MILWAUKEE — Bowling Green State University’s hockey team concluded its stay in Wisconsin with a 2-1 victory over Yale on Wednesday in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-off at the Fiserv Forum.
The win was coach Ty Eigner’s 50th at Bowling Green.
BGSU split the trip up north, after falling to No. 16 Providence on Tuesday.
Bowling Green (9-8-3) opened with a goal 1:03 into the game, as Nathan Burke put one past Yale netminder Connor Hopkins with assists by Austen Swankler and Coale Norris.
“I think the team just found a way to get on the board early,” Burke said on the game’s TV broadcast. “But a big thing for us is closing out games. [Tuesday] was a close one, going into the third it was 3-2. Obviously, we didn’t get that result we wanted.
“I think tonight we proved we can bounce back, we can hold leads, and this was a big win for us, for sure.”
Christian Stoever, who made his fourth straight start in net for BGSU, made 35 saves in 36 chances and held the Bulldogs (3-9) scoreless for just over 50 minutes.
Stoever made 16 saves in the first period.
“We are really happy to get in the win column again,” Eigner said. “We had a bunch of guys contribute tonight, especially the guys who were a part of our penalty kill. They really dug in and did a nice job.”
The Falcons killed off five Yale power-play chances, including two in the third period.
BGSU went up 2-0 late in the second period, as Adam Pitters got his first goal of the season with assists from Ryan O’Hara and Gabriel Chicoine.
The Bulldogs continued to apply pressure and broke through for a goal by Briggs Gammill with 9:49 to play in the game.
Stoever saved all five chances from that point forward to seal the victory for the Falcons.
BGSU returns to the ice Jan. 7 and 8 for a series at St. Thomas. The Falcons swept a home series against the Tommies in early November.
The Falcons’ next home series is Jan. 14 and 15 against Bemidji State. The rest of BGSU’s schedule is composed of Central Collegiate Hockey Association rivals.
First Published December 30, 2021, 1:49 a.m.
