Sophomore right wing James Unger notched a pair of goals and an assist as Bowling Green defeated Western Michigan, 5-2, at the BG Ice Arena on Saturday night.
Eleven different players contributed to the scoring column for the Falcons (15-11-4, 12-9-3 CCHA), precipitating a balanced offensive attack against Western.
For the Broncos, it was the first time they have been swept by the Falcons in a weekend series since March 1996.
Backup netminder Eric Marvin made his first start for the Broncos since October, when he dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Nebraska-Omaha. Marvin stopped 23 Falcon shots in 28 attempts.
“I was pleased,” Western Michigan coach Jim Culhane said of his goalie’s effort. “He hasn’t played in a while for us. He played hard. I think Eric was more disappointed that he didn’t get the win tonight.”
BGSU goaltender Jordan Sigalet, celebrating his 24th birthday at the rink, played well in net again, giving up just a pair of goals. The Senior from Surrey, B.C., was 24 of 26 in saves.
“[This weekend] is just huge,” said Sigalet. “The standings are just so
tight right now. We can’t rely on other teams winning and losing. We have another two really tough weekends ahead of us. This weekend was really huge.”
The Falcons currently sit in 5th place in the CCHA with 27 points.
For Sigalet, the weekend sweep was extra special. He helped to organize a Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Weekend at the rink. The netminder was diagnosed with the disease last March. On the weekend, the campaign raised $8,295. With a Meet the Falcons skatearound scheduled for Sunday, the campaign is expected to net over $10,000. All of the money raised will go to the MS Society.
“Last week was a really busy week,” said Sigalet of his organizing efforts. “I just wanted to make [the campaign] as professional-looking as possible and raise as much money as possible. I was really excited to hear how much money we raised. It’s just remarkable. I want to thank everybody who supported [the campaign].”
Bowling Green jumped out to a quick lead, scoring the first two goals of the game.
“I thought we had some tremendous jump [in the first period],” said BG head coach Scott Paluch. “We created some good chances.”
Unger scored his 11th goal of the year, taking a pass from below the circle and wristing the puck past Marvin for the 1-0 lead.
“We got a pretty good skill play from Pilkington to Minnabarriet to Unger,” said Paluch. “It gave us some confidence for the game.”
Brett Pilkington added to BG’s lead just over three minutes later. Pilkington, notching his fourth goal of the year, wristed a shot from just in front of the net for the Falcons’ second goal of the period.
The Broncos cut into the Bowling Green lead at 15:11 of the period on Jeff Pierce’s sixth goal of the season.
Bowling Green ended the first period scoring with just over 1:30 left in the period. The Falcons leading goal scorer Jonathon Matsumoto split the defense while receiving a Jon Sitko pass and skated in on Marvin, going top shelf for his 15th tally of the year.
The teams traded goals in the second period; both teams goals coming during a delayed penalty call.
Freshman winger Ben Geelan picked up goal number four for the Falcons, one-timing a shot from the left circle.
The Broncos came right back on a Brent Walton goal. Walton, leading the
CCHA in points, picked up a rebound in front of Sigalet and deposited it for his 18th goal of the year.
The Falcons put the game away early in the third period on Unger’s second goal of the night, coming in front of the net after a BG power play had just expired.
Bowling Green will host the front end of a home-and-home series next weekend against Michigan State in a battle for home-ice in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. The Spartans currently sit in eighth place in the CCHA, just two points away from a first-round home ice position.
“This was our next opportunity to get some points,” said Paluch. “It’s
critical this time of year to go out and earn points. We need to take care of our business and earn the points.”
Western, now eliminated from any chance of first-round home ice, will host Lake Superior State next weekend at Lawson Arena.
