Bowling Green, Ohio - Bad luck and a lack of goal-scoring doomed the MSU hockey team again Friday night.
The Spartans took a 2-1 lead with less than four minutes to play against Bowling Green, but the Falcons tied the score with 1:54 to play and then won it in overtime at BGSU Ice Arena.
The 3-2 loss dropped MSU's record to 5-6-0 overall and 3-4-0 in the CCHA. The Spartans have lost three in a row and four out of five.
Bowling Green (3-8-1, 1-7-1) earned its first league win Friday.
The Falcons' game-winning goal at 3:10 during overtime was originally waved off by referee Brian Aaron because he lost sight of the puck. Falcon center D'Arcy McConvey's wrist shot sneaked between MSU sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio's body and left arm and trickled across the goal line.
The goal light at that end of the BGSU Ice Arena was malfunctioning, so after conferring with the goal judge about whether the puck crossed before the whistle, Aaron switched his call and allowed the goal to stand.
Migliaccio made 30 saves for MSU, while BGSU goalie Jordan Sigalet stopped 29 shots.
Both teams had good scoring chances in Friday's first period, but Migliaccio and Sigalet were sharp enough to send the game into intermission in a scoreless tie.
The Spartans were flying at the start the game, generating quality shots by sophomore left wing Brock Radunske, sophomore center Lee Falardeau and a couple by sophomore defenseman Duncan Keith.
Bowling Green tested Migliaccio with two power plays in the first, but nobody scored until MSU senior defenseman John-Michael Liles potted a power play goal 5:21 into the second.
The Spartans had a 5-on-3 advantage for a full two minutes, during which Liles repeatedly fired slap shots at Sigalet. Thanks to a redirection by a Bowling Green player in front, one of the slappers finally got by the goalie for Liles' second goal of the year.
Senior defenseman Brad Fast, who played center Friday, earned an assist on the play. It was his first point since Oct. 25, but he is still MSU's leading scorer with 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists).
MSU nursed the 1-0 lead for most of the middle frame, but the Falcons got the equalizer 1:29 before intermission. Fresh out of the penalty box, Falcon left wing Steve Brudzewski hit center Ryan Minnabarriet with a centering pass and Minnabarriet one-timed it past Migliaccio on the glove-side.
The Spartans had a slew of chances to score a second goal, including a short-handed breakaway by senior left wing Brian Maloney, but didn't convert until late in the third.
That was when sophomore center Jim Slater gave MSU a short- lived lead with 3:55 left after a solid display of passing by MSU. Freshman left wing David Booth hit sophomore forward Mike Lalonde, who dropped the puck for Slater streaking to the net.
Slater made no mistake on his fifth goal of the season, wristing it over a diving Sigalet.
But, as has been the case several times this season, the Spartans couldn't hold the lead. With 1:54 remaining, Falcon right wing Tyler Knight gathered a loose puck in the left circle and beat Migliaccio short-side with a wrister.
The Spartans went 1-for-6 on the power play Friday, while the Falcons went 0-for-6.
MSU's next game is Nov. 29 at Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase.
Personnel: MSU head coach Rick Comley made significant changes to his lineup Friday, most notably moving Fast to center. Fast centered senior left wing Brian Maloney and a new addition, freshman right wing Chad Hontvet.
Sophomore center Ash Goldie and freshman right wing Colton Fretter were both healthy scratches for the first time Friday. To fill the void, sophomore right wing Steve Swistak played for the first time this season and junior forward Tim Hearon and freshman defenseman Corey Potter both returned to the lineup after missing one game.
