Bowling Green, OH – The 15th-ranked Falcons gave their seven seniors a win to remember Saturday on Senior Night. Bowling Green mauled Alabama-Huntsville 7-1 in the final game of the regular season.
Jake Theut started in net for the Chargers before being pulled at 9:54 of the first period. He stopped just three of seven shots faced in the first period but re-entered the game to start the second period. He finished with 24 saves on 30 shots faced. Mark Sinclair had four saves on five shots faced in relief for UAH.
Ryan Bednard stopped 10 of 11 Charger attempts for the Falcons.
First Period
Alex Barber opened the floodgates for the Falcons with a power-play goal at 1:12 of the first period. Brandon Kruse found Barber in the slot where the freshman forward buried his fifth goal of the season. Alec Rauhauser picked up the second assist on the scoring play.
The Falcons made it 2-0 at 7:08 of the first period. Frederic Letourneau forced a turnover just inside the Chargers’ zone, skated in on Theut, and buried a wrist shot over his glove. The unassisted goal was Letourneau’s fourth of the season.
Bowling Green scored their second power-play goal at 8:17 of the first period. Max Johnson fed the puck to Alec Rauhauser at the point, who one-timed a stinging slap shot past Theut for his third goal of the season. Brandon Kruse had the second assist on the play.
Max Johnson scored his 14th goal of the season at 9:54 of the second period on the power play. Brandon Kruse and Connor Ford forced shots on net that were saved by Theut. But, Johnson’s clean-up effort pushed the game to a 4-0 BGSU lead.
Theut was pulled after the Falcons’ fourth goal for Mark Sinclair.
John Schilling kept his hot streak going with a goal at 13:15 of the first period. The senior forward cleaned up a rebound from Connor Ford for his seventh goal of the season to push the Falcons’ lead to 5-0. The goal was Schilling’s tenth point in the last seven games.
The Falcons finished the first period with 12 shots on net while the Chargers managed just three chances.
Second Period
Bowling Green scored their sixth goal at 1:58 of the middle frame. Frederic Letourneau sent the puck to Taylor Schneider in the slot whose wrist shot beat Theut. Schneider’s seventh goal of the season was also assisted by Alec Rauhauser.
The Chargers were finally able to stop the bleeding with a goal at 1:58. Bauer Neudecker finished a backhand chance on a three-on-one breakaway to cut the Falcons’ lead to 6-1.
Third Period
John Schilling tallied his second goal of the night at 9:18. After taking a pass from Adam Smith he skated in on Theut, burying a wrist shot on the near side for his seventh goal of the season. Matt Meier had the second assist on the play.
That play would cap the game’s scoring, sealing the 7-1 win for the Falcons.
Bowling Green finished the final period with 11 shots on net while Alabama-Huntsville had five attempts.
Alabama-Huntsville falls to 8-26-2, 8-18-2-2 and will face Minnesota State in the WCHA Playoffs Quarterfinals as the eight seed.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 21-9-5, 16-8-4-3 and will finish in third place in the WCHA. They will welcome Michigan Tech next weekend to begin the WCHA Playoffs.
Stats
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Three Stars
- John Schilling (BGSU) – 2 G
- Alec Rauhauser (BGSU) – 1 G, 2 A
- Brandon Kruse (BGSU) – 3 A
Photo Gallery
Photos by Jessi Renner// BGSUhockey.com
Press Conference
Head Coach Chris Bergeron
Senior Forward John Schilling
