Falcons Battle Back, But Fall To Notre Dame, 4-3

Friday, March 1

South Bend, Ind.

7:35 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Notre Dame

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

March 01, 2013 | Ice Hockey

By: BGSU-Athletic Communications

BOXSCORE | Photo Gallery
Postgame Audio: Ben Murphy | Ralfs Freibergs

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team lost to Notre Dame Friday night, falling to the Fighting Irish by a score of 4-3 at the Compton Family Ice Arena. Freshmen Ben Murphy, Brent Tate and junior Brett Mohler scored for the Falcons, while freshman Tommy Burke (5-7-2) stopped 8-of-11 shots. Senior Andrew Hammond also saw action, stopping 13-of-14 shots in relief of Burke. Both teams scored twice on the power play, with Bowling Green going 2-for-4 and Notre Dame going 2-for-3 with the man advantage.

The Fighting Irish scored the only goal of the opening frame, coming at the 8:41 mark at even strength. Notre Dame's Jeff Costello brought the puck into the Bowling Green zone with numbers in his favor, eventually dropping a pass back into the high slot. Eric Johnson accepted the pass and fired a hard top- shelf wrist shot, beating Burke for an early 1-0 Irish lead.

The Falcons pressured Notre Dame for the majority of the opening frame, outshooting the Irish by a 15-8 margin. The Falcons did score later in the first, but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference on the play.

Notre Dame came out on fire in the second period, scoring two-straight goals just over five minutes into the frame. Junior T.J. Tynan netted Notre Dame's first goal of the period, scoring his ninth tally of the season on the power play at 2:05. Jeff Costello followed by scoring his ninth of the season on a turnover in the Falcon zone at 5:19 to give Notre Dame the 3-0 lead.

Bowling Green responded just 50 seconds later on the power play, breaking the scoring drought to put the score at 3-1. Freshman Ralfs Freibergs fired a shot on the Notre Dame net, finding Murphy in front for a deflection. Irish goaltender Steven Summerhays made the initial save, but kicked the rebound back into the slot. Murphy took advantage, jamming home the rebound for his fifth goal of the season.

The Irish answered with a second power play goal at the 7:24 mark of the second, regaining the three-goal lead. Notre Dame's Mario Lucia accepted a cross-zone pass at the near circle from Sam Calabrese, before firing a shot past new goaltender Andrew Hammond to put the score at 4-1 in favor of ND.

Down by three goals, the Falcons closed out the final five minutes of the middle stanza with two-straight tallies to pull back within one score. At the 15:24 mark of the second, the Falcons moved the puck around the Notre Dame zone. Sophomore Dan DeSalvo took possession at the near post after a flurry in front, before sending a pass through the Irish crease. DeSalvo's pass found Tate waiting at the far side for the open-net goal, giving the freshman his fourth score of the season.

Just over a minute later, junior Cam Wojtala intercepted an errant pass out of the Notre Dame zone. Wojtala fired the puck on goal, creating a rebound at the far side. Mohler took possession of the puck and wrapped it around the back end, sneaking it past Summerhays to put the score at 4-3 in favor of the Fighting Irish.

Bowling Green and Notre Dame each had a number of scoring chances in the frame, with the Falcons edging the Fighting Irish, 10-7, in shots in the third period. Neither team was able to light the lamp in the third, however, giving Notre Dame the 4-3 win despite the Falcons comeback effort.

The loss drops the Falcons' overall record to 13-17-5, with a record of 10-14-3-1 in conference play. Bowling Green now sits at 34 points in the CCHA, tying the Falcons with Michigan for the seventh spot in the upcoming Playoffs. The Falcons own the tie breaker over Michigan, sliding the Wolverines to the eighth spot, the final host position for the first round. The Falcons can secure a first-round home playoff series with any type of win (regulation, overtime or shootout) Saturday night against Notre Dame. The Falcons can also clinch home ice with a Michigan loss to Ferris State in regulation or overtime Saturday night.

The Falcons hit the ice again Saturday night, facing off against Notre Dame in an encore game at Compton Family Ice Arena with a home playoff series on the line. The puck is set to drop at 7:05 p.m.