Houghton, MI – The 16th-ranked Falcons will fly back to Bowling Green with five WCHA points in their stowaways as they took a double-overtime decision in a 2-2 tie with Michigan Tech.
Eric Dop stopped 21 of 23 shots faced for the Falcons, while Matt Jurusik turned aside 19 of 21 Falcon attempts.
First Period
Neither team was able to find the net in a defensive-focused first period.
Michigan Tech had six shots on net while Bowling Green had four attempts.
Second Period
The Falcons struck first at 3:27 of the second period. Skating on the power play, Alec Rauhauser won a wall battle behind the Huskies net. He sent the puck to the front of the net to Cam Wright who had come on for a line change. Wright’s one-timer found twine for his 14th goal of the season.
The Huskies tied the game at 10:10. The Falcons gave up a two-on-one breakaway. Raymond Brice converted to move the score to 1-1.
Michigan Tech had 10 shots in the second period while Bowling Green had nine chances.
Third Period
Brian Halonen gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead at 2:51 of the third period. After splitting the Falcon defensemen Halonen skated in and roofed a goal over Dop’s pads.
Bowling Green sent the game back to a tied score at 8:06. Frederic Letourneau challenged Jursik with a shot that rebounded to his left. Taylor Schneider collected the puck, moved it to his forehand, and finished a shot with a low attempt that beat the Huskies’ netminder on his far side. Schneider’s 11th goal of the season was also assisted by Sam Craggs.
Neither team found the game-winning goal in the rest of the period to send the contest to overtime.
Both teams collected five shots on net in the third period.
Overtime Period
The teams were only able to send one shot on net each in the extra period, with neither finding the net. The game officially ended in a 2-2 tie but headed to a three-on-three overtime period to determine WCHA points.
Second Overtime Period
Bowling Green scored the deciding goal 58 seconds into the second overtime period. Brandon Kruse managed to loosen the puck from the boards. Max Johnson collected the puck, beating Jurusik just inside the near post to give the Falcons the extra point.
With the second overtime win, the Falcons’ record improves to 13-9-2, 8-6-2-2. The Huskies fall to 13-11-2, 8-7-1-0.
Bowling Green will welcome Minnesota State next weekend to continue WCHA action.
