#18 Falcons tally three straight to upend #2 Mavericks 3-2

Mankato, MN – Through the first half of the first period it was looking like it might be a long night for the 18th-ranked Falcons. But, Bowling Green scored the next three goals to pull off a 3-2 overtime win over the 2nd-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks.

Eric Dop started in net for Bowling Green, stopping 31 of 33 shots faced. Dryden McKay turned aside 30 of the 33 Falcon attempts.

First Period

The Mavericks struck first just 3:07 into the first period. Charlie Gerard’s power-play goal gave Minnesota State the early 1-0 lead.

Reggie Lutz doubled the lead for the Mavs at 8:37 of the first period. His re-direct on a pass from Connor Mackey gave MSU a 2-0 lead.

Bowling Green picked up their first goal of the game at 17:25 of the first period. Alec Rauhauser pulled the puck back on a toe drag to make a defender miss then sent a wrist shot on net. His low attempt crossed-up McKay for the senior captain’s third goal of the season. Brandon Kruse assisted on the scoring play.

Minnesota State had 14 shots in the first period while Bowling Green had just four attempts.

Second Period

The Falcons tied the game at 5:02 of the second period. Alec Rauhauser walked the puck toward the net before backhanding a pass to Cam Wright. The junior forward re-directed the pass, beating McKay five-hole for Wright’s sixth goal of the season. Connor Ford had the secondary assist on the play.

Bowling Green doubled-up Minnesota State in the second period in shots (18-9).

Third Period

Neither team found the net in a back-and-forth third period. The game proceeded to an overtime period with the 2-2 tied score.

Minnesota State had nine shots in the third period while Bowling Green had eight chances.

Overtime Period

After Sam Craggs was tripped on an attempted breakaway attempt the Falcons went on the power play. Prior to Bowling Green’s sixth power play, they were 0/5 on the night. But, Connor Ford made sure the special teams unit wasn’t held scoreless.

Alex Barber corraled the puck in the corner after receiving a pass from Brandon Kruse. Barber fed the puck across the slot to Connor Ford on the backdoor who buried a one-timer for his fourth goal of the season and game-winning marker. The goal came at 3:15 of the extra period.

The Falcons finished the overtime period with three shots on net while the Mavericks had just one chance.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 5-3-0, 2-1-0-0 on the season. The Mavericks suffered their first loss and fall to 5-1-1, 2-1-0-0.

The teams will conclude their weekend series Saturday at 7:07 PM.