Letourneau Scores Twice in Falcons' 4-1 Win Over US National Development Team

Friday, October 6

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:37PM

Bowling Green State University

USA Hockey U18

Letourneau Scores Twice in Falcons' 4-1 Win Over US National Development Team

October 06, 2017 | Ice Hockey

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communicationis Assistant

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University hockey team closed out preparations for the 2017-18 season with a dominant 4-1 victory over the United State Under-18 National Developmental Team on Friday night (Oct. 6) at the Slater Family Ice Arena. The Falcons scored twice on power play goals late in the second period and added a third just 1:23 into the final frame. Frederic Letourneau scored twice, while Brandon Kruse earned his unofficial first career goal. BGSU finishes 2-0-0 in their 2017-18 exhibitions, as they defeated Wilfrid Laurier 3-1 last Sunday.

Box Score

Scoring Plays

Brandon Kruse scored the Falcons' opening goal at the 14:59 mark of the second period. He skated straight at USA netminder Drew DeRidder and slid the puck from the left circle through the five-hole for a power-play goal. Lukas Craggs and Alec Rauhauser assisted.
BGSU added a second power play goal with 3:03 left in the second. Letourneau took a shot from the left circle that deflected off a defender's skate and past DeRidder's shoulder, following assists from Brett d'Andrea and Mitch McLain.
The Falcons' third goal came with nine seconds left in a power play and 1:23 into the final period. Brett d'Andrea cleaned up a loose puck from Mitch McLain and sent a shot top-shelf for the score. Letourneau also assisted.
The USNDT got a goal back when they were presented with a 5-on-3 shortly after the Falcons' third goal. Jake Pivonka's shot beat Ryan Bednard high.
Letourneau added his second goal and sealed the victory with 8:07 remaining. Jacob Dalton sent a pass to Connor Ford that created a 2-on-1. Ford fed Letourneau, who beat DeRidder from the top of the crease.

Other Key Plays

Eric Dop started in goal for the Falcons and made five important saves in the first three minutes of the game.
Cameron Wright forced a turnover for a breakaway 7:00 into the 1st but stumbles and doesn't get a shot.
Matt Meier cleans up a rebound, but his shot goes off the post with 11:32 left in the first.
The Falcons get their first power play 9:11 into the first period on a tripping call; BGSU gets two shots on goal but no score.
BGSU goes on penalty kill for first time with 3:51 left in the 1st and almost gets a short-handed goal on a breakaway by Craggs.
On their own penalty kill, the USNDT attempts a short-handed shot that Dop smothers with 43.6 left in the 1st.
Tyler Spezia gets an open shot 4:00 into the 2nd after a collision by two USA players, but DeRidder makes the save.
Matt Meier gets a 2-on-1 chance but can't get the puck past DeRidder (8:30, 2nd).
With 5:33 left int he game, Spezia gets a breakaway short-handed shot, but DeRidder prevents the goal.
The USNDT pulls their goalie with 3:11 remaining, then gets a power-play. However, the Falcon defense holds up for no goals.
Tyler Spezia put an empty-netter home as time expired, but officials disallowed the score on further review.

Falcon Stat Facts

BGSU out-shot USNDT 33-21 and 23-10 over the final two periods.
Seventeen Falcons combined to take the team's 33 shots.
The Falcons were 3-for-7 on the power play. Their total in the two exhibitions was 5-for-16 (.313).
The USNDT was 1-for-8 on the power play. In total, Bowling Green was 13-for-14 (.929) on the PK in the exhibitions.
Overall, the Falcons took 11 power-play shots and allowed only six to the USNDT.
BGSU won 42 of 69 faceoffs. Brett D'Andrea and Max Johnson each won 11.
Frederic Letourneau finished with two goals and an assist.
D'Andrea added a goal and an assist.
Mitch McLain assisted on two goals, while four other Falcons contributed individual assists.

Postgame Interviews

Coach Bergeron

Frederic Letourneau

Up Next

Bowling Green returns to the ice and begins the regular season on Tuesday night (Oct. 10) at Western Michigan. Puck drop will be 7:05 p.m. in Kalamazoo. The Falcons open the home portion of their regular season schedule on Friday night (Oct. 13) at 7:37 p.m. when they host the Michigan State Spartans at Slater Family Ice Arena. BGSU will complete the home-and-home series with MSU with a trip to East Lansing on the following evening.

Follow the Falcons

For more information on the hockey program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGFalconHockey and @BGAthletics) and now on Instagram (bgfalconhockey) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.