Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, November 7
Fairbanks, Alaska
11:07 P.M.
Bowling Green State University
6-2-1, 4-1-0
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2
Alaska
5-4-0, 0-3-0
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Bowling Green
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Alaska
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Photo by: Paul McCarthy, UAF
Pohlkamp’s Third-Period Goal Lifts The Falcons Past Alaska, 3-2
November 07, 2014 | Ice Hockey
Matt Pohlkamp's goal in the third period lifted the Falcons past the Nanooks, 3-2. The Falcons took two points in league standings, and improved to 4-1-0 (8 pts) in the WCHA.
Fairbanks, Alaska – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated the University of Alaska on Friday (Nov. 7) night, taking the first game of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) weekend series by a score of 3-2. Playing in front of 2,401 fans at the Carlson Center, the Falcons took the first two available points for the weekend in league standings. BGSU received goals from Mark Cooper, Brandon Hawkins and Matt Pohlkamp, while junior goaltender Tommy Burke (2-1-1) turned away 26-of-28 shots on the night.
Pohlkamp's second goal of the season – which proved to be the game-winning goal at the 12:56 mark of the third period – gave the Falcons a 3-2, and broke a 2-2 tie late in the game. BGSU's underclassmen, who entered the game leading the nation with a combined 23 goals and 53 points, continued to accumulate points for the Orange and Brown. Six different underclassmen tallied one point to lead the Falcons past the Nanooks on Friday night.
"We're a group that scores by committee. We can all go up a level," head coach Chris Bergeron said. "It's just a matter of finding our consistent level for 60 minutes."
The win moves Bowling Green to 6-2-1 (4-1-0 WCHA), and drops Alaska to 5-4-0 overall (0-3-0 WCHA).
The Falcons scored the game's first goal of the game at the 9:05 mark in the first period, coming off the stick of Cooper. Mitch McLain, who collected his third assist of the season, passed the puck through several Nanook defenders across the crease. Cooper quickly gathered the pass and sent the puck past an outstretched leg of Nanooks' starting goaltender Sean Cahill to the back of the net, giving BGSU an early 1-0 lead.
In what became a back-and-forth affair, Alaska came right back and tied the game at 1-1 with its own goal at the 12:47 mark of the opening frame. The Falcons turned over the puck in their zone while on the penalty kill and it proved costly. Brandon Morley took the puck from the corner and fed freshman winger Peter Krieger across the crease, sending a one-timer to the back of the net for his third goal of the season.
"It's a good stepping stone. If we can build from this hopefully we can be a threat in the third all the time," Cooper said.
The Falcons, who entered the night averaging 3.25 goals per night, answered with another even-strength goal at 18:52 in the first period. Brett D'Andrea, who tallied his first collegiate goal last Saturday against then-No.12 Minnesota State, fed freshman colleague Jakob Reichert behind the Alaska net. The 6'5, 233-pound winger found Hawkins on the left side of the crease, who sent a shot past Cahill to give the Falcons a 2-1 edge entering the second period.
The Falcons placed 13 shots on goal in the opening act, while the Nanooks placed 10 shots towards Burke.
"Tommy Burke seems on top of his game. I don't think he should have had either of those pucks," Bergeron said. "That's what we've been fighting: don't have those bad goals and we didn't."
Alaska scored the only goal in the second frame at the 4:12 mark, coming off the stick of sophomore right winger Marcus Basara at even strength. Basara took a pass from Colton Parayko – a third-round draft selection by the St. Louis Blues in 2012 – and sent a low shot past the outstretched glove of Burke to find the back of the twine to tie the tilt at 2-2.
The Nanooks outshot the Orange and Brown by a 12-7 margin in the second period, and managed to keep the Falcons scoreless on two power play chances.
The 2-2 score remained true until Pohlkamp sent a one-timer past Cahill at the 12:56 mark in the third period, lifting the Falcons past the Nanooks. Linemate Pierre-Luc Mercier sent a pass that split several Nanook defenders across the slot that found Pohlkamp's stick to help give the Orange and Brown the lead for good.
"It's huge that we are getting consistency from everybody," Pohlkamp said. "It isn't one or two guys. It gives us a lot of depth and confidence to win games."
The Falcons outshot Alaska on the night, 33-28, and killed off 2-of-3 Nanook power play chances throughout the night. McLain and freshman defenseman Mark Friedman led all Falcons with six shots, while Hawkins and junior Ben Murphy registered four apiece. The Orange and Brown went 0-for-5 on the power play, but moved to 5-0-0 on the season when leading after the first period.
