No. 6 Falcons Defeats Lakers, 3-1, To Earn Weekend Split

Saturday, January 24

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

15-5-4. 11-3-2

Lake Superior State

7-20-1, 6-14-0

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

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

January 24, 2015 | Ice Hockey

Box Score

Ben Murphy scored his team-leading fourth power play goal on the night.

By: by BGSU Athletic Communications

Photo Gallery (Todd Pavlack/BGSUHockey.com)

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Lake Superior State University, 3-1, Saturday (Jan. 24) evening in front of 3,206 fans at the BGSU Ice Arena. The Falcons' Adam Berkle, Ben Murphy –who scored his team-leading fourth power play goal—and Brett D'Andrea all found the back of the cage, while junior netminder Tommy Burke (6-2-3) turned away 26-of-27 shots in the winning effort.

With the win, Bowling Green improved to 15-5-4 overall and 11-3-2 in league standings –solidifying its strong stance in third place with 24 points after 16 conference games. The Falcons improved to an impressive 5-0-0 after a loss on the season, and 12-1-0 when scoring at least three goals in a game.

"It wasn't a lot of work, but it took some conversations as a team, we're much better than this and this isn't the effort we're capable of bringing.'" Burke said of how BG bounced back.

The Orange and Brown scored the first three goals of the tilt and never looked back, taking the second game of the two-game WCHA clash. The Falcons scored the first goal of the game at the 10:46 mark into the opening act, coming off the stick of Berkle at even strength.

"Coaches preach to be the best version of you every single night. Last night wasn't best version of us. Tonight was a better version, better example of that," Burke said.

Senior linemate Dan DeSalvo, who hails from Rolling Meadows, Illinois, slipped a pass through several defenders to sophomore winger Kevin Dufour. Dufour, who scored his team-leading 11^th goal of the season last night, found Berkle in front of the net and eventually jammed it past Lakers starting goalie Defiel Gordon.

You can listen to the goal call (Evan Pivnick) by CLICKING HERE!

The Orange and Brown then doubled its lead late in first period, coming at 18:44 on the power play. Murphy, who entered the game scoring three of his seven goals on the season with an on-ice man advantage, fired a wrist shot over the glove of Gordon to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

You can listen to the goal call (Evan Pivnick) by CLICKING HERE!

Leading by two goals entering the second period, Bowling Green continued to attack and get good offensive zone time. The aggressiveness paid off, adding to its lead with a goal coming at the 6:02 mark coming off the stick of D'Andrea. The play started with Brent Tate sending a touch pass to defenseman Mark Friedman in the slot, the 2014 NHL Draft pick quickly sent the puck to the left side of the crease finding D'Andrea's stick. The freshman winger finished the nice tic-tac-toe play and lit-the-lamp for second time in his young Falcon career.

You can listen to the goal call (Evan Pivnick) by CLICKING HERE!

Meanwhile, Burke proved to be too much for the Lakers. The junior netminder shutout LSSU for two periods and helped kill all five Laker power play opportunities –helping the Falcons improve to 14-1-2 when the opponent is scoreless on the PP throughout a game.

"Guys were just more into it mentally," said BG goalie Tommy Burke, who had 26 saves, including 13 in the second period. "Last night, we weren't mentally ready to play. Tonight, guys were a couple notches up. It was a good effort."

Bowling Green out-shot Lake Superior –including a dominate 18-7 margin in the first period— 41-27 over the course of 60 minutes. The Falcons went 1-for-4 on the power play, marking the second consecutive game the Orange and Brown scored on special teams.

The Falcons will return to WCHA action next weekend, taking on Bemidji State University in a two-game weekend clash. BGSU will trek to Bemidji, Minnesota to take on the Beavers. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:37 p.m. on Friday night before a 7:07 p.m. dance on Saturday night.