BOWLING GREEN — With a chance at locking up home ice for next weekend’s opening round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association tournament, the Bowling Green State University hockey team let one slip away, falling 4-3 to Lake Superior State in the first of a two-game set Friday at Slater Family Ice Arena.
It was the third straight loss suffered by Bowling Green, which remains on the bubble of finishing in the conference’s top four going into Saturday.
Goals by the visiting Lakers in the second and third periods helped them earn the win over the Falcons.
With the game tied at 2 following an eventful first period, it was Lake Superior that grabbed momentum to start the second. The visitors registered a power-play goal off the stick of John Herrington for a 3-2 lead 4:22 in.
The Lakers added an insurance goal at 15:26 of the third. Branden Piku buried the shot, assisted by Timo Bakos.
However, BGSU (15-13-4, 11-10-4 CCHA) pulled its goalie, and with the extra attacker in play, Brett Pfoh scored his sixth goal of the season to pull the Falcons within one at 4-3 with 3:16 remaining. Lake Superior (12-19-2, 10-14-1) staved off the Falcons from there.
A total of four goals were scored in the first period. Each team went 1 of 2 on the power play.
BGSU converted a power-play chance just under nine minutes in with Gustav Stjernberg finding the back of the net, assisted by Dalton Norris and Ryan O’Hara for a 1-0 lead.
Lake Superior State knotted it up at 13:42 of the period thanks to Bakos’ goal. The Falcons grabbed the lead back 1:25 later on a Maxwell Martin even-strength goal with Seth Fyten and Ethan Scardina providing the assists.
The Lakers, on the power play, struck gold at 18:21 of the period when Jacob Conrad found the back of the net.
BGSU carried a 42-22 advantage in shots on goal for the game. In net, Bowling Green’s Cade Stoever made 18 saves, while Rorke Applebee stopped 39 of 42 shots for the Lakers.
BGSU and Lake Superior meet again at 7:07 p.m. Saturday at Slater Family Ice Arena.
First Published March 1, 2025, 3:39 a.m.