"I thought we handled the third period really well tonight. I thought our game winning goal was a great play by good players," Bergeron said. "I'm happy with the result. Obviously there's a lot we can talk about the process being better."
The Falcons will be right back in action Saturday (Nov. 7) evening, taking on the Nanooks in the second game of their two-game WCHA weekend showdown. The puck is scheduled to drop at 11:07 p.m. ET at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Pohlkamp's second goal of the season – which proved to be the game-winning goal at the 12:56 mark of the third period – gave the Falcons a 3-2, and broke a 2-2 tie late in the game. BGSU's underclassmen, who entered the game leading the nation with a combined 23 goals and 53 points, continued to accumulate points for the Orange and Brown. Six different underclassmen tallied one point to lead the Falcons past the Nanooks on Friday night.
"We're a group that scores by committee. We can all go up a level," head coach Chris Bergeron said. "It's just a matter of finding our consistent level for 60 minutes."
The win moves Bowling Green to 6-2-1 (4-1-0 WCHA), and drops Alaska to 5-4-0 overall (0-3-0 WCHA).
The Falcons scored the game's first goal of the game at the 9:05 mark in the first period, coming off the stick of Cooper. Mitch McLain, who collected his third assist of the season, passed the puck through several Nanook defenders across the crease. Cooper quickly gathered the pass and sent the puck past an outstretched leg of Nanooks' starting goaltender Sean Cahill to the back of the net, giving BGSU an early 1-0 lead.
In what became a back-and-forth affair, Alaska came right back and tied the game at 1-1 with its own goal at the 12:47 mark of the opening frame. The Falcons turned over the puck in their zone while on the penalty kill and it proved costly. Brandon Morley took the puck from the corner and fed freshman winger Peter Krieger across the crease, sending a one-timer to the back of the net for his third goal of the season.
"It's a good stepping stone. If we can build from this hopefully we can be a threat in the third all the time," Cooper said.
The Falcons, who entered the night averaging 3.25 goals per night, answered with another even-strength goal at 18:52 in the first period. Brett D'Andrea, who tallied his first collegiate goal last Saturday against then-No.12 Minnesota State, fed freshman colleague Jakob Reichert behind the Alaska net. The 6'5, 233-pound winger found Hawkins on the left side of the crease, who sent a shot past Cahill to give the Falcons a 2-1 edge entering the second period.
The Falcons placed 13 shots on goal in the opening act, while the Nanooks placed 10 shots towards Burke.
"Tommy Burke seems on top of his game. I don't think he should have had either of those pucks," Bergeron said. "That's what we've been fighting: don't have those bad goals and we didn't."
Alaska scored the only goal in the second frame at the 4:12 mark, coming off the stick of sophomore right winger Marcus Basara at even strength. Basara took a pass from Colton Parayko – a third-round draft selection by the St. Louis Blues in 2012 – and sent a low shot past the outstretched glove of Burke to find the back of the twine to tie the tilt at 2-2.
The Nanooks outshot the Orange and Brown by a 12-7 margin in the second period, and managed to keep the Falcons scoreless on two power play chances.
The 2-2 score remained true until Pohlkamp sent a one-timer past Cahill at the 12:56 mark in the third period, lifting the Falcons past the Nanooks. Linemate Pierre-Luc Mercier sent a pass that split several Nanook defenders across the slot that found Pohlkamp's stick to help give the Orange and Brown the lead for good.
"It's huge that we are getting consistency from everybody," Pohlkamp said. "It isn't one or two guys. It gives us a lot of depth and confidence to win games."
The Falcons outshot Alaska on the night, 33-28, and killed off 2-of-3 Nanook power play chances throughout the night. McLain and freshman defenseman Mark Friedman led all Falcons with six shots, while Hawkins and junior Ben Murphy registered four apiece. The Orange and Brown went 0-for-5 on the power play, but moved to 5-0-0 on the season when leading after the first period.
"I thought we handled the third period really well tonight. I thought our game winning goal was a great play by good players," Bergeron said. "I'm happy with the result. Obviously there's a lot we can talk about the process being better."
The Falcons will be right back in action Saturday (Nov. 7) evening, taking on the Nanooks in the second game of their two-game WCHA weekend showdown. The puck is scheduled to drop at 11:07 p.m. ET at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Team Stats
BGSU
UAF
Shots
33
28
PPG
0
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
5
Penalty Mins
8
10
Faceoffs Won
34
26
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
0
Sh
6
A
1
Players Mentioned
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