The Central Collegiate Hockey Association rankings now look a little different with Bowling Green no longer at the top.
The Bowling Green men’s hockey team (8-10-0, 7-7-0 CCHA) lost 6-2 to the Minnesota State Mavericks (10-7-1, 7-4-1 CCHA) on Saturday at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
The goalie matchup stayed the same as the night before, with BG sophomore Christian Stoever and MSU freshman Alex Tracy in net.
Both teams were playing aggressively across the team, with each getting great offensive chances.
Halfway through the period, Mavs defenseman Andy Carroll scored on a rush toward Stoever’s net to make it 1-0.
BG senior Max Coyle received a hooking penalty on the play.
The Falcons’ strong PK unit killed it off, but bad luck still lingered as captain Alex Barber left the ice injured.
Things looked up for Bowling Green with a power play just minutes after the kill, but the Falcons remained scoreless at the end of the first.
As the second period began, the Falcons had a burst of energy and put up shots against Tracy.
The physicality was turned up to high in the first half of the second, but Bowling Green could not find a entry point for a goal.
Instead, at the 9:11 mark, Christian Fitzgerald slapped the puck past Stoever to make it 2-0.
Two minutes later, Bowling Green got their second man advantage of the night, but the Mavericks had more scoring chances.
MSU senior Ryan Sandelin sat in the penalty box for interference for yet another BGSU power play, and the Falcons fought hard to look for their first goal of the night.
Falcon sophomore Austen Swankler capitalized on the advantage, and cut the Mavericks’ lead to make it 2-1.
No less than a minute later, MSU right wing Adam Eisele silenced the Falcons fans and made the score 3-1.
The scoring frenzy did not stop there with yet another Minnesota State goal by Fitzgerald for his second of the night to make it 4-1.
The Mavericks dominated the second as they did on Friday, and the Falcons desperately needed a goal.
However, MSU sophomore Will Hillman scored the third consecutive goal in three minutes for a lead of 5-1.
The second period came to an end, leaving Bowling Green frustrated.
The third began with a goalie change for the Falcons as freshman Salvatore Evola came in to replace Stoever.
Hillman scored his second of the game at 6:22 to extend the Mavericks’ lead to 6-1.
Halfway through the period, a scuffle broke out between the teams after a huge hit on the Mavericks.
Swankler and MSU junior Ondrej Pavel were thrown from the game for misconducts, and among the multiple penalties came 3-on-3 hockey.
Although Falcon forward Nathan Burke scored in the dying seconds of the game to make it 6-2, the efforts weren’t enough to tackle the Mavericks.
Even though Evola had to come in when the Falcons were scrambling for more offense, he said he was excited to make his collegiate debut and kept a strong mindset to make a great first impression.
“I try to keep the same routine every time, whether or not I’m playing,” Evola said.
Bowling Green is set for a series against Ohio State next weekend. The Friday game will take place at the Slate and the Saturday game will be at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
