RIT erased Bowling Green’s lead late in the third period and scored the winner just 77 seconds into overtime to defeat the Falcons 3-2 in the Ice Breaker tournament Friday night at the Huntington Center in downtown Toledo.
The Falcons led 2-1 with five minutes to play in regulation, but the Tigers forced overtime. Caleb Moretz then scored the winner to send RIT to the championship game.
Unlike Sunday’s win at Miami, the Falcons were unable to turn a second-intermission lead into a win.
“I think it's a learning experience for everybody,” Falcons coach Ty Eigner said. “We talked about this after both second periods going into the third period of the two games we've played up until this point: We want to be in this position.”
Bowling Green controlled the majority of the first period — the Falcons outshot the Tigers 11-2 in the first 20 minutes — and earned a deserved first goal. After failing to score on two power-play chances, one of which included a goal that was disallowed for a high stick, the Falcons’ fourth line came through with a goal.
Evan Dougherty scored off a pass from Adam Conquest at 15:17, a lead that BG protected to the intermission.
Falcons goaltender Eric Dop helped keep the BG lead with a pair of excellent saves on an RIT power play early in the period, and the Falcons doubled the lead later in the second.
“In the second period, he kept us in it, for sure,” Falcons defenseman Alec Rauhauser said of Dop. “We were sitting back on our heels, and he gave us a chance, so just him stepping up in the second there. Obviously we'd like to do more for him in front of the net.”
Casey Linkenheld played the puck off the wall near center ice, setting off a two-man game between he and Alex Barber. Barber retrieved the puck and centered to Linkenheld, who had squeezed behind the defense and carefully slipped the puck home for a 2-0 lead.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, their two-goal edge didn’t last very long.
RIT, which outshot BG 14-6 in the second period, scored on the very next shift. Just 34 seconds after Linkenheld scored, RIT’s Brody Valette cut the Tigers’ deficit in half.
The Tigers went on the power play with just more than two minutes to go in the period, but Bowling Green held to take their lead into the third period.
The best chance of the third period changed the game. The two sides played to a stalemate through the first 15 minutes of the third, but the Tigers caught a break — and made it count.
Andrew Rinaldi found himself all alone with a breakaway on Dop, and he stick-handled to his backhand to beat the goaltender and tie the game with only 4:55 to play in regulation.
The Tigers gave the Falcons a golden chance to retake the lead with a bench minor for too many men, but the Falcons couldn’t take advantage.
Dop prevented a late winner by stonewalling the Tigers at the doorstep and freezing the puck with 18.5 seconds to go, which sent the game to overtime
The Falcons will play Western Michigan at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Huntington Center. RIT will play Ohio State in the championship game.
Earlier in the day, the No. 14 Buckeyes and No. 12 Broncos played to a 2-2 draw that held through five-on-five and three-on-three overtime periods, after which Ohio State advanced to the championship game by prevailing in a shootout.
First Published October 12, 2019, 3:50 a.m.
