BSU Men’s Hockey Season Ends With Saturday Loss To Bowling Green

The BSU Men’s Hockey team’s season came to a sudden halt Saturday night. The WCHA regular season and MacNaughton cup champion Beavers fell 2-1 to Bowling Green in the WCHA Semifinals.

BSU got on the board first, when, just three minutes and sixteen seconds in to the game, Junior Forward Gerry Fitzgerald picked up a loose puck in neutral ice and fired a wrist shot past BGSU goalie Chris Nell glove side.

That goal would remain the lone tally until early in the second. A minute thirty-five in to the period, the Falcons knotted things back up, when Mark Friedman fired a pass from the blue line to Kevin Dufour right outside the blue paint for the goal. That goal gave Dufour his fourth of the series, after a Hat Trick on Friday Night. There would be no scoring the rest of the period, but the Falcons broke through once again in the third.

Just three minutes and sixteen seconds in to the period, BGSU Forward Matt Pohlkamp sent a seemingly harmless shot at the net, but Michael Bitzer seemed to misplay the puck, as it hit his stick and fell between his legs and slid in to the net for the goal. BSU would get a flurry of chances late in the period, but were unable to get the equalizer across.

This marks the second straight year that Bowling Green has eliminated Bemidji State from the playoffs, after the Falcons beat the Beavers in three games in Bowling Green in the WCHA quarterfinals a season ago.

BSU finishes the season 22-16-3. This is their first 20 win season since they went 23-10-4 in the 2009-10 season.

Hear from Head Coach Tom Serratore, and Senior Forward Charlie O’Connor below.