Bowling Green, OH – The eighth-ranked Falcons rode a four-goal first period to a 5-1 victory over Northern Michigan Friday night.
Connor Ryckman started in net for the Wildcats, stopping just seven of 10 shots before being replaced. John Hawthorne turned aside 21 of 23 attempts in relief.
Eric Dop had 32 saves on 33 attempts for the Falcons.
First Period
BG opened the game’s scoring at 6:59 of the first period. Max Johnson deflected a shot from Carson Musser over Ryckman’s shoulder for his eighth goal of the season.
Chrys Collin scored his first collegiate goal at 13:18 of the opening frame. Collin banged the puck past Ryckman from the goal line to give BG a 2-0 lead. Ethan Scardina and Will Cullen assisted on the play.
The Falcons pushed their lead to 3-0 at 15:33. Evan Dougherty muscled his way past a Wildcat defender, sending a shot low past Ryckman. Dougherty’s fifth goal of the season was assisted by Connor Ford and Musser.
Ryckman was replaced by John Hawthorne after the Falcons’ third goal.
Bowling Green capped their first period scoring at 17:41. Brandon Kruse sent a backhanded chance at Hawthorne from behind the net. The puck deflected in off Hawthorne for Kruse’s seventh goal of the season. Johnson and Cam Wright assisted on Kruse’s goal.
Bowling Green outshot Northern Michigan 11-10 in the first period.
Second Period
The Wildcats finally found their first goal at 11:12 of the second period with a power-play goal. Vincent de Mey followed-up on his own rebound to cut the Falcons’ lead to 4-1.
But, the Falcons would re-take their four-goal lead at 18:30. Will Cullen’s wrist shot from the near faceoff dot pushed the Falcons’ lead to 5-1. Falcon goaltender Eric Dop assisted on the play.
The Wildcats outshot the Falcons 12-8 in the middle frame.
Third Period
Neither team scored in the third period, giving BG the 5-1 win.
The Wildcats outshot the Falcons 15-14 in the final period.
With the win, Bowling Green improves to 13-2-0 on the season while the Wildcats fall to 2-7-0.
The teams will conclude their weekend series Saturday at 7:07 PM.
