TOLEDO — The game itself was almost as much about the experience as it was the actual contest. In the
end, both aspects weren’t the best but certainly could have been a lot worse.
The No. 13 Bowling Green (11-3-3) hockey team failed to hold a two-goal lead in the third period as it
skated it a 2-2 tied with No. 19 Robert Morris at Fifth Third Field on Saturday in front of a crowd of
3,806. The teams played through consistent rainfall from puck drop until the final whistle.
“Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect; I don’t think anybody did,” said Bowling Green head coach
Chris Bergeron. “The ice people guaranteed us it was going to be playable and we were going to get the
game in. There was a little adversity out there with the weather, but both teams had to deal with it.”

The rain presented challenges from the start. Both teams played hesitant with the puck, afraid to make a
mistake. Robert Morris (12-3-4) didn’t get its first shot on goal until about eight minutes into the
game, while the Falcons didn’t get a shot until shortly thereafter.
The temperature of the ice was set to 11 degrees to help prevent puddles from forming. However, that
meant the rain would freeze unevenly on the ice, creating a “pebbled” playing surface.
“We had to keep things a lot simpler with the puck,” said Bowling Green forward Matt Pohlkamp, who scored
the Falcons’ first goal of the game. “We tried not to make fancy plays. The ice was starting to get
bumpy because of the rain, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle.”
While the rain added some complications to the game, there was rarely a delay in play to make adjustments
— aside from bringing out the Zambonis to cut the ice midway through the third period — and was more of
an inconvenience than anything. Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley joked that he had to change
clothes during the second intermission.
Bowling Green struck first, with Pohlkamp netting a short-handed goal late in the first period. He
received a smooth centering pass from Pierre-Luc Mercier on a 2-on-1 rush, and put the puck on net
before Colonials goalie Terry Shafer could get across his crease.
The Falcons put their second-ranked penalty unit to the test often, taking seven minor penalties in the
game. While it killed all seven Robert Morris power plays, Bergeron was displeased with his team putting
itself in that position.
“Completely unacceptable,” he said. “It was undisciplined, because that wasn’t conditions, that was poor
decisions by us. It was a bunch of young guys. That will be addressed. Seven is way too many.”
Adam Berkle scored his third of the year to make it 2-0 late in the second period, but the penalties
began to back up Bowling Green and created some momentum for the Colonials.
“That really takes away from our 5-on-5 game, which we want to get to early and often,” Pohlkamp said.
“When we get so many penalties, it just takes away from us doing our thing.”
Bowling Green took two penalties early in the third period, and Robert Morris began chipping away shortly
after.
Just 40 seconds after Mark Friedman left the penalty box the Colonials cut the Falcons’ lead in half.
Greg Gibson finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play, rifling a one-timed shot from the low left circle
past Bowling Green goalie Chris Nell.
Nell played well in the game, stopping 34 of 36 shots. He had relatively easy looks at the puck early, as
the Colonials failed to get much traffic in front of him. By the time they upped the pressure, Nell had
settled into his game.
“I thought by the second half everyone got a feel for the rink and how the ice was going to be,” Nell
said. “I thought I had a sweat going and the team did a nice job blocking some shots.”
Nell held tough, making 26 combined saves in the second and third periods. He didn’t have much chance on
either Robert Morris goal.
Just under two minutes after halving the lead, Robert Morris tied the game, with Brady Ferguson scoring
on 2-on-1 rush.
Fortunately for the Falcons, immediately after the goal was scored, the break was called to cut the ice.
The timing of the break was determined before the game, but it ended up working as a de facto timeout
for Bowling Green, allowing them to calm down.
“We had known it was coming, but I would have like to have played another shift,” Schooley said. “That’s
hockey, we got ready to play right away and I thought after that we played pretty good too. But yeah I’d
have liked to play one more shift.”
While both teams were cold and wet following the game, they said they enjoyed being a part of the event.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience,” said Shafer, who stopped 24 of 26 Bowling Green shots. “You
never know how many times you’re going to get to do something like this, so we’re really honored we got
to be a part of this and thankful for Bowling Green to invite us out.”
BGSU 2, ROBERT MORRIS 2, OT
GOALS BY PERIOD
Robert Morris 0 0 2 0 —2
BGSU 1 1 0 0 —2
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1, BG, Pohlkamp 5 (Mercier) 17:44 (4-5 sh).
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2, BG, Berkle 3 (Friedman, DeSalvo) 17:53.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 3, RMU, Gibson 2 (Jones, Cope) 8:58, 4, RMU, Ferguson 8 (Leavens, Friedmann) 10:53.
OVERTIME
Scoring: None
SAVES BY PERIOD
Shafer, RMU 6 8 10 0 —26
Nell, BGSU 6 12 14 2 —34
Goalie statistics (goals against/minutes played): (BG) Nell 2/65; (RMU) Shafer 2/65.
Penalties-Minutes: BG 7-14, RMU 3-6, Power plays: BG 0-3, RMU 0-7. Attendance: 3,806