Saturday, January 14
Mankato, Minn.
8:07 PM
Bowling Green State University
13-13-2,10-9-1-1WCHA
3
at
5
Minnesota State
14-8-2,10-6-2-0WCHA
1
2
3
F
Bowling Green
2
1
0
3
Minnesota State
1
1
3
5
Walker Nets a Pair of Goals Against No. 18 Minnesota State
January 14, 2017 | Ice Hockey
Box Score
MANKATO, Minn. – The Bowling Green hockey team (12-13-2, 10-9-1 WCHA) fell to No. 18 Minnesota State (14-8-2, 10-6-2 WCHA) Saturday evening in a 5-3 final at the Verizon Wireless Center. Although senior captain Sean Walker tallied two of the Falcons three goals, the Bowling Green squad will remained tied with the Mavericks for third place in the WCHA standings after the weekend split.
"I liked energy and intensity the guys had, which is what we need to do to give ourselves a chance to win every night," Bowling Green hockey head coach Chris Bergeron said. "I thought our team did great and gave us two opportunities to win on the road, and the guys proved that when we do things a certain way we can win games. Minnesota State is a good team that has won a couple of championships recently for a reason and they showed that in the third period tonight."
The Falcons came out strong in the first period of play, and although Minnesota State was first to get on the board, Bowling Green responded with three straight goals. First, Walker tied up the game just 2:30 after the Mavericks opened the scoring in the first period with a shot taken at the top of the right faceoff circle, and the puck soared in over the right shoulder of the MSU goaltender.
Bowling Green then saw its first lead of the night with just under five minutes to go in the first when senior Matt Pohlkamp knocked in a one-timer on a rebound from straight out front of the net. The goal marked the Baxter, Minn. native's first goal since Dec. 17 (at Alaska) and his eighth of the season.
With under five minutes to go in the second period, Walker extended the Falcons lead when he received a pass from the faceoff circle by junior Tyler Spezia. The Keswick, Ontario native took a shot from the point and as the puck deflected off a Maverick, Walker earned his second of the night and made the score 3-2. It is the first time since Jan. 10, 2015 (vs. Alaska) that Walker has scored twice in a game.
The Mavericks came out quick in the third period and narrowed the score to a one-goal game on the power play. Then midway through the final stanza, Minnesota State was able to tie up the game and regain its lead in just a 1:26 time span and carry a 4-3 lead until the final minute of play. The Mavericks were then awarded an empty-netter with 37 seconds on the clock for the 5-3 final.
On the night, junior Tyler Spezia marked his fifth multi-point night of the season by assisting on the Falcons second and third goals, while junior Mitch McLain extended his point streak to six games with the assist on Walker's first goal of the night.
Overall, the Mavericks narrowly outshot the Falcons by a 27-25 margin, and went 2-for-3 on the power play. Bowling Green earned its third goal of the night on the power play to go 1-for-2 with the man-advantage, and accumulated 10 blocked shots through the conference matchup.
The Bowling Green hockey program will return back to the Slater Family Ice Arena next weekend as they welcome Alaska for WCHA play. Both Friday and Saturday's matchups are set for 7:07 p.m. puck drops.
Team Stats
BGSU
MINNST
Shots
25
27
PPG
1
2
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
4
Penalty Mins
8
19
Faceoffs Won
31
37
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
+1
Goals
2
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
+1
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
1
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Ice HockeyBG Hockey : Kevin Piel w/Dennis Williams
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