Bowling Green, OH – The eighth-ranked Falcons made a little bit of history Saturday night as they earned the 1,000th win in program history. Their 6-2 win over Northern Michigan in a nonleague tilt earned them the milestone.
Bowling Green is one of only three teams that started their program after World War 2 to achieve this feat.
John Hawthorne stopped 30 of 36 shots for the Wildcats, while Zack Rose had 27 saves on 29 attempts for the Falcons.
First Period
The Falcons opened the game’s scoring at 7:42 of the opening period. Garrett Daly kept the puck in at the point, sending it diagonally to Cam Wright in the faceoff circle. Wright’s one-timer blew past Hawthorne to give him his ninth goal of the season. Tim Theocharidis had the second assist on the play.
Bowling Green added another goal at 10:40. Max Johnson net the puck to the slot to Brandon Kruse. The senior forward took the puck from his forehand to backhand, sliding a shot low past Hawthorne for his eighth goal of the season.
Northern Michigan cut the Falcons’ lead to 2-1 at 12:05 of the first frame. Jett Jungels deflected a shot from Vincent de Mey to half the Falcon lead.
Bowling Green outshot Northern Michigan nine to seven in the first period.
Second Period
Alex Barber extended the Falcons’ lead to 3-1 at 8:18 of the second period on the power play. In a similar play to the Falcons’ first goal, Will Cullen found Alex Barber from the point to the opposite faceoff circle. Barber’s one-timer beat Hawthorne for his sixth goal of the season. Theocharidis assisted as well on the play.
The Wildcats responded with a power-play goal of their own after a poor elbowing call on the Falcons. Vincent De Mey’s marker cut the Falcons’ lead to 3-2.
Once again, Bowling Green responded at 15:26. Alex Barber’s initial shot was saved by Hawthorne but Taylor Schneider hopped on the rebound, burying it for his fifth goal of the season. Cullen also assisted on the goal.
The Wildcats outshot the Falcons 15-13 in the second period.
Third Period
Bowling Green pushed their lead to 5-2 at 8:17 on the power play. Cam Wright fed Max Johnson who was skating on net. Johnson’s quick shot gave him his ninth goal of the season. T.J. Lloyd had the second assist on the play.
Will Cullen was the Falcons’ sixth goal scorer of the game at 14:28. He skated in from the point, deked around a pair of Wildcat defenders, and then the goalie for his fourth goal of the season. Justin Wells and Lloyd assisted on the goal that gave the Falcons the 6-2 lead.
The Falcons doubled up the Wildcats in shots in the final period, 14-7.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 14-2-0 while the Wildcats fall to 2-8-0.
Bowling Green will travel to Bemidji State next weekend for a pair of nonleague contests.
