Four-Goal First Period Lifts Falcons Past Clarkson, 5-4

Saturday, October 25

Potsdam, N.Y.

7:30 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

4-1-1,2-0-0

Clarkson

2-3-1,0-0-0

Team	1	2	3	F
Bowling Green	4	1	0	5
CLARKSON	1	1	2	4

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

October 25, 2014 | Ice Hockey

Box Score

Kevin Dufour tallied his NCAA-leading eighth goal on Saturday night, while freshman goaltender Chris Nell (2-0-0) turned away 27-of-30 shots on the night.

By: by Jake Dorow, Athletic Communications

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#FalconHockey takes the ice at Cheel Arena!
A video posted by BGSU Athletics (@bgfalcons) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:56pm PDT

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FalconHockey WeAreBG Puck drops at 7:30pm!
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#FalconHockey and Clarkson will battle in game two of the weekend series at Cheel Arena tonight!
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#FalconHockey leads 5-1 here in the 2nd period at Cheel Arena!
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#Falconhockey in action here in the third period, leading 5-3 at Cheel Arena.
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POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Clarkson University on Saturday (Oct. 25) night, scoring four goals in the first period to earn a 5-4 victory over the Golden Knights in the second game of their two-game set. Playing in front of 3,346 at Cheel Arena, five different Falcons tallied goals in the game, while freshman goaltender Chris Nell (2-0-0) turned away 27-of-30 shots on the night.

The Falcons (4-1-1) went 1-for-3 on the power play, while killing off 3-of-4 Golden Knight chances Saturday night. The Orange and Brown were outshot, 34-23, for just the second time all season. Bowling Green's Kevin Dufour, Ben Murphy, and Mitch McLain all netted goals in the first period, while Tyler Spezia and Pierre-Luc Mericer tallied their first goals of the season.

The Orange and Brown came out flying on the offensive end from opening face-off, scoring a season-best four goals in the first period. The Falcons placed 11 shots Clarkson's starting netminder Steve Perry, netting four to enter the second period with a three-goal lead.

"We were opportunistic," head coach Chris Bergeron said. "I don't think it was a peppering of shots. We scored on the good chances we had."

Bowling Green scored the first goal of the tilt, coming at the 4:12 mark of the opening period at even strength. Junior defenseman Dajon Mingo took a loose puck away from a scrum along the boards behind Nell and quickly sent a pass through the neutral zone to a skating Dufour. The sophomore winger broke free of the Golden Knights defense and sent a wrister past Perry on the breakaway, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

The breakaway goal gave Dufour his nation-high eighth goal of the season. The Quebec City native extended his goal streak to six games, as the sophomore left-handed winger has scored at least one goal over the Falcons' first six games of the 2014-15 season.

"It's always a good feeling to get that first goal of the game," sophomore forward Kevin Dufour said. "I feel confident out there I have great chemistry out there with my teammates."

The Golden Knights came right back, netting the equalizer with a power-play goal at the 6:57 mark. Clarkson's Paul Geiger sent a shot in from the far point and a deflection in front of the crease tied the game at 1-1.
In what appeared to be another back-and-forth affair on tap, the Falcons exploded with three goals over the final eight minutes of the first period to extend their lead to 4-1.

Bowling Green answered with its own power-play goal at the 12:47 mark, coming off the stick of Murphy. The Falcons took possession of the puck in the Clarkson zone, cycling the puck around the blue line and eventually behind the net. A loose puck was kicked out and found freshman Brandon Hawkins below the goal line. Hawkins quickly fired a pass that split several Clarkson defenders that sailed across the slot to find Murphy. The Duxbury, Massachusetts native sent a one-timer past Perry for his second power-play goal of the season.

The offensive surge continued in the first period for the Orange and Brown, netting its third goal at the 14:12 mark. After a stoppage of play, Mark Cooper won a faceoff in Clarkson's zone and sent the puck directly back to McLain at the top of the circle. The Baxter, Minnesota native sent the puck top shelf, netting his second goal of his career.

The Falcons scored their third-straight goal of the period at the 17:46 mark, coming off the stick of Spezia at even strength. Defenseman Sean Walker started the play, taking a loose puck in Bowling Green's zone and quickly sent the puck through the neutral zone. McLain sent a touch pass to a skating Spezia past the blue line and sent a backhanded shot through the five-hole for his first collegiate goal.

Bowling Green's offensive outburst continued in the second period, netting their fifth goal of the game with 15:23 remaining in the middle frame. Mercier, a Quebec City native, gathered a loose puck in front of the net after a couple of bounces and lit-the-lamp for the first time this season, giving BGSU its largest lead of the game at 5-1.

Clarkson scored three unanswered goals –including two in the third period— to pull within one goal, but Nell saved 13 Golden Knights shots to hold off a late rally. Clarkson outshot the Falcons by a dominate 15-3 margin in the third period, but BGSU's resilient defense over the final minutes held off Clarkson to earn the victory.

"Clarkson played really well in the third period," Dufour said. "We had to protect our lead and we ended up with the win tonight."

Bowling Green moves to 3-1-1 on the road, marking the first time since the 2004-05 season the Falcons opened its season with only one loss through the first five games away from the BGSU Ice Arena. The Orange and Brown also moved to a perfect 4-0-0 when tallying the first goal of the game.

"These are situations we have to learn from," Bergeron said. "Ultimately, we ended up with one more goal than they did and we'll take that. Obviously, we want to finish much stronger than we did tonight."

Bowling Green will return to the BGSU Ice Arena next weekend (Oct. 31-Nov. 1), playing host to Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) foe No. 13 Minnesota State. The weekend's matchup will be the first since the two teams went toe-to-toe in last year's WCHA Final Five semifinal matchup at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Puck is schedule to drop at 7:07 p.m.