Kruse Eclipses 100 Career Points As Falcons Sweep Ferris State In Front Of Packed Crowd

Saturday, February 22

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:07 PM

Bowling Green State University

17-13-4,12-10-4-3

Ferris State

7-24-2,5-19-2-0

Ferris State

Bowling Green

Photo by: Isaiah Vazquez/BGSU Athletics

Kruse Eclipses 100 Career Points As Falcons Sweep Ferris State In Front Of Packed Crowd

February 22, 2020 | Ice Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: by Kyle Edmond, BGSU Athletics

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University hockey team topped Ferris State on Saturday night (Feb. 22) by a score of 3-1 to secure the sweep, being the second consecutive home sweep and fourth consecutive win at home for the Orange and Brown. Casey Linkenheld led the scoring charge for the Falcons, tying the game in the first period. Brandon Kruse soon chipped in with the go-ahead goal which also marked his 100th career point in the Orange and Brown. As the game was coming to a close, Alex Barber added insurance for the Falcons with an empty-net score to push the score to the final 3-1. The sweep puts the Falcons at 17-13-4 overall while being 12-10-4-3 in the WCHA. With one weekend remaining in the regular season, Bowling Green is currently tied with Alaska for fourth in the WCHA with the top four teams hosting in the first round of the WCHA Tournament.

Next Home Game: The Falcons will play for the opportunity to host in the WCHA Tournament in the final weeks of the season. Keep an eye on the WCHA standings and on BGSUFalcons.com for schedule additions regarding the tournament.

Scoring Plays

The first tally of the game was scored by Ferris State and ended up being their lone goal of the game. On the power play, Jason Tackett was able to net the puck with assists from Zach Yoder and Jake Willets.
Before the first period ended the Falcons answered with a goal from senior Linkenheld to knot the score at 1-1. Connor Ford and T.J. Lloyd were credited with assists on the score.
Just five minutes into the second period the Falcons broke the tie with Kruse scoring his 100th career point in the way of the a go-ahead goal. Ford again was able to assist, joined by Max Johnson on the score sheet.
Ferris State pulled their goalie in the waning minutes for a last effort to tie the game, but with under a minute remaining, Barber tossed the puck into the unguarded net with assists from Ford, his third of the night, and Justin Wells.

Other Key Plays

In the first period, Eric Dop saved a breakaway Ferris State shot to keep the game scoreless, then things got physical on the other end. Cameron Wright was sent to the box, but the Falcons killed the penalty.
With 5:17 remaining in the first period the Falcons and Bulldogs both sent a man to the box. It was from the 4v4 period that followed that Linkenheld scored to tie it up for Bowling Green.
In an effort to tie the game up the Bulldogs pulled their goalie around the one minute mark, resulting in Barber's empty-net score.

Falcon Stat Facts

Scoring in the first period, Linkenheld's goal was his fifth of the season, giving him a career-high nine points and a career-high five goals this season.
Also scoring his ninth point of the season was Lloyd, assisting on the Linkenheld goal. Lloyd extended his hold on first in points among the Falcon freshmen.
With the go-ahead goal, Kruse moved his total to 100 career points, joining Alec Rauhauser in the century club, marking the first time multiple Falcons have hit 100 career points in the same season since 1995-96 when five did so. Those five were Curtis Fry, Mike Johnson, Kelly Perrault, Jason Clark and Mike Hall.
Assisting on Kruse's score, Johnson is also nearing the century mark, now with 92 career points, consisting of 37 goals and 55 assists over his three seasons in the Orange and Brown.

Up Next

Bowling Green will take to the road next weekend to close out the regular season, facing Alabama-Huntsville on Feb. 28-29. Friday's game is set for an 8:07 p.m. EST puck drop while Saturday will be bumped up to 4:07 p.m.

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