Last Minute Heroics Lifts Falcons To 4-4 Draw

Saturday, January 10

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

13-3-4, 9-1-2

Alaska

12-9-1, 7-8-1

Team	1	2	3	OT 1	F
Alaska	2	2	0	0	4
Bowling Green	1	0	3	0	4

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

January 10, 2015 | Ice Hockey

Box Score

Ben Murphy scores twice in the final minute to send the game into overtime.

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team skated to a 4-4 tie with the University of Alaska Saturday (Jan. 10) night at the BGSU Ice Arena. Ben Murphy scored twice in the final minute – capping a three-goal third period that erased a 4-1 deficit – to send the game into overtime. Sean Walker tallied the other two Falcon goals for his first multi-goal game of his career.

"I'm happy with the fight and the resiliency we showed, that's something we've developed with our team over the last five years," head coach Chris Bergeron said. "We can take a few punches and still remain standing. I'm happy when painted into a corner, we can still fight and we did."

Murphy's first goal – a snap shot from atop the left circle after Brandon Hawkins won a fifty-fifty puck battle – came with 46 seconds on the clock -- LISTEN TO THE GOAL CALL (Evan Pivnick) BY CLICKING HERE!. The junior then intercepted a pass in the slot by plucking the puck down with his left hand, prior to firing a wrist shot past Davis Jones – who stopped 32-of-36 shots on the evening – to knot the game at 4-4 with just 22 seconds remaining in regulation. LISTEN TO THE GOAL CALL (Evan Pivnick) BY CLICKING HERE!

"I don't think in games like his, especially for upperclassmen, there's much panic. There's a lot of fight in our guys, including the young guys, who understand what it takes to win," Murphy said.

The Falcons out-shot the Nanooks, 13-12, in the third and 2-1 in overtime, proving that the three-goal turnaround was no fluke. Tommy Burke replaced Tomas Sholl after Alaska's second goal, and turned away 20-of-22 shots to close the contest, giving Bowling Green a chance to come back.

The Nanooks scored two goals in the opening 14 minutes of play, but the Falcons would have the last laugh. Tyler Morley walked out from the corner, and slide a puck five-hole at the 9:37 mark of the opening frame to kick off the scoring. Trevor Campbell then scored less than five minutes later to give the visitors a two-goal advantage.

The Falcons may have been on the short end of things in the first period, as they out-shot the Nanooks, 17-9, but Jones stood tall. Bowling Green did finally beat Jones with 4:47 left on the clock in the first to capture some momentum, but Alaska continued to apply pressure.

"There was a 4-1 deficit going into the third period at home. That was a little bit of a wakeup call when you've got 20 minutes in between periods to think about it and stew on it," Bergeron Said.

The Orange and Brown's first tally of the evening came on a 5-on-3 power play. After working the puck around the Nanook zone for the majority of the two-man advantage, Kevin Dufour – who received a pass from Nolan Valleau – dished a pass to Walker. Walker then fired a slap shot that soared into the top-left corner of the cage. The goal was Bowling Green's lone power-play goal on the weekend. LISTEN TO THE GOAL CALL (Evan Pivnick) BY CLICKING HERE!

The second period, unfortunately for the 1,748 Falcon faithful in attendance, belonged completely to the Nanooks. Alaska out-shot Bowling Green, 8-4, across the frame and scored the only two goals of the period to take a 4-1 lead heading into the third. Shawn Hochhausen lit-the-lamp 4:20 into the period, and then Marcus Basara beat Burke on a breakaway to give Alaska a three-goal advantage.

Walker's second goal – a wrist shot from the point that flew top shelf – added to his big night, and kick-started the memorable third period for the Falcons. The tie continues a remarkable run for the program, as Bowling Green has not been defeated since Nov. 14 (3-2 vs. Ohio State). The Falcons – who have now gone nine straight games without a defeat – are 7-0-2 across the nine-game stretch. LISTEN TO THE GOAL CALL (Evan Pivnick) BY CLICKING HERE!

"How you win is you don't let up and you keep pushing for the full 60 minutes, the 65 minutes. There's a lot more understanding in that through the growth of the upperclassmen. It's nice to see the young
guys come through," Murphy said.

Matt Pohlkamp, Mark Friedman, Pierre-Luc Mercier, Dufour, Valleau recorded assists for the Falcons, while Mark Cooper had a game-high plus two on-ice rating. In total, Bowling Green out-shot Alaska, 36-30. The Bowling Green penalty kill – which is ranked first nationally – killed off all three of the Nanook's opportunities.

Bowling Green will travel to Houghton, Michigan next weekend to take on the Michigan Tech Huskies at the John MacInnes Ice Arena. The Huskies entered the weekend ranked No. 8 in the country in the USCHO.com Poll. Friday's (Jan. 16) game will start at 7:07 p.m., while Saturday's (Jan. 17) contest is scheduled to begin at 5:07 p.m.