Friday, January 13
Mankato, Minn.
8:07 PM
Bowling Green State University
12-12-2,10-8-1-1WCHA
3
at
2
Minnesota State
13-8-2,9-6-2-0WCHA
1
2
3
OT 1
F
Bowling Green
0
2
0
1
3
Minnesota State
1
1
0
0
2
Falcons Down No. 18 Minnesota State With 3-2 Overtime Victory
January 13, 2017 | Ice Hockey
Box Score
Dufour Goal Call 1-1
Dufour Goal Call 2-2
McLain Goal Call 3-2 OT
MANKATO, Minn. – The Bowling Green hockey program (12-12-2, 10-8-1 WCHA) came back with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over No. 18 Minnesota State (13-8-2, 9-6-2 WCHA) Friday evening in the Verizon Wireless Center. In the WCHA victory, senior Kevin Dufour forced overtime with a pair of game-tying goals, while junior Mitch McLain netted his team-leading 15th goal of the season in the extra play.
"We played the puck more of the way we wanted to play it as the game went on," Bowling Green hockey head coach Chris Bergeron said. "I thought our process was good and I liked the way we competed. We knew it was going to be against a difficult opponent in a difficult place to play, and our game plan was to come out with energy and intensity and the focus was to give ourselves a chance to win and we did that."
The fast-paced play opened the first period across both ends of the ice, but the Mavericks were first to get on the board midway through the period and carry a 1-0 lead over into the second. It was then 7:57 into the second when senior Kevin Dufour was able to place the puck top shelf from the left hash marks and evened up the score at 1-1. It was Dufour's seventh goal of the season, and first since Dec. 17 (at Alaska).
The exciting second period continued when Minnesota State scored on a quick rebound down low and made it 2-1 just minutes before the close of the second stanza, although it was Dufour who evened the score for the second time on the night shortly thereafter.
The Quebec City, Quebec native picked up the puck at the blue line and tucked in a backhand shot down low for an unassisted goal to tie up the game at 2-2 with only 1:15 remaining in the period. Dufour's pair of goals carried the Falcons to overtime, and marked the second time this season and seventh time in his career he has notched more than one goal in a game. Dufour had also scored a pair at Alabama Huntsville on Nov. 19 and is one of just four players on the Bowling Green squad with multi-goal nights this year.
The Falcons outshot the Mavericks by a 12-9 margin in the second period and carried the momentum through the third period and into the overtime. Although Minnesota State had the man advantage early in the extra play, McLain and freshman Lukas Craggs poked the puck outside of the Bowling Green zone and created a 2-on-1 scoring chance on Minnesota State's goaltender. Even though the pair did not score with the 2-on-1 shorthanded chance, the play forced the Maverick's to call its timeout with 3:08 remaining in the OT.
Minnesota State continued to push back and had a look at the net with 2:06 to go in the 5-on-5 overtime, although junior goaltender Chris Nell made a big glove save to keep the game alive. It was one of 32 saves the Green Bay, Wis. native tallied through 63:55 of play, in addition to posting a save percentage of .941 against the nationally ranked opponent.
As the clock was winding down in the first overtime, Craggs capitalized on an opening in front of the net and passed the puck across to the right faceoff circle to McLain. A Baxter, Minn. native, McLain was able to score for the fifth consecutive game with just 1:05 remaining in the overtime session and lifted Bowling Green to a 3-2 overtime win. It is McLain's third game-winning goal in the last five games, and his team-leading 15th of the season.
On the night, Minnesota State outshot the Falcons by a 34-26 edge, and held a 34-27 advantage in faceoffs won, although Bowling Green was able to hold its opponent scoreless on the power play for the 11th time this season.
"It wasn't so much as a slow start for us, as it was a fast start for them," Coach Bergeron said of the pace of play. "I didn't dislike the way we were competing. We wanted to make sure we had intensity and a high compete level and I thought we had that. Our penalty kill was strong tonight, but I thought we got better in the second and third for sure."
It is the Falcons first victory in overtime this season, of four games that have gone to extra time, and second consecutive victory over a ranked opponent. The pair of conference rivals were tied for third in the WCHA prior to Friday night's matchup, and with the win Bowling Green now holds third place outright in the standings.
The conference foes will face off again tomorrow evening in Mankato, Minn. in a 7:07 p.m. Central Time puck drop.
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Team Stats
BGSU
MINNST
Shots
26
34
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
5
4
Penalty Mins
10
8
Faceoffs Won
27
34
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
+1
Goals
2
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
+1
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Ice HockeyF
/ Ice HockeyF
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G
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