BGSU hockey scores four first-period goals to defeat Northern Michigan | Sports

BGSU hockey beat Northern Michigan 5-1 at Slater Family Ice Arena in Bowling Green on Friday night.

The series is a non-conference opportunity before the teams meet in late February in Marquette, Michigan. The win puts the Falcons’ record at 13-2 this year, while Northern sits at 2-7.

Several milestones were approached in this game as the win puts the Falcons program at 999 all-time wins with a chance to score number 1,000 in their Saturday game with the Wildcats. Falcon senior forward Brandon Kruse also reached 50th all-time in career points, passing NHL veteran Ken Morrow.

The Falcons came out with bad intentions early on as four first-half goals put the game out of reach. The first salvo came at 6:59 as junior defenseman Carson Musser fired a puck from the offensive blue line. The puck was redirected to plummeting senior forward Max Johnson.

“After a loss last week against Bemidji where every inch of ice was won and it was difficult to score, to be able to score four early, I think our guys felt really good,” the coach said. Falcons Ty Eigner after the win.

At 1:18, freshman forward Chrystopher Collin scored his first career goal as a Falcon on a loopout. Assists on Collin’s goal came from freshman forward Ethan Scardina and junior defenseman Will Cullen.

Just two minutes later, junior forward Evan Dougherty shoved a puck into the net to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. Assists on goal came from Musser and senior forward and captain Connor Ford. It was Musser’s first multipoint match as a Falcon.

Before the first could end, the Falcons fired one more from Kruse on an odd-angled shot that found string. Johnson and fellow senior forward Cameron Wright received the assists on Kruse’s goal.

The Wildcats managed to get one back in the second, on the power play, after Dop made a series of saves, but the puck couldn’t be cleared. Vincent de May scored Joseph Nardi’s goal.

The final goal of the contest came from Cullen taking the puck coast to coast before dropping it into the Wildcats net. The only assist on the goal went to goaltender Eric Dop for his second career assist.

“Will can make the difference when he has the puck on his stick. He can beat people and break defenders,” Eigner said.

Along with recording his first assist of the season, Dop stopped a season-high 36 shots, one shy of his career mark.

The Falcons will go for the sweep against the Wildcats at 7:07 tonight at Bowling Green.