Power Play Propels Falcons To Friday Victory Over Lake Superior State

Friday, December 13

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

7:07 PM

Bowling Green State University

12-5-1, 7-3-1-1

Lake Superior State

5-15-1, 3-9-1-1

Bowling Green

Lake Superior State

Power Play Propels Falcons To Friday Victory Over Lake Superior State

December 13, 2019 | Ice Hockey

Box Score

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The No. 10 Bowling Green State University hockey team came out on top Friday night (Dec. 13) over WCHA foe Lake Superior State for the first of two games this weekend, winning 2-0. The game remained scoreless deep into the second period, seeing Max Johnson capitalize on the power play to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. That score would stick late into the game until Cameron Wright pushed an empty net goal through with nine seconds remaining in the game to secure a 2-0 win for the Falcons. Eric Dop claimed the shutout victory between the pipes, his third of the season and second against LSSU, with 26 saves. The win moves the Falcons to 12-5-1 on the season, including being 7-3-1-1 in the WCHA. The two teams return to the ice tomorrow (Dec. 14) for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop in Sault Ste. Marie.

Next Home Game: The Falcons return to Slater Family Ice Arena on Dec. 30 to take on Miami for the second game of a home-and-home series with a 7:37 p.m. puck drop. Bowling Green captured a victory in the first meeting that began the season, winning 7-4 on Oct. 6.

Scoring Plays

Max Johnson broke open the scoring column, netting a power play goal for the Falcons to give BGSU the 1-0 lead. The goal was Johnson's fifth of the season with assists from Brandon Kruse, his 11th, and Alec Rauhauser, his team-leading 13th.
With the LSSU goalie pulled towards the end of the third period, Cameron Wright went all the way up to the goal before pushing the puck in with nine seconds remaining in the game to extend the Falcon lead to 2-0 while netting his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Sam Craggs was credited with the lone assist on the score, his fourth of the season.

Other Key Plays

With 6:35 remaining in the first period, the Lakers committed a tripping penalty, warranting the first power play of the night, going to the Falcons.
Bowling Green ended up scoreless on the power play, with shots on goal being 9-3 BGSU at the conclusion of the two minute advantage.
Another power play would come near the end of the period, with 1:58 remaining, being an interference call.
58 seconds into the power play, the Falcons were caught with too many men on the ice, negating the power play and resulting in 4v4 hockey for the rest of the first period.
The first period ended with the score still 0-0. 4v4 hockey carried into the second period for two seconds before the Lakers had 58 seconds of their own power play.
The Falcons killed off the power play that began the period for Lake Superior State, keeping the score at 0-0.
The Lakers later had two penalties that resulted in an extended advantage for the Falcons, lasting 2:32 before the Falcons committed a penalty of their own.
Both teams resumed full strength with the score still reading all zeroes.
Another LSSU penalty came at the 7:43 mark, a high-sticking call, resulting in a power play for the Orange and Brown that turned into Johnson's power play goal.
With 2:45 left in the second period, it seemed like the Lakers were going to get a shot on goal with a 2-on-1 breakaway, but a diving Johnson for BGSU knocked the puck away to secure the 1-0 lead.
At the 14:55 mark of the third period, the Falcons were called for tripping, but were able to escape the Laker power play with the 1-0 lead still intact.
Just after Bowling Green returned to full strength, both teams saw a player head to the box after some pushing and shoving in front of the BGSU goal.
The next two minutes would be scoreless with both teams returning to full strength with the score still at 1-0 BGSU.
With 2:37 remaining in the game, Lake Superior State elected to pull their goalie for the 6v5 advantage.
With nine seconds left in the action, Cameron Wright skated down the ice and pushed the puck into the net for the Falcons second goal of the night.

Falcon Stat Facts

Seeing the ice tonight, both Kruse and Johnson suited up in the Orange and Brown for the 100th time in their collegiate careers. They join Rauhauser and Frederic Letourneau as the quartet of century men on the current roster.
With a power play from Johnson, the Falcons now have 22 power play goals this season.
Notching an assist on Johnson's goal, Kruse has registered at least one point in five of the last six games for the Falcons.
Similarly, Rauhauser now has a point in five straight games for the Falcons, logging six assists and one goal.
By scoring with nine seconds left in the game, Wright extended his team lead for goals on the season to 12.
With the assist, Craggs continues to be consistent on the offensive end, now with three goals and four assists on the year.
With the shutout, Eric Dop now has three on the season, and two against Lake Superior State after not allowing a goal during the Friday game (Nov. 22) of the last series between the two teams. The other shutout for Dop came against Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 16.
Of Dop's 26 saves, half came in the third period with the Lakers firing 13 shots on goal.
When leading after the second period, the Falcons are now 9-0-0 on the season, as well as being 10-1-1 when they score a power play goal.

Quote From The Coach

"It was one of those games where the goalies made some really good saves. We settled in early with the power play and were close, but just couldn't find the seam. But, when we needed in it second, we came up big. It was a big time play by Rauhauser and Kruse to set up a great shot by Max and was great to see the power play get going. Lake played hard, which we anticipated, and they pushed late. Dop was outstanding, especially down the stretch, making a few huge saves."

Up Next

The Falcons and Lakers will return to the ice for the second game of the weekend series, set for a 7:07 p.m puck on Saturday (Dec. 14). The game will also serve as the final regular season matchup between the two teams for the 2019-20 schedule.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons hockey team on social media
Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BGFalconHockey
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgfalconhockey'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'