Bowling Green, OH – The Falcons entered tonight’s game scoring an average of 2.5 goals per game. A six-goal performance should help jump-start the second half for the Falcons.
Tommy Burke made his sixth appearance of the season for the Falcons. Clarkson countered with Steve Perry who made his 14th appearance for the Golden Knights. Perry was pulled, however, after the Falcon’s third goal at 14:10 in the first period. He finished the night with seven saves on ten shots faced. He was relieved by senior Greg Lewis who stopped 23 shots on 26 attempts.
First Period
The Falcons didn’t wait long to get the game’s first goal. Defenseman Connor McDonald found freshman forward John Schilling with a long stretch pass. Schilling pulled up and found Jakob Reichert who re-directed the puck for his second goal of the season.
Bowling Green added their second goal at 9:43 of the second period. Matt Pohlkamp pulled the puck away from a battle along the far boards and found Ben Murphy in the deep slot. The senior forward fired a laser past Perry for this third goal of the season. The power play was the Falcon’s first man-advantage marker since 11/21/15 against Northern Michigan.
The Falcons got their third goal, also on the power play, at 14:10 of the first period. Kevin Dufour found Pierre-Luc Mercier, who set-up Sean Walker with a pass to the point. Walker wound-up and blasted a slap shot five-hole for his first goal of the season.
After the Falcon’s third goal Clarkson goaltender Steve Perry was pulled and relieved by senior Greg Lewis. Perry ended his night with seven saves on ten shots faced.
The Golden Knights were able to score a goal late at 19:23, however, as Marly Quince finished a rebound to pull the game to 3-1.
The Falcons finished the first period with 12 shots, scoring on three of those chances. Greg Lewis stopped the two shots he faced in the period. The Golden Knights had 10 shots in the period with Burke stopping 9 of those 10 chances.
Second Period
Clarkson came out strongly in the second period, scoring just 2:20 into the second period. Nic Pierog finished off a rebound from A.J. Fossen to draw the Golden Knights back within one.
But, the Falcons pushed their lead to 4-2 at 13:20 of the second period. Mitch McLain passed to Connor McDonald at the blue line. The freshman defenseman fired an initial shot that was saved by Lewis. But, Pierre-Luc Mercier found the loose puck and buried the shot for his fourth goal of the season.
Bowling Green pushed the lead even further to 5-2 just 35 seconds later. Kevin Dufour led a 2-on-1 rush before finding Tyler Spezia across the slot. The sophomore forward buried a one-timer for his fifth goal of the season.
The Falcons finished the period with 13 shots on net, scoring on two of those chances. Clarkson had 14 shots in the second period with Burke making 13 saves.
Third Period
The Falcons further increased their lead at 5:49 of the third period. After a long shift in the Clarkson zone Mark Cooper fed the puck to Brandon Hawkins. The sophomore forward found Ben Murphy at the back door. The senior forward pulled the puck out of his skates and wristed the puck home for his second goal of the game.
Clarkson pushed the score to 6-3 at 9:10 of the third period. Troy Josephs buried a wrist shot from deep in the face-off circle that beat a screened Burke. But, that would be the final goal for the game as it finished 6-3 in favor of Bowling Green.
The Falcons finished the third period with 10 shots on net. Clarkson had 11 chances on Burke.
With the win the Falcons move to 12-4-5 on the season. Clarkson drops to 7-9-2 and will face Bowling Green again Sunday at 5:07pm.
Stats
Three Stars
- Ben Murphy (BGSU) – 2 G
- Pierre-Luc Mercier (BGSU) – 1 G, 1 A
- Connor McDonald (BGSU) – 2 A
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