Bowling Green, OH – The Falcons needed a strong effort to hold back a surging Ferris State team from invading on their WCHA standing. The Falcons did just that in a 4-3 win Friday.
Chris Nell started in net for the Falcons, making 29 saves on 32 attempts. Darren Smith started for Ferris State and made 36 saves on 40 shots faced.
First Period
The teams played a frenetic pace in the opening period, and Ferris State was the first team to capitalize. The Bulldogs opened scoring at 4:24 of the first period when Andrew Dorantes found Cory Mackin across the crease for a one-timer.
The game was delayed with 3:44 to play in the first period as a pane of glass seemingly shattered without being touched. The officials sent the teams to the locker room early for intermission, and began play again after the 15 minute intermission period.
The final few minutes were played without a goal. The Falcons finished the first period with 15 shots while the Bulldogs had 13.
Second Period
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 2-0 just 57 seconds into the second period. Gerald Mayhew made a nice play to get around a Falcon defender before finding Andrew Dorantes across the crease.
The Falcons were able to find the net at 3:31 of the second period. Mark Cooper caused a turnover inside the Falcon defensive zone. Mitch McLain collected the puck and started a two-on-one rush. After skating in and firing a shot, the rebound came to Tyler Spezia. The sophomore defenseman buried the shot for his 7th goal of the season.
Bowling Green pulled back to a 2-2 tie at 5:51 of the second period. Matt Pohlkamp fired an obtuse angle shot from near the goal line. The puck bounced off Smith and fell to the crease. Kevin Dufour managed the shove the puck past the line for his 10th marker of the season.
The Bulldogs re-took the lead at 11:52 of the second period. The Bulldogs won an offensive zone face-off and Sean O’Rourke scored on a hard slap shot from the blue line.
The Falcons finished the second period with 11 shots on net. The Bulldogs had 12 shots for the frame.
Third Period
The Falcons tied the game back up at 1:03 while on the power play. Pierre-Luc Mercier fed the puck to Stephen Baylis, who left a drop pass for Kevin Dufour. The junior forward went high with a one-timer, burying the shot over Smith’s left shoulder. The goal was Dufour’s second of the game.
The Falcons scored a late goal at 17:13 of the third period for the lead. Sean Walker had an initial shot from the blue line. The rebounded puck came to Stephen Baylis who roofed the puck for the 4-3 lead.
The Falcons played a strong defensive game in the final two minutes to shut down the Bulldogs, and pick up the 4-3 win.
Bowling Green finished the period with 14 shots on net. Ferris State managed just 7 attempts. The Falcons improved to 18-11-6, 14-6-5 on the season. The Bulldogs drop to 14-12-6, 12-9-4.
The teams will conclude their series Saturday at 7:07 PM.
Stats
Three Stars
- Stephen Baylis (BGSU) – 1 G, 1 A
- Kevin Dufour (BGSU) – 2 G
- Mitch McLain (BGSU) – 2 A
Press Conference
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