Friday, February 24
Bowling Green, OH
7:07 PM
Bowling Green State University
15-16-2, 12-11-2
2
vs
4
Northern Michigan
17-16-0, 13-12-0
1
2
3
F
Northern Mich.
1
1
2
4
Bowling Green
2
0
0
2
Photo by: Mallory Hiser, BGSU Athletics
Falcon Hockey Recognizes 10 Seniors Before Hard-Fought Battle With NMU
February 24, 2023 | Ice Hockey
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons (15-16-2, 12-11-2 CCHA) dropped a hard-fought battle to the Northern Michigan Wildcats (17-16-0, 13-12-0 CCHA) on Friday (Feb. 24) by a score of 4-2. The teams traded the first four scores, with Brett Pfoh and Austen Swankler lighting the lamp for the Orange and Brown. The Wildcats took the lead with a Tanner Vescio goal, then iced it with a Kristof Papp empty netter.
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Before the game, the Falcon Hockey program recognized seniors Alex Barber, Nathan Burke, Max Coyle, Evan Dougherty, Chase Gresock, Hunter Lellig, Adam Pitters, Zack Rose, Taylor Schneider, and Zach Vinnell.
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Scoring Plays
Falcon Facts
Ty's Take
"There were moments we were doing some good things. There were moments we were having to defend because they were doing some good things. There was a little bit of chess, back-and-forth, trying to figure out who was going to do what. Against a good team like Northern Michigan, the more you turn pucks over, the tougher it's going to be."
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The full postgame press conference with Ty Eigner is available HERE. The postgame press conference with Alex Barber is available HERE.
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Up Next
The Falcons and Wildcats conclude the regular season tomorrow (Feb. 25) at 7:07 p.m. ET. It will be Scott Hamilton Bobblehead Night and the SICSIC Reveal. Fans can pick up a Scott Hamilton Bobblehead in the southeast corner of the arena. There are a limited amount and the bobbleheads will be first come, first serve. There will also be a postgame skate with Scott Hamilton, fans can register for the event HERE. Walkup registration after the game will be available. The cost is $10 and this includes skate rental. A portion will be donated to the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation. At the game's second intermission, two members of the BGSU Spirit Group SICSIC will be revealed. Tickets can be purchased HERE and parking can be purchased HERE. Credit cards are now being accepted for parking. Cash will continue to be accepted as well. Fans are encouraged to purchase parking passes in advance.
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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'
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Before the game, the Falcon Hockey program recognized seniors Alex Barber, Nathan Burke, Max Coyle, Evan Dougherty, Chase Gresock, Hunter Lellig, Adam Pitters, Zack Rose, Taylor Schneider, and Zach Vinnell.
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Scoring Plays
- Brett Pfoh opened the scoring just over six minutes into the game. After he took a big hit in the corner of the offensive zone, the puck nearly escaped into neutral ice. Ben Wozney corralled it and cycled it around the Jaden Grant, who had a quick back-and-forth with Zach Vinnell. While this occurred, Pfoh recovered to position himself in front of the net, where he redirected the shot Grant fired from the point.
- The Wildcats responded with a power play goal a few minutes later. The Falcons cleared the puck to the other end, where netminder Beni Halasz collected it. He dropped it off to Simon Kjellberg, who hesitated before wiring a pass up the ice to an open AJ Vanderbeck. Vanderbeck's shot hit twine in the closing seconds of the power play.
- With just over one minute remaining in the first, Austen Swankler put the Falcons back on top. Hunter Lellig took a shot from the right boards, with Chase Gresock's redirect hitting an NMU defender. It leaked to Swankler, who pushed it back up into traffic. Ryan O'Hara crashed and was able to tip it back down to Swankler, who swung it into the open net.
- Northern Michigan tied it after the midpoint of the second, with Michael Van Unen scoring on a rebound. The intital shot from Artem Shlaine was saved, but the puck bounced to the opposite side of the zone, where Van Unen was ready to send it back into the net.
- Tanner Vescio gave the Wildcats the lead with under 12 minutes to play. Andre Ghantous skated behind the net, then had the puck knocked loose and over to Michael Collela. He shoved it back up the zone to Vescio, who snuck a long-range shot through traffic for the game-winner.
- Kristof Papp clinched the win with an empty net goal. He scooped up a lose puck, then got behind the defense when Ghantous skated into Vinnell, which caused a collision that gave Papp an open path to the net.
Falcon Facts
- Austen Swankler scored his team-best 18th goal of the season, marking his team-best 41st point. He leads the league and ranks seventh nationally in points. In his career, the sophomore has 26 goals and 67 points in 68 games.
- Brett Pfoh scored the second goal of his career, giving him five career points.
- Chase Gresock extended his scoring streak to six games with an assist, his 19th of the season. The senior has 29 points this season and 102 in his career, with 57 of those being assists.
- Ryan O'Hara extended his scoring streak as well, notching his 18th assist of the season. Like Gresock, he has 29 points on the year, tying for second on the team and sixth in the CCHA. O'Hara has 22 assists and 37 points in his career.
- Also extending his scoring streak was Zach Vinnell, who tallied his 16th assist. This gives him 17 points, a total that leads all Falcon defensemen. It was his 50th career point.
- Freshman Jaden Grant recorded his fifth assist of the season, putting his point total at eight.
- Despite the loss, Bowling Green secured a third-place finish in the CCHA with Bemidji State's loss to St. Thomas.
Ty's Take
"There were moments we were doing some good things. There were moments we were having to defend because they were doing some good things. There was a little bit of chess, back-and-forth, trying to figure out who was going to do what. Against a good team like Northern Michigan, the more you turn pucks over, the tougher it's going to be."
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The full postgame press conference with Ty Eigner is available HERE. The postgame press conference with Alex Barber is available HERE.
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Up Next
The Falcons and Wildcats conclude the regular season tomorrow (Feb. 25) at 7:07 p.m. ET. It will be Scott Hamilton Bobblehead Night and the SICSIC Reveal. Fans can pick up a Scott Hamilton Bobblehead in the southeast corner of the arena. There are a limited amount and the bobbleheads will be first come, first serve. There will also be a postgame skate with Scott Hamilton, fans can register for the event HERE. Walkup registration after the game will be available. The cost is $10 and this includes skate rental. A portion will be donated to the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation. At the game's second intermission, two members of the BGSU Spirit Group SICSIC will be revealed. Tickets can be purchased HERE and parking can be purchased HERE. Credit cards are now being accepted for parking. Cash will continue to be accepted as well. Fans are encouraged to purchase parking passes in advance.
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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'
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Team Stats
NMU
BG
Shots
23
24
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
3
Penalty Mins
6
6
Faceoffs Won
26
21
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
Players Mentioned
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