BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Lake Superior State came back from an early deficit to earn a tie with Bowling Green in the first Western Collegiate Hockey Association road trip of the season for the Lakers.
The Lakers (2-6-1, 0-2-1 WCHA) scored late in the second period to produce the final 1-1 score and were able to fend off a relentless Falcons (4-2-2, 0-1-2 WCHA) attack during the final 25 minutes of play.
Kevin Dufour opened the scoring for BGSU off of a rebound that Gordon Defiel (1-4-1) couldn't locate. Dufour's marker, which came 6:46 into the opening period, was assisted by Pierre-Luc Mecier and Matt Pohlkamp.
The Lakers trailed 1-0 after the first period, yet matched the Falcons in the shot total 11-11.
The teams skated through much of the middle frame without much action before Alex Globke (1-1--2) was able to snake the puck away from a BG defender and slip a pass to a ready Josh Nenadal who found himself alone in front of Chris Nell's net. Nenadal knew what to do once the puck was on his stick and found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
The Falcons took a 22-21 lead in shots to the locker rooms but the Lakers were able to tie the game at 1-1 through 40 minutes of play.
The third period went by without a goal but not before Defiel made several impressive saves while turning away all 15 shots during the regulation-time period. The Falcons held a 37-30 lead in shots through regulation.
Defiel finished with 42 saves on 43 shots to help secure the tie for the Lakers. Nell (2-1-2) made 31 saves for BGSU, allowing the lone goal by Nenadal.
Neither team was able to convert a power-play opportunity as the Lakers went 0-5 and the Falcons went 0-3 with the extra attacker.
The Lakers and Falcons will resume the series Saturday evening at 7:07 p.m. With the tie the Lakers hold on to a 4-2-1 series advantage against the Falcons since both teams moved to the WCHA.
Photos Courtesy: Todd Pavlack/BGSUHockey.com
