Sunday, January 8
Bowling Green, Ohio
5:05 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
1
vs
1
Ohio State
Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com
Falcons Beat Buckeyes In Shootout For Second Straight Night
January 08, 2012 | Ice Hockey
The Falcons Scored Late To Even The Tilt 1-1 Before Defeating Ohio State In A Second Straight CCHA Shootout
BOXSCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team rallied late to tie Ohio State 1-1 in regulation, before once again defeating the Buckeyes in a CCHA shootout. Sophomore Cam Wojtala scored the lone regulation goal for the Falcons, while junior goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped 31-of-32 shots in the contest.
The game showcased quality goaltending for both teams, as both Hammond and Ohio State goaltender Cal Heeter refused to let up a goal in the opening period.
The scoring drought was finally broken at the 11:31 mark of the second period, on a wrist shot from the circle by Ohio State sophomore Chris Crane. The Ohio native carried the puck around the back of the Falcon net before throwing it at the crease. The puck took a Buckeye bounce off of Hammond, and entered the Falcon net. The goal marked Crane's twelfth of the season, and gave Ohio State the 1-0 lead.
Both goaltenders continued to dominate the tilt, holding the game at 1-0 in favor of Ohio State until the final minute of play.
An Ohio State penalty put the Falcons on the power play for the final two minutes of the third period, allowing for sustained Bowling Green pressure for the remainder of the game. With Hammond on the bench, the Falcons were able to benefit from the 6-4 man advantage.
Bowling Green sent the puck down low behind the Buckeye cage before Wojtala wrapped it around in front. The puck broke through Heeter after a scramble in front, giving Wojtala his fourth goal of the season, and a tie hockey game.
Strong goaltending continued into the overtime period, as neither team was able to score in the extra stanza.
Heeter and Hammond stood strong for three waves, not allowing a single goal in the first shootout set.
After a Wojtala miss on the fourth wave, Ohio State forward Nick Oddo finally broke through Hammond to give the Buckeyes the 1-0 lead in the shootout.
With the shootout win on the line, freshman Adam Berkle skated in and wristed a shot past Heeter to keep the Falcons alive.
Hammond stoned Ohio State forward Max McCormick in the first half of the fifth wave, setting up junior Marc Rodriguez with an opportunity to win the shootout for Bowling Green. Rodriguez skated in and snapped a shot high glove past Heeter, to win the CCHA shootout for the Falcons.
Sunday night's game marked the third straight shootout at the BGSU Ice Arena, dating back to the Falcons' only shootout loss of the season against Western Michigan (Dec. 9, 2011). Bowling Green is now 3-1 on the year in CCHA shootouts.
Wojtala's goal in the final minute of play snapped a 10 game point drought, dating back to his two-assist effort against Canisius (Nov. 12, 2011).
Hammond's 31-save performance marks his fourth 30+ save effort on the year. Bowling Green is now 0-3-1 when Hammond makes 30 saves or more in a game.
The CCHA shootout win puts the Falcons' overall record at 6-13-5, with a record of 1-11-4-3 in CCHA action. The CCHA shootout loss puts the Buckeyes' record at 14-4-3 overall, with a record of 10-3-3-1 in conference play.
The Falcons are off from game action this coming weekend, but are back on the ice Jan. 20, in an away matchup against Alaska-Fairbanks.
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