Friday, March 2
Marquette, Mich. (CCHA First Round)
7:35 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
2
at
4
Northern Michigan
Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com
Falcons Fall To Wildcats 4-2 In First Game Of CCHA Playoffs
March 02, 2012 | Ice Hockey
Northern Michigan scores two in the third period, giving the Wildcats the 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series
BOXSCORE | Coach Bergeron Audio | Adam Berkle Audio |
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team lost to Northern Michigan Friday night, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Wildcats at the Berry Events Center. Freshmen Dan DeSalvo and Adam Berkle scored the Falcon goals, while goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped 22-of-26 shots in the loss.
Bowling Green showed they were ready for the playoff run, scoring a goal in the opening minute of the contest. Freshman Connor Kucera sent a pass on net that caught the stick of fellow freshman Adam Berkle in front. The puck deflected to the right of the goal, where DeSalvo was waiting to bury his fifth goal of the season.
Northern Michigan refused to let Bowling Green steal the momentum in their home building, evening the contest at the 11:58 mark of the first period. Senior Justin Florek scored his 18th goal of the season, tying the contest 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
The Wildcats looked to run away with the game in the second period, scoring the first goal of the frame just five minutes in. Freshman Ryan Daugherty deflected home his third goal of the season on a shot from the point, and gave Northern Michigan the 2-1 advantage.
The Falcons responded with a goal of their own at the 13:32 mark of the second period. Berkle carried the puck in front of the Northern Michigan cage after a turnover, and beat Wildcat goaltender Jared Coreau down low. The tally marked Berkle's sixth goal of the season, and tied the contest 2-2 heading into the third period.
Due to a Bowling Green penalty late in the second period, Northern Michigan started the final frame on the power play. The Wildcats made the Falcons pay, as senior Andrew Cherniwchan deflected a shot past Hammond for his tenth goal of the season. The power-play goal gave Northern Michigan the 3-2 advantage, with 18:33 left to play in the game.
Unfortunately for Bowling Green, the Wildcats struck again. Senior Tyler Gron accepted a pass right out of the penalty box, and flew into the Bowling Green zone on a 2-on-1 break. Gron kept the puck, and beat Hammond for his 17th goal of the season. The goal marked Gron's 48th career tally, and gave Northern Michigan the two-goal lead.
The Falcons were unable to solve Coreau for the remainder of the contest, giving Northern Michigan the 4-2 win, and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three playoff series.
DeSalvo's goal snapped a personal 15-game goal drought, dating back to the Falcons' shootout win over Miami (Nov. 19).
Berkle's two point game marked his fourth multi-point game of the season, and his first since Feb. 4, when the Falcons defeated Notre Dame 3-2 on the road.
Freshman Ryan Carpenter's assist on the second Falcon goal Friday night gives him 22 points on the year. Carpenter now has more points than the Falcons' leading scorer from last season, Jordan Samuels-Thomas (21).
The Falcons' record drops to 10-22-5 overall, with a record of 5-19-4-3 in CCHA action. The win improves the Wildcats' overall record to 17-12-6, with a record of 11-11-6-3 in conference play.
Bowling Green is back in action Saturday night, in the second game of the opening playoff series. The puck drops at 7:35 p.m.
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