Bowling Green’s hockey team only played sporadically well Friday in the Ice Arena.The Falcons
overcame their shortcomings with grit, excellent penalty-killing, and Mark Cooper’s hat trick.The sophomore
forward scored 4:28 into overtime to give the Falcons a 4-3 win over Minnesota State.Cooper scored from just
off the left edge of the crease with 31.5 seconds showing on the clock. He fell after controlling the puck,
got up, spun around and fired a shot that bounced in after hitting the right shoulder of MSU goalie Cole
Huggins."I was going to throw it back to the point, but Berkle (teammate Adam) told me not to do that,
so I turned … and (Berkle) opened up some room in front of the net," Cooper said, adding he didn’t
see the puck go in."I threw it at the net and fortunately it bounced in."The goal capped a
physical, hard-fought and close-checking game that saw the Falcons hold a 25-24 edge in shots.The Mavericks
– who played well in the first period en route to a 2-0 lead – forced the five-minute extra period when Zach
Stepan scored on a bad-angle shot with 8:23 remaining in regulation.He scored from the goal line between the
net and the left-wing corner with a shot that caromed in off the back of Falcon goalie Tommy Burke, who had
vacated the right post.Stepan’s goal came after Berkle’s short-handed goal from the right circle gave BG a
3-2 lead with 14:44 left.The win was BG’s second in three games against MSU, the preseason pick to win the
Western Collegiate Hockey Association championship.BG is 6-4-3 overall and 4-2-1 in the league. MSU is 4-7,
2-3. The Falcons go for a sweep tonight at 7:07.Berkle had a goal and two assists for BG, 5-0-1 at home this
season and 12-1-1 in their last 14 home games dating back to last season."Both teams hung in there,
kept fighting," BG coach Chris Bergeron said. "I’m proud of our guys for that. It’s about the
process for us. At times, our process was good. At times, it wasn’t very good. We’ll take the result, but
we’ll go back to work tomorrow, knowing we have to elevate our game and believing our opponent will do the
same."Cooper’s first goal, 16 seconds into the second period, came after BG’s Ralfs Freibergs’ shot
from the right point hit the glass behind the net and ricocheted back in front. Cooper knocked in the puck
from the right side, ending BG’s 0-of-23 streak on the power play.BG tied the game at 6:47 when Cooper
skated across the front of the net and converted on Matt Pohlkamp’s pass."We got off to a slow start,
but I was proud of our guys for responding," Bergeron said, praising senior captain Cam Wojtala, and
the team’s juniors and seniors for their leadership between the first and second periods.BG then killed off
a seven-minute MSU power play when the Falcons’ Sean Walker was called for hooking and a major for checking
from behind at 11:05 of the second period.Walker hooked an MSU player on a breakaway and then hit a Maverick
from behind into the boards as the play ended. He received a game misconduct for the hit from behind.BG
allowed just two shots during that power play and generated two good scoring chances. The kill was even more
impressive because Walker is one of BG’s best defensemen.The Falcons used nine forwards and all five of
their defensemen during the kill."That was a really gritty penalty-kill," Bergeron said."That
gave us some great confidence," Cooper said. "We got that kill and that gave us some
momentum."The Mavericks later came hard at BG in the third period after Stepan tied the game, but BG
held on down the stretch before winning.Cooper had gone seven games without a point before scoring against
MSU."His first period was not his best," Bergeron said. "That goal got him going, it really
did. It got him confidence. It got him skating. It got him wining puck battles He definitely got better as
the game went on."Cooper has five goals and three assists this season after totaling nine goals and
seven assists as a freshman."The last few games, I’ve been getting chances, but I wasn’t able to find
the net," Cooper said. "(Scoring) is a relief. It gets you back to playing your game and not
focusing on scoring. You get back to focusing on doing what you need to do."