Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
5-3-3, 3-1-1WCHA
Ferris State
7-2-1, 4-0-1WCHA
Three Third Period Goals Propel Falcons To 3-3 OT Tie
November 15, 2013 | Ice Hockey
Three Falcon goals in the third period helped the Orange and Brown earn a point in WCHA showdown.
BOXSCORE (PDF)
Audio: Coach Bergeron | Cam Wojtala | Connor Kucera
Photo Gallery (Todd Pavlack)
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team tied 14th-ranked Ferris State University on Friday night (Nov. 15), using three goals in the third period to earn a 3-3 standstill after 65 minutes of action. Playing in front of 1,706 fans at the Ewigleben Ice Arena, the Falcons saw three different skaters score goals, while sophomore Tommy Burke turned away 28-of-31 shots.
The Orange and Brown got goals from Connor Kucera, Brent Tate and Cam Wojtala, which all came over the final frame. The Falcons went 0-for-5 on the power play, marking their fourth-straight game in which they failed to score a power-play goal. However, Bowling Green still managed to outshoot the Bulldogs with a 40-31 advantage.
Neither team was able to light the lamp in the first period. Both Ferris State and Bowling Green failed to figure out the opposing goaltender as the Falcons applied the most pressure in the period, outshooting the Bulldogs 11-6 over the first 20 minutes.
Entering the second period scoreless, the Bulldogs got the game's first marker with 17:40 left in the frame.
Down a man on the ice, the Bulldogs cleared the puck with the Orange and Brown on the attack. Goaltender Burke went to play the long clear in the left circle, but his pass found the stick of Bulldogs' Chad McDonald. McDonald quickly reacted and shot the puck into the back of the net.
The shorthanded goal gave Ferris State a 1-0 lead.
Forty minutes passed by without a Falcon goal and it appeared the Orange and Brown would be shutout for the second consecutive game. However, Falcons' defenseman Kucera finally broke the scoreless drought at the 14:58 mark in the third.
The Falcons worked the puck around the blue line to find Kucera at the left point. Kucera fired the puck towards Bulldogs' netminder CJ Motte, who stopped 37-of-40 shots, and trickled past the sophomore for the Falcons' first goal of the game.
The goal seemed to spark Bowling Green's offensive mindset, and the Falcons struck again a little over seven minutes later. Junior forward Adam Berkle fought off a check from a Bulldog defender and skated into the right circle. Berkle shot the puck from the right crease as Motte made the initial save, but could not hold onto the puck. The rebound bounced towards Wojtala as the Falcon captain quickly sent the rebound past the Bulldogs netminder, giving the Orange and Brown a 2-1 lead with 6:40 remaining in the game.
The Falcons struck once more just 2:04 after their second goal, handing them a 3-1 advantage with 4:46 left in the game. Sophomore defenseman Ralfs Freibergs received a pass from Dajon Mingo at the point and fired a shot into a scrum near the net. Tate was waiting and deflected the puck past Motte, giving Bowling Green their largest lead of the game.
However, the Falcons could not hold the lead as Ferris State made a furious late-game comeback, scoring two goals over the final minutes of regulation to force overtime.
The draw drops Bowling Green's overall record to 5-3-3, with a record of 3-1-1 in WCHA action. Ferris State's overall record now sits at 7-2-1, and 4-0-1 in league play.
The Falcons will be right back in action Saturday night (Nov. 16), facing off against 14th-ranked Ferris State in the second game of their two-game road series. The Falcons will look to come away with a win, which will push Bowling Green to a first-place tie with Ferris State in the WCHA. The puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m. at the Ewigleben Ice Arena.
