Bowling Green hockey loses in-state matchup at Ohio State

COLUMBUS — Bowling Green State University hockey lost the opener of its home-and-home with Ohio State 3-1 on Friday night at OSU’s Schottenstein Center.

The host Buckeyes took control early, out-shooting the Falcons 10-3 in the first period and taking a 2-0 lead. Brent Johnson tallied the first goal at the 12:37 mark of the first, and Aiden Hansen-Bukata doubled the lead about four minutes later on a power play.

After a scoreless second period, BGSU got back in the contest in the third. The Falcons registered 20 of their 27 shots on goal in the final period, including freshman Maxwell Martin scoring his first collegiate goal at the 2:08 mark to cut the deficit to 2-1. Martin got assists from Ben Doran and Seth Fyten.

BG continued to push, out-shooting Ohio State by 12 in the third period, but the Buckeyes restored their two-goal lead on Damien Carfagna’s goal with under seven minutes to play. The Falcons finished with a 27-26 shot advantage despite being out-shot 18-7 over the first two periods.

Bowling Green’s Cole Moore made 23 saves in the loss while Logan Turness made 25 stops for Ohio State (4-0-1). Bowling Green (3-2-0) will host the return matchup of the in-state rivalry at 7:37 p.m. Saturday at Slater Family Ice Arena.