KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Andrew Hammond stopped 31 shots and Marc Rodriguez scored the only goal in the
best-of-3 shootout Friday to give Bowling Green a 2-1 victory over 16th-ranked Western Michigan in a
Central Collegiate Hockey Association game.
The shootout came after the teams were tied 1-1 after a 5-minute overtime.
The Falcons took a 1-0 lead on Ryan Viselli’s 5-on-3 power-play goal 45 seconds into the second period,
but Western tied the game on Chase Balisey’s 4-on-4 goal with 17:50 remaining in regulation.
Western held a 32-15 edge in shots on goal, but Hammond played well to help BG earn the tie. The Broncos’
Jerry Kuhn stopped 14 shots.
The game counts as a tie on the overall record for both teams. Each team received one point in the CCHA
standings, and BG earned a second point for winning the shootout.
BG is 8-13-3 overall and 3-15-3-1 in the CCHA. Western is 14-6-9, 8-5-8-4, including a 7-0-5 record in
its last 12 games overall.
“We worked hard and we competed hard from start to finish for the most part,” BG coach Chris Bergeron
said. “There were obvious times where our execution wasn’t very good. But I was happy with our
competition level and our focus as the game went on.”
Viselli opened the scoring after the Falcons survived the first period when they were out-shot by a 13-2
margin.
“I feel like the shot chart wasn’t overly indicative of the first period, in particular,” Bergeron said.
“Through the first two periods, we limited the chances they had. The third period and the overtime, they
had some really good chances.”
Viselli’s goal ended BG’s streak of seven straight games without a power-play goal. The Falcons’ last
power-play goal had come Dec. 29 against Princeton.
BG’s power play finished 1-of-3.
The Falcons also held Western scoreless on its four power-play chances.
“We were happy with the special teams,” Bergeron said.
After Western tied the game, the teams traded scoring chances as Hammond and Kuhn took over to keep the
game tied.
“We gave up that goal, but we were still able to focus and concentrate on the next 14, 15 minutes,”
Bergeron said. “Yes, we gave up some chances. But we had some chances, too. The puck could have gone in
their net very easily. We want to be able to respond to those things.”
Hammond started a series opener for the first time this season as BG ended its goalie rotation of Nick
Eno on Friday and Hammond on Saturday.
Hammond also played well last weekend when he stopped 38-of-40 shots against Lake Superior. The sophomore
has stopped 69-of-72 shots in his last three games to improve his goals-against average to 2.72 and save
percentage to .909.
He made nine saves in the third period and four stops in the overtime.
“He was really good in the third period and the overtime,” Bergeron said. “He made hard saves look easy.
He played a good game.”
The Falcons played without sophomore forward Jordan Samuels-Thomas, who was listed as a healthy scratch
for the third time in the last six games and fourth time this season.
He’s BG’s leading scorer, totaling seven goals and 10 assists in 25 games.
“He’s not 100 percent healthy,” Bergeron said. “It was a week where he’s had some trouble with his energy
level and I just didn’t want to put him in a position when we’ve got healthy bodies. I think he was
close to healthy. It was a tough week of practice for him in terms of his energy level and we just
wanted to make sure he was 100 percent.”
BG also was without defenseman Jake Sloat, who remains out with a quad contusion.
The series concludes tonight at 7:35.
BGSU 1, WESTERN MICHIGAN 1, TIE
GOALS BY PERIOD
BGSU
0 1 0 0 —1
WESTERN MICHIGAN 0 0 1 0 —1
(BG won best-of-three shootout 1-0)
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: None.
Penalties: Krelove, BG, holding, 14:34; Dekeyser, WM, charging, 19:59.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 1, BG Viselli 1 (Fink, McIntosh) 0:45 (5-3 pp).
Penalties: Watson, WM, tripping, 0:33; Krelove, BG, cross-checking, 5:37; Grover, BG, holding, 13:17;
Grover, BG, major-board and game misconduct, 18:23.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 2, WM Balisy 11 (Levendusky) 2:10 (4-4 es).
Penalties: Tennyson, WM, charging the goalie, 1:05; Nagorsen, WM, kneeing, 5:13.
OVERTIME
Scoring: None.
Penalties: None.
SHOOTOUT
WM: Brown, no goal; Balisy no goal; Squires, no goal.
BG: Rodriguez, goal; Fink, no goal.
SAVES BY PERIOD
Hammond, BG 13 5 9 4 —31
Kuhn, WM 2 5 5 2 —14
Goalie statistics (goals against/minutes played): (BG) Hammond 1/65; (WM) Kuhn 1/65.
Penalties-Minutes: BG 5-21, WM 4-8. Power plays: BG 1-3, WM 0-4. Attendance: 3,258.
