BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Bowling Green State University scored not one but two short-handed goals on its way to a 4-2 victory over the Bemidji State University Men's Hockey team Friday night in their Central Collegiate Hockey Association series opener in Bowling Green, Ohio.
 
Bemidji State opened the game with a goal from freshman Adam Flammang but the Falcons (13-12-0, 10-7-0 CCHA) answered in the second and third periods with consecutive short-handed goals to take a 2-1 lead. The Beavers (9-7-5, 7-3-3 CCHA) responded with a power-play goal from Kyle Looft but Bowling Green's Ryan O'Hara scored with 4:28 to play to retake the lead for the Falcons and later Taylor Schneider scored into the empty net to make it 4-2 as time expired.
 
It was the first time since Oct. 11, 2019 that the Beavers surrendered two short-handed goals in a game which was a 4-4 tie with St. Cloud State University.
 
Flammang started the scoring with his fourth goal of the season after a quick shot from the right boards fooled BGSU goaltender Christian Stoever 7:17 into the opening frame.
 
The Beavers took the one-goal lead into the first intermission but Quinn Emerson scored the Falcons' first short-handed goal of the game 4:06 into the second period to even the score.
 
Bemidji State and Bowling Green were still tied after 40 minutes of play but 8:28 into the third period, Jaden Grant netted the Falcons' second short-handed goal to give BGSU its first lead of the game. However, on the same power play, Looft fired a one-timer that beat Stoever and the game was all square once again.
   
The goal would be his third of the season and second while on the power play.
 
However, with 4:28 left to play, Division I's second leading scorer in Austen Swankler created space on a rush and set up O'Hara right in front of the net who scored the eventual game-winning goal while Schneider made it 4-2 with an empty-net goal as time expired to seal the victory for the Falcons.
 
Bemidji State entered the weekend as the least penalized team in the nation but was called for five penalties in the game. The Beavers' penalty kill didn't falter and successfully killed off all five of the Falcons' power plays.
 
BSU earned three power plays in the game while scoring on one but did surrender two short-handed goals.
 
The Falcons finished the game with 37 shots against sophomore goaltender Mattias Sholl while the Beavers totaled 28 against Stoever. Sholl finished with 33 saves but falls to 7-4-5 on the season.
 
Bemidji State will attempt to salvage the series split tomorrow night when the two teams meet again at 6:07 p.m. CT.
 
For more information on the Bemidji State men's hockey program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on Twitter or Instagram (@BSUBeaversMHKY), or like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers).
 
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's hockey in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and women's hockey in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
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