Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
5-4-3, 3-2-1WCHA
Ferris State
8-2-1, 5-0-1WCHA
Falcons Fall To Ferris State, 4-2
November 16, 2013 | Ice Hockey
Freshman Kevin Dufour and Matt Pohlkamp both scored Falcon goals on the night.
BOXSCORE (PDF)
Audio: Coach Bergeron | Kevin Dufour
Photo Gallery (Todd Pavlack)
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team lost to 14th-ranked Ferris State University on Saturday night (Nov. 16), falling to the Bulldogs by a score of 4-2. Playing in front of 2,182 fans at Ewigleben Ice Arena, the Falcons saw two different skaters score goals, while freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl stopped 25-of-28 shots he faced.
Bowling Green's two goals came off the sticks of freshman Kevin Dufour and Matt Pohlkamp in the first and second period, respectively. Bowling Green went 0-for-5 on the power play, while killing 4-of-5 Bulldog chances on the night.
Unlike last night, the Falcons were able to solve Bulldogs' netminder early and lit-the-lamp for the first time in the game at the 7:23 mark in the first period. Bowling Green once again held an early shot advantage over Ferris State, and it paid off on their ninth attempt.
After creating a Bulldog turnover, senior forward Andrew Wallace skated around a couple Ferris State defenders and forced his way into a scrum near the net. Wallace fired a shot towards sophomore goaltender CJ Motte. Motte made the initial save with his left pad, but could not gather the puck.
Senior Chad Sumsion and Dufour were waiting in front of the crease and found themselves with multiple chances for the rebound. Eventually, Dufour was able to corral one of the rebounds and jam it past Motte for the Falcons' first tally, handing the Orange and Brown an early 1-0 lead.
In what was a back-and-forth first period with plenty of opportunities for both teams, Ferris State had their best chance for the equalizer with 2:45 remaining in the period. The Bulldogs attacked the Falcon zone and placed several shots on net. However, Sholl made a few acrobatic saves to keep the game at 1-0 entering the second period.
Bowling Green continued to apply offensive pressure in the second period, outshooting the Bulldogs 14-10 in the middle frame.
Leading 1-0 in the period, the Orange and Brown doubled their lead at the 13:47 mark. Junior forward Dan DeSalvo created a turnover at the blue line. DeSalvo quickly changed direction and fired a shot near the slot. The puck bounced off Motte's chest as Pohlkamp flipped the rebound into the back of the net, lighting the lamp to hand Bowling Green a 2-0 lead.
Ferris State once again showed the same resiliency from last night, and lit-the-lamp with 1:57 left in the middle frame for their first goal of the tilt. Junior forward Justin Buzzeo received a pass from Garrett Thompson and fired the pass into the slot. Freshman Kyle Schempp sent the one-timer in front of the crease past Sholl, cutting the Falcon lead one.
Entering the final period trailing by a goal, the Bulldogs tied the game at 2-2 with 14:23 left. The Falcons had an opportunity to extend their 2-1 lead with a power-play chance. However, it was Ferris State that scored a shorthanded goal for the second consecutive night to tie the contest.
The Orange and Brown worked the puck around the blue line but sophomore defenseman Ralfs Freibergs had trouble gathering the puck. Ferris State's sophomore forward Kenny Babinski stole the puck and avoided a diving Freibergs, and skated down the ice towards Sholl. Babinski put a deke on Sholl and lit-the-lamp, erasing a two-goal deficit for the second-straight night.
Ferris State continued with two more goals over the final five minutes of play, winning the game with four unanswered goals, including an empty-net goal, to stay unbeaten in league play.
The loss drops Bowling Green's overall record to 5-4-3, with a record of 3-2-1 in WCHA action. With the win, Ferris State's overall record improved to 8-2-1, and 5-0-1 in WCHA play.
The Falcons will return to their home ice this weekend (Nov. 22-23), hosting the Minnesota State Mavericks at the BGSU Ice Arena. The WCHA series will mark the second time these two will play each other in three weeks. The Falcons and Mavericks went toe-to-toe at the Verizon Wireless Center (Nov. 8-9), coming away with a series split. The puck is set to drop at 7:07 p.m.
