Huskies fall 3-2 Saturday to No. 10 Bowling Green
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Bowling Green (15-5-3,10-4-2-2 WCHA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
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Michigan Tech (11-11-2,10-5-1-1WCHA) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech hockey team split with No. 10 Bowling Green after a 3-2 loss Saturday (Jan. 12) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Huskies battled back from a 2-0 deficit, but the Falcons scored with 8:34 remaining to retake the lead.
"We didn't come out with the intensity to realize how important that first period of a Saturday night game is," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "They came out tougher than we did through the first two periods. I did like the way we came out and competed in the third to give ourselves a chance."
Down 2-0 entering the third period, the Huskies tied it up in a 17-second span. Tyler Rockwell made it a one-goal game when he collected the puck up near the blue line and took a long shot through traffic into the back of the net. The unassisted tally was his second of the season at 7:55.
Thomas Beretta finished off a breakout at the 8:12 mark for the equalizer. Seamus Donohue started with the puck in the defensive zone and fed Greyson Reitmeier at center ice. Beretta scored his third of the season after catching a drop pass and going high glove on the goaltender.
BGSU (15-5-3, 10-4-2-2 WCHA) took its lead back 3:14 later with a power play goal by Alex Barber. Like all three Falcon goals, Robbie Beydoun battled traffic in front of him and had the puck deflected in.
"I've never seen a game like that where they never shot one puck into our net," Shawhan added. "They fought for ice position, and we didn't get a block or box out. I give them credit. It was a good lesson on grit and determination."
"You hate to battle all the way back and then give up that goal on a penalty kill," Co-captain Dylan Steman said. "We've worked so hard on the penalty kill, and it's been improving."
The Huskies (11-11-2, 10-5-1-1 WCHA) outshot the Falcons 36-30 in the game with a commanding 19-8 advantage in the third period. Beydoun finished with 27 saves, while Eric Dop had 34 for the visitors.
The Falcons scored twice in the first period. John Schilling gave them the lead 6:55 after puck drop with a deflection off a shot by Chris Pohlkamp.
Barber made it 2-0 9:00 later with his first of the game. A shot by Cameron Wright hit Barber's leg and into the net. Will Cullen added the secondary assist.
Colin Swoyer almost tied it up in the first period when he had a long shot nail the crossbar. Jake Lucchini had a quick breakaway in the third period turned aside but he drew a power play.
The Huskies went 0-for-4 on the man advantage and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. They had a great chance on a 3-on-1 in the second period but a pass sailed away and Beydoun had to stand tall on a breakaway on the ensuing drive.
Saturday was Econo Kids Day at Michigan Tech as the women's and men's basketball teams hosted Lake Superior State in the afternoon before the hockey game. Econo Foods purchased 500 tickets for youth 14 and under to attend all three events.
Tech hits the road for the next two weekends, beginning at Bemidji State (Jan. 18-19). Friday's game will be played outdoors as part of the annual Hockey Day in Minnesota celebration. Saturday's contest will be back in the Sanford Center.
