Nell Stops 25 in Shutout of Seawolves

Anchorage, AK – The Falcons needed a strong performance Sunday after a sluggish 4-2 loss to the Seawolves. They got just that in a 2-0 shutout win over Alaska-Anchorage tonight.

Chris Nell received the start for Bowling Green after appearing in relief last night. He stopped all 25 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season. Olivier Mantha was called upon by Alaska-Anchorage and stopped 20 of 22 attempts.

First Period

The Falcons opened scoring at 4:29 of the first period. Brent Tate fed the puck to Tyler Schilling who found Tyler Spezia. The sophomore forward attempted multiple hacks at the puck just outside the crease before eventually getting it past Mantha. The goal was Spezia’s second of the season. It also proved to be the game winning marker.

Alaska-Anchorage had 11 shots on net with Nell stopping every chance. Bowling Green had eight chances with Mantha stopping seven of those chances.

Second Period

Bowling Green was finally able to break their power play slide at 10:28 of the second period. Mark Friedman passed the puck across the blue line to Brandon Hawkins. Hawkins found Kevin Dufour who was sitting at the top of the glove side face-off circle. Dufour ripped a seeing-eye wrist shot that found the net for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.

The Falcons finished with ten shots in the second period, scoring on one of those chances. The Seawolves had nine shots on net with Nell stopping each chance.

Third Period

With 1:20 to play in the period the Seawolves pulled Mantha for the extra attacker. However, the Falcon defense played strong to help Nell earn his second shutout of the season

The Falcons had four shots in the third period while the Seawolves had five. There were no goals in the final period.

The Falcons (4-2-1) will welcome long-time foe Lake Superior next Friday and Saturday.