Falcons Lose To Notre Dame In Overtime, 1-0

Friday, March 15

South Bend, Ind. (CCHA Second Round)

7:05 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Notre Dame

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

March 15, 2013 | Ice Hockey

By: John Enright - BGSU Athletic Comm

BOXSCORE | Photo Gallery
Postgame Audio: Coach Bergeron | Andrew Hammond | Brett Mohler

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team lost in overtime to Notre Dame Friday night, falling to the Fighting Irish by a score of 1-0 in the first game of the second round of the CCHA Playoffs. Senior Andrew Hammond turned away 35-of-36 shots in the contest, earning the second star of the game. Both teams were held scoreless with the man advantage, with Bowling Green going 0-for-2 and Notre Dame going 0-for-3.

The playoff atmosphere was noticeable in the Compton Family Ice Arena, as both teams put on a tough, grind-out performance in the opening game of the series. Despite being outshot by the Irish, 22-13, after two periods of play, the Falcons held their own with a number of scoring chances, sending two shots off the iron in the first 40 minutes. Despite the heavy work load, Hammond and Notre Dame net-minder Steven Summerhays were perfect in the first two periods, sending the Falcons and Irish into the third period deadlocked at 0-0. .

The third period was filled with back-and-forth action, with Notre Dame holding a slight 13-9 shot advantage in the final frame. While the Falcons secured a number of great scoring opportunities in the final 20 minutes of regulation, Hammond stole the show, making a number of fantastic saves to keep Bowling Green in the game. Summerhays was up to the task as well, holding Bowling Green scoreless to send the game into sudden death overtime.

Just 1:22 into the bonus period, Notre Dame's Bryan Rust took a feed from Jeff Costello in the slot, kicking the puck from his skates up to his stick. Rust went in on his backhand and fired a shot high blocker side, beating Hammond for the game-winning goal.

The loss pushes the Falcons' overall record to 15-20-5, and gives Notre Dame the 1-0 lead in the best-of-three conference playoff series. The Falcons take on Notre Dame in an encore match on Saturday, March 16. The puck is set to drop at 7:05 p.m.