Ten different Bobcats provided points as Bowling Green defeated Perrysburg, 6-3, in a non-league hockey game at Bowling Green State University’s Slater Family Ice Arena Saturday.
Perrysburg outshot BG the first two periods, but the Bobcats took control in the third, outshooting the Yellow Jackets 17-4 and scoring four times to break open a close game.
BG senior forward Shane Cassin got it started, scoring on a wide angled shot that caught the side of the net four minutes and 58 seconds into the third period.
Cassin’s goal, assisted by junior defenseman Easton Schick, gave BG a 3-2 lead.
“It started off with a big goal from me and then everyone just fed off that and we just started going,” Cassin said.
Perrysburg wing Cody Schneider countered for Perrysburg, scoring a shorthanded goal, assisted by Caden Seiple, on a counter breakaway to tie the score with 8:25 remaining.
Seiple stole the puck in BG’s defensive zone, passed to Schneider, who nailed the shot.
It was Perrysburg’s second straight steal inside 20 seconds, but BG senior goaltender Gavin Sudlow made a nice save on Schneider’s first steal and attempt to score.
BG responded with three goals unanswered.
BG senior forward Luke Johnson received a pass from behind the net and scored the game-winner with 6:41 remaining.
Johnson, who was just outside the crease, was assisted by Cassin and senior forward Bryce Ebersbach.
BG senior forward Alex Lorenzen added the first insurance goal on a 15-foot angled shot, assisted by junior forward Camden McIntosh and sophomore forward J.T. Webb, putting the Bobcats up 5-3 with 3:49 remaining.
Cassin scored the final goal on a power play, assisted by Ebersbach, with 1:31 left in the game.
BG improves to 20-9-1, but Cassin said the win was in response to the Bobcats going 0-3-1 in their previous four games.
“I think we realized that we had to have a big third period if we wanted to get out of the slump we are in,” Cassin continued.
BG coach Connor Rogowski added, “We came out a little flat. We’ve been sitting here for the last five or six games, and in the third period we have had a opportunity and we haven’t rose to the occasion on the opportunity.
“We came out today determined. We scored a goal, made a mistake when they scored to tie it up.
“We made a decision then that we were going to pound it. We were going to put our foot on the gas and we were not going to let up today,” Rogowski continued
We played hard, we played a really good third period and we found a way.”
Even though BG scored four times in the third period, Perrysburg coach Kevin Fisher credited Sudlow for keeping the Jackets out of the net.
“I thought the third period we had a couple defensive breakdowns,” Fisher said.
“Once again, Sudlow’s game, he was phenomenal. It seems like he plays his best hockey against us, closed the door on us a few times that I thought were automatic goals. A couple guys truly got robbed.”
For BG, Cassin had six points on two goals and two assists, Johnson scored twice, and senior forward Brayden Clauson and Lorennzen scored one goal apiece.
Ebersbach had three assists and McIntosh, Webb, sophomore forward Cooper Feehan and freshman forward Rhett Winger provided one assist apiece.
BG outshot Perrysburg 28-24 with Sudlow making 21 saves and Perrysburg goalie Sam Yonker making 22.
For Perrysburg, Schneider had two goals and an assist, Seiple had a goal and an assist, and center Mackeane Hanley had an assist.
Schneider’s heads-up play and skating ability constantly kept BG on edge, even when the Bobcats were on the power play.
“He is a talented kid. He understands that he does better when the whole team is working together and then he can do his thing,” Fisher said.
“He’s had a good career here — I said at the beginning of the year, he could be the Player of the Year, and I’ll stand by that now in February.”
Unfortunately for Schneider, he is nowhere near the Perrysburg record book.
“Since we made the made the move to the Red Division, no,” Fisher said.
“For years we were in the White Division and there were some pretty silly records that will never be topped — guys who scored seven or eight goals in a game. So there is kind of an asterisk next to that.”
BG was originally scheduled to host Gilmour Academy Saturday, but because of weather the Cleveland area school could not make the trip.
Rogowski said it was nice to have a local school available to fill in. BG is 2-0 against the Jackets this year, but Perrysburg is 15-13-2 and in fourth place in the seven-team Northwest Hockey Conference Red Division.
“It was really good. We reached out to them and they jumped right on it,” Rogowski said. “We knew it would be an exciting and a fun game, so we wanted to play.”
Cassin added, “Perrysburg is a good team and we have them next weekend so to play another team from our league just helped prepare us more for the playoffs.”
