Saturday, November 12
Marquette, Mich.
7:07 PM
Bowling Green State University
4-7-1 (3-3-0WCHA)
5
at
3
Northern Michigan
3-8-1 (1-6-1WCHA)
1
2
3
F
Bowling Green
2
1
2
5
Northern Mich.
2
1
0
3
Five Falcons Score to Lift Hockey to a Series Sweep of NMU
November 12, 2016 | Ice Hockey
Box Score
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- With a 5-3 victory on the road Saturday night, the Bowling Green hockey team (4-7-1, 3-3-0 WCHA) picked up a weekend sweep of Northern Michigan (3-8-1, 1-6-1 WCHA) in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play. In the game, sophomore John Schilling picked up his first career game winning goal, while junior goaltender Chris Nell tallied 27 saves for his fourth win of the season.
"It's going to be by different people. It's in the makeup of our team that there will be multiple goal-scorers, and I liked that we found a way to do that," Bowling Green hockey head coach Chris Bergeron said of the five different goal-scorers on the night. "I think the power play contributed to the nice job in offensive zone, and we're a second and third effort team by chasing down the puck to create more opportunities. The only way to score five goals each night is by having that many people included, and it was nice to see so many involved."
Saturday night's conference matchup featured another early start for the Falcons, as Matt Meier found the back of the net for his first goal as a Falcon to kick off the Bowling Green offensive strike. The Highlands Ranch, Colo. native received a pass from the blue line and took a shot at the left faceoff circle to score in the low corner of the net just 2:40 into the game.
The Wildcats responded with 12:22 to play in the first to tie it up at one, then found its first lead of the weekend with 6:43 remaining in the first period by placing the puck in the upper left corner of net.
It was with just 49 seconds left on the clock in the opening period when junior Mark Friedman was able to tie up the game at 2-2. The Toronto, Ontario native took a quick shot from the point after picking up a pass from freshman Alec Rauhauser to close out the first 20 minutes of play with the pair of conference rivals all tied up.
The Falcons were able to reclaim the lead 5:16 into the second stanza when senior Kevin Dufour was able to wrap the puck around the back of the net and tuck the puck in the lower right corner of the goal. It marked the second night in row that the Quebec City, Quebec native scored, while his second goal of the season was able to give the Falcons back the lead by a 3-2 mark.
Although the pair of conference rivals were tied up after the second period as well with a 3-3 mark, it didn't last for long into the third. By flying into the Wildcats zone all alone, Schilling was able to tip the lead back in favor of the Falcons unassisted. The Oswego, Ill. native weaved across the open ice and was able to edge in the puck on the low stick side of Northern Michigan's goaltender. With his second goal of the year, Schilling gave Bowling Green a 4-3 lead with 10:27 to go, while with the assist on Dufour's game-tying goal he also made it a multipoint night.
With 1:09 remaining in regulation, senior Matt Pohlkamp was able to capitalize on the Bowling Green power play to cement the 5-3 final by scoring with an empty net goal. It marked the Baxter, Minn. native's team-leading sixth goal of the season, and made it the fourth time in the last five games in which he has scored.
Although the Wildcats held an advantage in shots by a 30-21 margin, the Falcons benefitted by winning 35 faceoffs, compared to Northern Michigan's 33 won. Bowling Green also went 1-4 on the power play, and held to its fewest penalties of the season, by only committing three infractions on the night. Collectively, the Falcons also tallied 10 blocked shots, while Nell accumulated 27 saves.
On the night, senior captain Sean Walker led the team with four shots on goal, while junior Mitch McLain marked two assists on the night, making it the fourth time in his career with multiple assists in a game.
"We haven't had a gutsy win yet this season, and tonight we found a way to win after going into the third period tied 3-3 on the road," Coach Bergeron said. "Although we gave up the 5-on-3 goal late in the second period, I thought our penalty kill was outstanding the rest of the night. I think our guys see what we can do when we play the right way, so we keep the mindset of playing the right way more of the time. We have two opportunities and six periods each weekend to do just that."
With the series sweep, Bowling now holds the all-time advantage over Northern Michigan by a 48-41-8 mark, and is currently on a six-game win streak over the Wildcats.
The Bowling Green hockey program will remain on the road for the next WCHA series on the schedule, as the Falcons travel to face Alabama Huntsville Nov. 18-19.
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Team Stats
BGSU
NMU
Shots
21
30
PPG
1
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
4
Penalty Mins
6
8
Faceoffs Won
35
33
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
+2
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
1
+/-
+2
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
2
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
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G
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