Bowling Green’s hockey team trailed Michigan Tech 2-0 entering Friday night’s third period.
From that point forward, the Falcons sported a seven-goal advantage displaying a level of comfort aligned
with a team uninterested in ending its season early as it did a year ago.
BG followed Friday night’s three-goal third period by opening Saturday’s game with three more goals in
skating away with a 6-2 WCHA tournament series-clinching win at Slater Ice Arena.
“I think the more goals that go in, the more comfortable you feel,” BG head coach Chris Bergeron said.
“We were coming off of a three-goal period last night in the third, and then we get a three-goal period
in the first tonight. That helps the confidence.
“We know we’re capable of scoring, it’s just, it’s hard. I thought that we used the momentum of
yesterday’s game in the third period to carry over into today’s game.”
BG, which has won a playoff series for the ninth straight season, completes its third consecutive
opening-round sweep in the conference tournament.
The Falcons (23-9-5) will travel to two-seeded Northern Michigan — who knocked BG out of the second round
in a game-three overtime a season ago — for a semifinal series next weekend. Michigan Tech ends its
season at 14-20-4.
Sophomore Max Johnson gave BG its first lead of the night midway through the first period.
Following Adam Smith’s equalizing goal, Johnson maintained a strong individual weekend by gathering a
rebound and rifling a putback into the right corner of the net for a 2-1 first-period lead.
“We knew we could break down their D,” Johnson said. “I think they have a very young D core so we knew if
we just skated away from traffic and go low-to-high up to the D and just create traffic in front of the
net that we could get to them.”
Johnson, who finished the weekend with three goals and three assists, later scored his team-leading 17th
goal of the season. BG reset the formation during a powerplay, dumped the puck off to Taylor Schneider
on the left and allowing Schneider to find his former high-school teammate deep on the right side for a
tap in.
The goal doubled the Falcons’ lead to 4-2 in the second period.
“We knew we weren’t going to be denied and we just had that mentality after that huge win last night,”
Johnson said.
“Playoffs get our attention,” Bergeron added.
Connor Ford kept with the pressure in front of Michigan Tech’s net. The sophomore secured a rebound and
popped in another powerplay score to stretch BG’s first-period lead to 3-1.
Frederic Letourneau added a third-period penalty-shot goal before senior defenseman Connor McDonald
notched his first career goal by clearing a puck nearly the length of the ice into an open net.
“It’s great to have confidence coming out of a team like Michigan Tech, who is arguably one of the best
teams in the conference,” Johnson said.
Ryan Bednard, who allowed two first-period goals including a short-side goal to start the game, rebounded
with an efficient final period. The junior made an array of tough, timely saves, sprawling out along the
side of the net twice to maintain the Falcons’ two-goal lead.
“He’s a kid that’s looking for confidence and I think it’s really going to help. I really do,” Bergeron
said. “We need him to be confident.”
Senior captain Stephen Baylis, who was injured during Friday’s game, is being described as week-to-week
and is unlikely to play against Northern Michigan next weekend.