Falcons Score Twice In 14 Seconds To Force Tie With No. 17 Huskies

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Bowling Green, Ohio - The No. 18 Bowling Green Falcons once again displayed a never-say-die attitude, erasing a two-goal deficit and earning a 4-4 tie against the No. 17 Michigan Tech Huskies Friday night at the BGSU Ice Arena.

The Falcons scored twice in a span of 14 seconds late in the third period to even the score. It marks the third time this season that BGSU has overcome a two-goal deficit in the first period to force a tie.

"We hung in there," BGSU Hockey Coach Chris Bergeron said. "We've proven over time that we hang in there and we don't stop playing."

Bowling Green's offense continued to be diverse. The Falcons' four goals were scored by four different individuals, and 11 players earned a point, with only one of those 11 getting multiple points.

Brandon Hawkins led the way with a goal and an assist. The goal was his ninth of the season, and Hawkins has multiple points in three straight games after doing so only twice in the team's first 25. In the last three, he has four goals and seven points. Hawkins now owns the team lead with 18 points.

Brent Tate, who scored the equalizer, now has goals in back-to-back games for the first time since last March during the WCHA Tournament. He had only one goal for the season prior to last Saturday night's win against Alaska Anchorage.

The Falcons' other two goals were scored by Stephen Baylis and Mitch McLain. Baylis has lit the lamp twice in the last three games to triple his season goal total. McLain put a puck in the net for the first time since Dec. 11, but he has points in back-to-back games. Like Tate, it's his first point streak since last March.

Little went right for BGSU during the first period. The Falcons had a couple of early opportunities to score, including a Mark Cooper shot that found pipe, but they managed just one shot on goal during the final 12 minutes of the period and were outshot 17-5 overall. Bowling Green was able to get attempts, but the Huskies played excellent defense, as they generated 12 blocks during the first 20 minutes.

"I've never seen a team block shots like Michigan Tech," Bergeron said. "All we said was, 'Try to shoot it where they're not'. You can't bury your head and just shoot it."

Midway through the first, Michigan Tech grabbed the lead on a 2-on-1 break. Dylan Steman floated the puck past Chris Nell from just in front of the net on Nell's right side for a 1-0 edge with 9:57 left in the period. Alex Petan was credited with the first of his two assists on the play.

Despite their issues on offense, the Falcons kept the deficit at one until the very end of the period. Matt Roy rocketed a shot from just in front of the blue line on the right side, which bounced off the boards behind the net. The puck then ricocheted off Nell's back and into the net with just 4.1 seconds left for a 2-0 lead.

BGSU began playing better on both ends of the ice early in the second period, and that improvement helped them get back in the game. With 8:34 elapsed in the frame, Roy was sent to the box for holding, giving the Falcons their second power play of the evening.

Bowling Green capitalized just 28 seconds later, when McLain knocked in a rebound during a scramble in front of the net. Officials reviewed the play, but the goal was upheld. Mark Cooper and Mark Friedman were given assists on the goal. (CLICK HERE for the goal call)

Michigan Tech was given their first power play chance of the night shortly after the BGSU goal when Chris Pohlkamp was called for roughing. The Huskies made the opportunity count and re-claimed a two-goal lead. Joel L'Esperance was stopped once by Nell but moments later tipped the puck past the line with 9:16 left in the period.

The Falcons continued to fight, and they once again halved the Huskies' lead with just 1:27 remaining in the second period. Connor McDonald and Hawkins created a 2-on-1 for the Falcons, and Hawkins fed Stephen Baylis from the right boards. Baylis took a shot from just inside the left circle and got the puck past Phillips. (CLICK HERE for the goal call)

With 20 minutes to play, BGSU trailed 3-2.

Bowling Green fought hard early in the third period to tie the game, but once again Michigan Tech answered BGSU's charge with a score. Steman sent home his second goal of the game with only 9:14 remaining on the clock.

The Falcons needed magic, and they made it happen just two minutes after Tech's goal. Nell took a loose puck and sent it to Chris Pohlkamp, who dished to Hawkins. Hawkins skated to deep in the right circle, where he lifted the puck past MTU goalie Jamie Phillips. (CLICK HERE for the goal call) The Huskies' lead was just 4-3 with 7:23 remaining, but the Falcons did not stop there.

Shane Bednard won the ensuing faceoff and got the puck to Jordan Ernst. He fed Tate, who posted the equalizer just 14 seconds after Hawkins' goal. This was the fourth time this season and second in the last three games that BGSU has scored twice within one minute. (CLICK HERE for the goal call)

Neither team was able to break the 4-4 deadlock for the remainder of regulation or during the five-minute overtime. The Falcons have now played in nine overtime games this season, two shy of the school record. The team's six ties are tied for second-most in school history.

Despite the four goals allowed, which ended BGSU's school record 21-game streak of three goals allowed or fewer, Nell posted his second assist of the season. Ernst's assist was his second career point, while McDonald and Pohlkamp now have two-game point streaks. Friedman's assist gives him points in four straight games, while Cooper now has a three-game streak.

Bowling Green now owns a 15-7-6 overall record and is 11-3-5 in WCHA play, while Michigan Tech moves to 13-7-5 (10-6-3). The Falcons maintain their four-point lead over MTU in the WCHA standings, and they are now within two points of conference leader Minnesota State. BGSU also maintains their undefeated record at home in WCHA play (6-0-5).

The Falcons and Huskies will conclude their two-game series Saturday at the BGSU Ice Arena. Puck drop will be at 7:07 pm.

Postgame Notes
* With an assist, Connor McDonald scored his 10^th point of the year. He is tied with John Schilling for the team lead among freshmen.
* Kevin Dufour played in his 100^th career game. He is the seventh active Falcon to play in 100 career games.
* Brandon Hawkins scored his 25^th career goal. He has four goals and three assists in the last three games.
* Brandon Hawkins has scored a goal in three consecutive games, the longest streak of his career.
* With a goal and an assist, Brandon Hawkins posted the 10^th multi-point game of his career. Ben Murphy's 14 career multi-point games are the most among active players.
* Goalie Chris Nell recorded his second assist of the season (and second of his career). He is the first goalie to post two assists in a season since Andrew Hammond in 2011-12.
* Of the team's 12 points (four goals, eight assists), 10 were recorded by freshmen or sophomores.
* Brent Tate has scored goals in back-to-back games for the fourth time in his career.
* BGSU played its ninth overtime game of the year. The school record for a single-season is 11.
* Along with posting his second career assist, freshmen Jordan Ernst was a game-high +3 on-ice, a career-best.

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