BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Northern Michigan University hockey team traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio to meet the Falcons for their final regular season series and started the weekend the way they wanted, winning game one by a score of 4-2 in comeback fashion.

Eight different 'Cats recorded a point, highlighted by Kristof Papp's multi-point night with a goal and an assist. Tanner Vescio recorded the game-winning goal in the third period, and Beni Halasz picked up his third-straight win on the back of a strong 22-save performance. 

The Wildcats improved to 17-16-0 overall and 13-12-0 in CCHA play for 36 points, and the Falcons fall to 15-16-2 overall and 12-11-2 in conference play, remaining at 41 points. 


How It Happened
The 'Cats started out applying the pressure, as an early one-timer from Joey Larson went just wide and the puck came out the other side, and with an open net to look at Artem Shlaine rang the post with Christian Stoever sprawling to get across and smother the puck. Another chance came minutes later as David Keefer made a slick move and slid a backhand pass that went through Jett Jungels's skates in the slot. 

The Falcons got a break five minutes into the frame with an odd-man advantage, and Beni Halasz made the first save with his mask, then immediately tracked the puck moving right to left to make another huge save on a wide-open Falcon, keeping the game scoreless. 

Off what looked like a harmless shot from the point from Zach Vinnell found the shin pad of Brett Pfoh going to the net and the puck redirected into the cage, giving the Falcons the first score of the game. This was Pfoh's second goal of his career.

The 'Cats special teams remain red hot, as AJ Vanderbeck received a breakout pass from Simon Kjellberg at the BGSU blueline, and AJ fired a wicked wrister that beat Stoever on the blocker side. This was Vanderbeck's team-leading 13th goal of the season, Kjellberg's fourth point in his last three games, and Beni Halasz picked up his second career assist. 

The 'Cats killed a crucial penalty to keep the game scoreless with a few minutes to go in the first. Then with a minute left another nothing shot from the point was blocked by a Wildcat, the puck got cleared to the left and hit another body, then came back to the right and Austen Swankler had a wide-open net after the puck bounced around in the slot. 

The 'Cats skated to the first intermission down a goal after Swankler scored with a minute left. The shots were relatively even at 9-11, the 'Cats were perfect on the special teams (1/1 on PP and PK), and the faceoffs were an even nine a piece.

The Falcons controlled play to start the second frame, amassing three shots in the first two minutes and hemming the Wildcats in their own end with solid forechecking. The 'Cats first shot came four minutes into the period. Just over five minutes into the frame the puck bounced off the end board to a wide-open Joey Larson who spun around to shoot but missed the net. 

A little bit of tug-of-war in the middle of the period with both teams feeling each other out, then a bounce went the Wildcats' way as an Artem Shlaine shot got blocked and landed right on Michael Van Unen's stick and he fired it past the sliding Stoever. This was Van Unen's first goal of the year and Shlaine's sixth point in the last three games. Kristof Papp picked up the secondary helper, his fifth point in three games. 

The 'Cats found themselves on a 4-on-3 man advantage for just over a minute, generating plenty of good looks but were eventually unsuccessful. The Wildcats had an abbreviated man advantage following the 4-on-3, and the 'Cats white-hot powerplay came up short. As the Bowling Green man came out of the box, Aiden Gallacher had an odd-man advantage to deal with in his own end and made a terrific diving play to break up the dangerous opportunity and keep the game tied.

Both teams got quality chances in the final minute of the middle frame, but the Wildcats would skate to the locker room scoring the only goal of the second period, and the game was tied at two-a-piece. The 'Cats outshot the Falcons 9-7 in the second frame, with a large margin in shot attempts in favor of the 'Cats at 23-11. Faceoffs again were even, this time eight each, and the 'Cats failed to convert on both of their abbreviated power-play opportunities.  

The 'Cats started the third period the same way the Falcons started the second period, as it was all Wildcats in the Bowling Green zone. The 'Cats maintained great puck possession in the offensive zone, and when they didn't have it they were creating turnovers and were first to the puck on almost every occasion. 

The 'Cats pressure paid off halfway through the period, as Tanner Vescio received a pass from Michael Colella, and he walked the blue line firing a shot past Christian Stoever due to a perfect screen provided by Connor Eddy. This was Vescio's second goal in his last three games, and Andre Ghantous picked up the secondary helper, his sixth in his last three games. 

The Wildcats were whistled for a penalty with about eight minutes left, a very important penalty kill for the 'Cats, and Beni Halasz made a stellar save 15 seconds in on a Falcon who was left unattended to in between the hash marks. With time expiring on the penalty kill, Aiden Gallacher made two crucial blocks to keep the puck from finding Halasz, and the 'Cats killed a very important penalty. 

Kristof Papp would eventually seal the deal for the Wildcats as he found the empty net to give the 'Cats a 4-2 lead with 11 seconds remaining. The final seconds ticked off, and the score would remain. 


Postgame Notes

• Kristof Papp recorded a multi-point night with a goal and an assist and now has six points in his last three games. Papp now has 11 goals and 24 points on the season.
• AJ Vanderbeck opened the scoring for the 'Cats, his team-leading 13th goal of the season. 
• Tanner Vescio would go down with the eventual game-winning goal. This was Vescio's second goal of the season and the blueliners second goal in three games.
•  Michael Van Unen also found the back of the net for the 'Cats, his first of the season and now has points in his last three games straight (1G, 2A). 
• Michael Colella, Andre Ghantous, Simon Kjellberg, and Beni Halasz all recorded assists on the evening. 
• Beni Halasz stopped 22/24, posting a .917 SV% and his third straight win.
• There weren't many special teams opportunities, but the 'Cats made the most of them by going 1/2 (50%) on the PP and 2/2 (100%) on the PK. 
• The Falcons had a slight edge in shots (23-24), and the 'Cats had the advantage in the faceoff circle winning 26 to BGSU's 21. 
• The 'Cats improve to 16-3-0 when scoring three or more goals. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
6:18 - Brett Pfoh (BGSU, 0-1), Assisted by Zach Vinnell and Jaden Grant.
9:15 - AJ Vanderbeck (NMU PP, 1-1), Assisted by Simon Kjellberg and Beni Halasz.
18:54 - Austen Swankler (BGSU, 1-2), Assisted by Ryan O'Hara and Chase Gresock.

2nd Period
10:50 - Michael Van Unen (NMU, 2-2), Assisted by Artem Shlaine and Kristof Papp.

3rd Period
8:10 - Tanner Vescio (NMU GWG, 3-2), Assisted by Michael Colella and Andre Ghantous.
19:49 - Kristof Papp (NMU ENG, 4-2), Unassisted. 


Up Next
Game two from the Slater Family Ice Arena comes tomorrow, Saturday, February 25, at 7:07 p.m.