Falcons Drop 3-1 Decision To Lake Superior State

Friday, January 23

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

14-5-4, 10-3-2

Lake Superior State

7-19-1, 6-13-0

Team	1	2	3	F
LSSU	2	1	0	3
Bowling Green	1	0	0	1

Photo by: Brad Phalin, BGSU Marketing and Communications

January 23, 2015 | Ice Hockey

Box Score

Kevin Dufour scores his 11th goal of the season in the losing effort.

By: By James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Photo Gallery (Brad Phalin, University Marketing & Communications)

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The No. 6-ranked Bowling Green State University ice hockey team was defeated by Lake Superior State University, 3-1, Friday (Jan. 23) night at the BGSU Ice Arena in front of 2,751 Falcon fans. Kevin Dufour scored his 11th goal of the season, while freshman Chris Nell turned away 18-of-21 shots to drop to 6-2-1 on the season.

Lake Superior scored two first-period goals to take a 2-0 lead, and then received a short-handed tally to stretch their advantage back up to two goals in the second frame. The Falcons did out-shoot the Lakers, 8-1, in the final frame, but Gordon Defiel – who stopped 29-of-30 shots – stood tall.

With the loss, Bowling Green drops to 14-5-1 (10-3-2 WCHA), while Lake Superior improves to 7-19-1 (6-13-0 WCHA).

"Full marks to them. They played a good, strong road game," head coach Chris Bergeron said of Lake Superior. "They worked harder than we did. They executed at a higher level than we did. "

The Lakers capitalized on an early turnover to take the early lead at the 4:01 mark of the first period, as Bryce Schmitt converted a breakaway opportunity after a Luke Sandler takeaway. Garret Clemment then made the score 2-0 with 7:25 remaining in the opening frame.

Bowling Green did battle back, and carried the momentum into the first-period intermission, as Dufour found the back of the cage with 1:18 remaining in the first. On the power play, the Falcons worked the puck around the Lake Superior zone before feeding the puck to Nolan Valleau at the point. Valleau then dished it over to his defensive partner, Mark Friedman, who fired a shot on the goal. Defiel made the initial save, but Dufour was in the right place at the right time to pounce on the rebound.

The Orange and Brown seemed to have all of the momentum midway through the second, as they earned another power-play opportunity. Bowling Green even generated some quality chances, but LSSU's Gus Correale's forced a turnover in the Falcon zone, and immediately found Stephen Perfetto. Perfetto then streaked down the ice on a breakaway and beat Nell five-hole.

The two schools battled to a scoreless tie in the third, even though Bowling Green dominated the possession. Lake State's 19 total blocked shots, many of which came during the final frame, aided a strong defensive effort that kept the Lakers' two-goal advantage intact. The Falcons out-shot the Lakers, 31-21, and shut the visitors out across their three power-play attempts.

"We just need to be better, that's all there is to it," Brent Tate said. "We need to play our style of game. That's what makes us a good team and that's how we got here."

Bowling Green and Lake Superior will conclude the weekend series tomorrow evening back at the BGSU Ice Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:07 p.m.