BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (Slater Family Ice Arena) -- Owen Sillinger and Brendan Harris scored for Bemidji State University but Bowling Green State University used a two-goal second period to hand the Beavers a 3-2 loss Thursday to open Western Collegiate Hockey Association play.

The victory was the 12th (12-1-0; 3-0-0-0-0 WCHA) of the year for the Falcons and snapped the Beavers' three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2).

Bemidji State took a 1-0 lead 13:14 into the opening period. Sillinger completed a 2-on-1 with a shot from the slot for his third goal of the season. Alex Ierullo was credited with the assist on the scoring play.

The lead would be short-lived. Sixty seconds later (14:14) Taylor Schneider found the back of the net to even the score.

The No. 6 Falcons opened the second period locked in a 1-1 tie with BSU, but used first 13 minutes of the frame to create a two-goal cushion. Connor Ford beat BSU's Zach Driscoll at the 4:17 mark to account for his seventh goal of the season and to give BGSU its first lead of the game. Max Johnson kept pace with Ford, netting his seventh tally of 2020-21, at the 12:56 mark to put the Falcons up 3-1.

At the 16:17 mark of the second period BGSU's Carson Musser was whistled for the game's first penalty. The hooking infraction set the struggling Beavers' power-play unit up with its first man advantage of opportunity of the night.  Before the penalty would expire Harris found the back of the net for his team-best fifth goal of the season. The goal was BSU's first power-play tally since Dec. 18 ending a 0-for-16 scoring drought.

Although BSU outshot the Falcons 10-9 during the final period, the Beavers were unable to get one past the Bowling Green goaltender, Eric Dop, and BGSU rattled off its ninth straight win.

BSU won the special teams battle going 1-for-2 on the man advantage and snuffing out both BGSU power-play chances.

Driscoll finished with 33 saves on 36 shots faced and saw his record dip to 2-4-2 overall and 0-1-0-0 in WCHA play.

The Beavers, now 2-4-2 overall and 0-1-0-0 in WCHA play, will attempt to salvage a series split. The Beavers and Falcons will be back on the ice to complete the series at 6:07 p.m. tomorrow.

Nestled in Northern Minnesota’s wooded region and located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey membership 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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