Wildcats couldn’t score on three breakaways
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO – The NMU hockey team dropped game one of the weekend series from Bowling Green by a score of 2-0.
The Wildcats (1-15-1, 0-10-1 CCHA) controlled two of the three periods, out-shooting the Falcons 12-9 and 8-7 in the first and third periods respectively. The Falcons (6-7-2, 3-4-2 CCHA) lone tally with the netminder between the pipes came in the second period.
Ben Doran shoveled a pass into the slot that took a bad bounce off of a Wildcat defenseman’s skate, redirecting past a sliding Ryan Ouellette, who had no chance from the pass that changed directions. The Falcons would score with the goalie pulled under a minute to play, and the game would end 2-0.
Ouellette was spectacular between the pipes, making 31 saves and posting a .969 SV%, marking this the seventh time this season he’s made 30+ saves in a game and his second best single-game save percentage.
The goalie on the other side, Christian Stoever, returned from injury and turned in a 24-save shutout in only his second appearance of the season. Quinn Emerson led the way for the Falcons offensively, scoring the empty-net goal and registering the lone assist on Doran’s tally.
The ‘Cats were unable to break through on its only power play opportunity, but were stifling on both of the Falcons two man advantage’s, only allowing two shots on goal from non-dangerous positions from three shot attempts.
NMU now looks to earn a split on the road tomorrow, with puck drop from ‘The Slate’ set for 6:07 p.m. ET.
How It Happened
On a quick odd-man rush for the Falcons, a pass came across to Ryan O’Hara all alone in front of the Wildcat netminder Ouellette. The Wildcat’s number 30 went from post to post and sprawled to meet O’Hara and deny the Falcon’s leader in points.
Poshak intercepted a puck near his defensive blue line and was able to get a step on the Falcon defense. Poshak earned himself a breakaway, forcing the Falcon defender Emerson to take a penalty to deny the breakaway chance. The ‘Cats had a couple of chances but were ultimately unable to convert on the game’s first power play.
Just after the power play expired, Ciccarello was sprung onto a breakaway, and this time no defender was catching the ‘Cat. Ciccarello walked into the slot and fired a wrist shot, but Stoever cut the angle down and the shot was just off the mark.
The Falcons got its first opportunity on the man advantage with four minutes to go in the first period, an important penalty to kill for the Wildcats. The ‘Cats did an exceptional job, only allowing one shot attempt the entire two minutes, a save by Ouellette off a one-timer from the point.
The ‘Cats opened the second frame with a top-notch opportunity, as Poshak streaked down the right wing one-on-one with a defender. Poshak toe-dragged into the slot and corralled onto the backhand before dropping a pass for Ewart who followed up the play. Ewart let go of a one-timer from a dangerous area at the left circle, but fired his shot just wide on the short side.
About halfway through the period, the Falcons got a two-on-one after catching the Wildcats on a change after the tired group was trying to get off the ice. Quinn walked in as a right-handed shot down the left-hand side, and fired a wrister from just atop the left hashmark, but Ouellette was aggressively on top of the crease to make the save.
Almost immediately after the second-period media timeout, Ben Doran tracked down a loose puck from the right corner before firing a pass toward O’Hara on top of the blue paint. O’Hara was covered well by Jakob Peterson, but the intended pass took a Falcon bounce off Peterson’s skate and redirected through the five-hole of Ouellette, with nothing the Wildcat netminder was able to do.
Just a minute into the final period, netminder Christian Stoever made a move in the crease that drew a Wildcat penalty to put the Falcons on its second opportunity with the man advantage. It was another important kill for the ‘Cats, once again only allowing one shot on net from a non-dangerous area while blocking the only other shot attempt.
10 minutes into the final frame, a Falcon defender caught an edge at his own blueline. Zach Michaelis was on the spot to corral the loose puck and and storm in on Stoever for the Wildcats third breakaway opportunity of the night. Michaelis fired a convincing shot low to the glove side, but Stoever was able to get his pad on it and keep his team ahead by one.
The ‘Cats had another great opportunity to score with five minutes to go, as Rasmus Larsson walked in with the puck down the right side on a two-on-one. Getting to the dot, Larsson fired a shot that was stopped by Stoever before the Falcons found themselves on an odd-man rush on the other end. Ouellette was able to match Stoever, and the score remained 1-0.
Dave Shyiak pulled his netminder with two minutes to go in efforts to tie the game. After a long period of sustained pressure, an icing was waved off as a Falcon skater was first to the puck. The loose puck squirted loose to another Bowling Green player, who made a pass to Emerson who cashed in on the empty net.
