nanook shot advantage, Bowling Green struck first, netting a goal at the 6:39 mark of the frame.

Senior Cameron Sinclair recovered the puck behind Alaska's net, and sent it in front to Wojtala who was waiting in the slot. Wojtala wristed his fifth goal of the year past Nanook goaltender Steve Thompson, and gave Bowling Green the early 1-0 lead.

Bowling Green came out on fire in the second period, scoring a goal just 25 seconds into the frame. Freshman Ryan Carpenter won an offensive draw to fellow freshman Dan DeSalvo, who fed a touch pass to Berkle at the top of the circle. Berkle fired a wrist shot past Thompson for his second goal of the season, and gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

The Falcons continued to pressure Alaska, earning three power-play opportunities in the second period. Bowling Green broke through Thompson for a third time at the 6:40 mark of the second period on the power play. Rodriguez buried his second goal of the season on a rebound after a scrum in front, giving the Falcons a 3-0 lead.

With just under two minutes remaining in the contest, the Nanooks finally broke through Hammond. Senior Nanook defenseman Aaron Gens rifled a shot from the point past Hammond to put the score at 3-1, and end the shutout bid. That would be as close as Alaska would get, as Hammond shut the door for the remainder of the contest, and gave Bowling Green the 3-1 victory.

The Bowling Green victory marks their first regulation win since the Falcons defeated Canisius 3-1 at the BGSU Ice Arena on Nov. 12.

The win also marks the Falcons second CCHA regulation victory of the season. The Falcons last CCHA win came back on Oct. 21, when Hammond shut out Lake Superior State 1-0 on the road.

The Falcons three-goal outburst Friday night snapped a five-game streak in which the Falcons scored two goals or less. The last time the Falcons scored more than two goals in a game was Dec. 9 against Western Michigan, when the Falcons tied the Broncos 3-3 at the BGSU Ice Arena.

Bowling Green's win snapped a five-game losing streak to Alaska-Fairbanks, dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, when the Falcons defeated the Nanooks 3-1 (Nov. 13, 2009) at the BGSU Ice Arena. The last time the Falcons defeated Alaska on the road was during the 2008-2009 season, when Bowling Green netminder Jimmy Spratt shut out the Nanooks 1-0 (Oct. 24, 2008).

The win improves the Falcons' record to 7-13-5 overall, with a record of 2-11-4 in CCHA action. The loss drops the Nanooks' overall record to 7-12-4, with a record of 4-11-4 in conference play.

The Falcons are back in action tomorrow night in an encore match against Alaska-Fairbanks. The puck drops at 11:05 p.m. EST.