‘Cat Scratched: NMU handles #14 BG, 5-2

Marquette, MI – 14th-ranked Bowling Green entered the weekend as the seventh most-penalized team in the nation. Northern Michigan made them pay for their infractions Friday with four power-play goals en route to a 5-2 Falcon defeat.

Eric Dop started in net for the Falcons and made 29 saves on 34 shots faced. Atte Tolvanen countered for the Wildcats and made 23 saves on 25 chances.

First Period

Troy Loggins notched the game’s first goal at 10:32 of the first period. Loggins scored on the power play with a shot from the near faceoff circle. Joseph Nardi made it a 2-0 score with another power-play goal at 13:18 of the first period when he angled a pass from Jordan Klimek past Dop.

The Falcons finished the first period with nine shots on net while the Wildcats had 13 shots on Dop.

Second Period

Bowling Green cut into the Wildcats’ lead at 5:15 of the second period. After forcing a turnover in the Wildcats’ zone, Stephen Baylis sent a shot on net. Brett D’Andrea deflected the shot as he was skating across the slot, beating Tolvanen for his fifth goal of the season.

The Wildcats responded just a couple minutes later at 7:19 and 10:27 with a pair of power-play goals from Darien Craighead and Troy Loggins, respectively, to push Northern Michigan’s lead to 4-1.

Bowling Green and Northern Michigan finished the period with nine shots on net.

Third Period

Mitch McLain cut the Wildcats’ lead to 4-2 at 7:41 of the third period. McLain skated in on Tolvanen and sent a wrist shot high, beating the Wildcats’ goaltender on his stick-side for his 11th goal of the season.

Northern Michigan tacked on another goal at 15:39 of the third period. Denver Pierce finished a passing play by Adam Rockwood to extend Northern Michigan’s lead to 5-2. That would be the game’s final goal to seal the victory for Northern Michigan.

The Falcons had seven shots in the final period while the Wildcats had 11 opportunities.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 12-7-6, 9-3-5-2 on the season while the Wildcats improve to 12-10-3, 10-5-2-2. The two squads sit in a tie for second place with 34 conference points and will conclude their weekend series Saturday at 7:07 ET.