A McLain Hat Trick and Third Period Scoring Spree Launches the Falcons Past UAH 8-3

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6:07 p.m.

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TBA

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7:07 p.m.

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Box Score
McLain Goal Call (1-0)
McLain Goal Call (2-2)
Spezia Goal Call (3-3)
D'Andrea Goal Call (4-3)
Dufour Goal Call (5-3)
Dufour Goal Call (6-3)
Craggs Goal Call (7-3)
McLain Goal Call (8-3)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Bowling Green hockey team (6-7-1, 5-3-0 WCHA) had an explosive third period that was able to down Alabama Huntsville (4-10-2, 4-6-2 WCHA) Saturday night by an impressive 8-3 mark in conference action. The win was highlighted with a hat trick by junior Mitch McLain as well as a pair of goals from senior Kevin Dufour to put the Falcons on a four game win streak.

"I liked our offensive zone play and I liked the second and third effort at the puck. Our puck possession got better and more opportunistic and we were able to get into more scoring positions throughout the game," said Bowling Green hockey head coach Chris Bergeron. "Some decisions were made that we need to get better at, but overall, it was a good effort start to finish."

Similar to Friday night, the pair of Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals remained scoreless through the first period, although McLain got the Falcons on the board with a 1-0 lead just 45 seconds into the second period. After tipping in a shot down low taken by junior Mark Friedman, it was the Baxter, Minn. native's first goal of the night.

The Chargers then responded with back-to-back goals three minutes apart to find its first lead of the game, but again it was McLain who came up with the goal to tie up the game at 2-2. Junior Tyler Spezia moved the puck into the zone and passed to Friedman along the far wall, and although Friedman first hit the post, the rebound came to McLain near the circle and he backhanded it into the open net at 18:26 in the second period to close out the first 40:00 with the team's squared away at two goals apiece.

"I thought we played well in the first and did things we wanted to do. Alabama Huntsville's push to respond after our first goal was better that ours, we started to struggle with self-inflicted things, in particular penalties," Coach Bergeron said. "During the course of those power plays we let Huntsville back in the game. Our goal at the end of the second was huge to regain our composer and poise heading into the third period."

Early into the third period, the Chargers recouped its lead with a power play goal, although Spezia responded by scoring for the second game in a row just 17 seconds later on the power play. After the Clinton Township, Mich. native's goal, junior Brett D'Andrea took a hard angle shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle to score down low and help the Falcons get back on top by a 4-3 mark, which ultimately became the game-winner, D'Andrea's second of his career.

"I hope it's our experience and that we've been there before that helps us when we're tied going into the third period. Even when we went down, we responded quick to make it 3-3," said Coach Bergeron. "I believe the more you've experienced something, the better you can be to find a way to win games. You can't teach experience."

Spezia's and D'Andrea's quick goals generated momentum that the Chargers were unable to respond to, as the Falcons went on to score six unanswered in the third period. It was the first time since Feb. 27, 2016 that the Falcons have scored five or more goals in a period against a league opponent (vs. Ferris State, 6-2).

It was Dufour who was next to get on the board midway through the third to keep the Falcons flying past the Chargers. A native of Quebec City, Quebec, Dufour notched his second goal of the season on the power play, before marking his second of the night with an Alabama Huntsville empty net. Dufour's second goal came at 18:27 into the third period, which only ignited the Bowling Green scoring plays in the waning minutes of the game. The Falcons went on to score three goals in the span of 1:12.

Freshman Lukas Craggs netted his second goal of the season unassisted at 19:08 into the third period, before McLain found the back of the net for the third time of the night at even strength with only 21 seconds on the clock. McLain's first career hat trick marks the first time since Mark Cooper's three-goal effort on Nov. 23, 2013 against Minnesota State that a Falcon has earned a hat trick against a league opponent.

In addition to the offensive pressure by the Bowling Green squad, junior goaltender Chris Nell had a hot glove that was able to shut down 25 of 28 shots on goal by the Chargers. The native of Green Bay, Wis. marked a high of 13 shots in the second period, which was crucial to keeping the game tied through the second stanza of play. On the night, Nell marked a .893 save percentage and 25 saves.

Overall, the Falcons outshot the Chargers by a 30-28 margin, and went 2-4 on the power play. Craggs led the Bowling Green squad with five shots on goal, while McLain and Dufour each tallied four. With the three goals, McLain also boasts 14 points through 13 games played thus far in the season.

With the win, Bowling Green has won 11 of the last 12 meetings against Alabama Huntsville, and has now earned its second consecutive sweep of the season. The Falcons have also won six of its last seven games on the schedule.

"Next we will rest and be ready to go. We have not had a whole lot of home games so far in the first half and we need take advantage of being back home next week," Coach Bergeron added. "We will get back to work and it will be no different than any other game. We did have a tough four game stretch on the road, but we need to make sure we're physically and mentally recovered for next week."

The Bowling Green men's hockey team will be back in action when it hosts Alaska Anchorage at the BGSU Ice Arena next Friday and Saturday. The Nov. 25-26 WCHA matchups are set for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop.

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