No. 19 BGSU Set To Take On Ohio State This Weekend

Friday, November 14

Bowling Green, Ohio

8:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

Ohio State

November 11, 2014 | Ice Hockey

No. 19 Bowling Green will take on the Buckeyes in a home-and-home series this weekend. The Orange and Brown sit at 7-2-1 overall on the season, and 5-1-1 in the WCHA.

By: by Jake Dorow, Athletic Communications

No. 19 BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS

Falcon Weekly: Coach Bergeron

Falcon Weekly: Dan DeSalvo

Goals & Highlights - Alaska

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OSU vs. No. 19 BGSU

The Last Time
The Bowling Green State University lost to Ohio State University on Oct. 29, 2013, falling to the Buckeyes by a score of 5-3. Playing in front of 1,782 fans at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, the Falcons saw three different players score Falcon goals, while freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl stopped 23-of-27 shots he faced. The Falcons got goals from junior forward Dan DeSalvo, sophomore forward Ben Murphy and senior forward Bryce Williamson. It marked the fourth consecutive game Williamson has had a goal, and four-straight games with at least one point or more. Ohio State scored the final two goals of the game, including an empty-net goal in the final seconds to secure the victory.

About Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeye ice hockey program began in 1963, and became a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in 1971. The Buckeyes moved into the Value City Arena – currently home of the Buckeyes home ice – which replaced the old OSU Ice Rink that sat 1,400 fans. The Scarlet and Grey won their first league tournament in 1998 in which they advanced to the NCAA Tournament , which proved to be the only year the Buckeyes made the Frozen Four before losing to Boston College in the semifinals. In 2011, the Big Ten Conference announced plans to sponsor men's ice hockey in 2013-14, pulling Michigan, Michigan State and OSU from the CCHA.

The Series
Bowling Green holds a commanding 90-60-8 all-time lead in the head-to-head series with Ohio State University in 158 meetings against each other. The two teams battled on the ice for the first time on Dec. 5, 1969, where the Buckeyes took a 6-3 decision over the Falcons. The Falcons have managed to go 1-2-2 over the past five meetings with OSU. In fact, the Orange and Brown hold a 55-26-4 all-time record against the Buckeyes at the BGSU Ice Arena, while 34-40-3 at the Value City Arena. The Falcons have also outscored OSU by a commanding 741-619 margin.

The Last Time Out
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated the University of Alaska on Saturday (Nov. 8) night, earning a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) weekend series sweep with a 3-2 triumph over the Nanooks. Playing in front of 2,578 fans at the Carlson Center, Bowling Green got goals from Ben Murphy, Matt Pohlkamp and Mark Cooper, while Tommy Burke (3-1-1) turned away 36-of-38 shots on the night. With the win, the Falcons improved to 7-2-1 (5-1-0 WCHA), and dropped Alaska to 5-5-0 overall (0-4-0 WCHA). In addition, the Orange and Brown took all four points over the weekend, and now has 10 points in league standings. The weekend sweep marked the second time the Falcons have swept a WCHA opponent this season, and now has a 5-1-1 record on the road.

Road Warriors
Bowling Green returned to life on the road this weekend, as the Falcons trekked to Fairbanks, Alaska for a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) showdown with the Nanooks. The Orange and Brown have played a total of 10 games this season, with seven games away from the BGSU Ice Arena. The Falcons have averaged 3.4 goals-per-game on the road and have allowed just 2.0 GPG to its opponents. After the weekend series' sweep over Alaska, the Falcons now sit at 5-1-1 on the road.

National Recognition
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team is ranked No. 19 in this week's USCHO NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Poll, marking the first time that the program has been ranked since the 2007-08 season. The Orange and Brown were receiving the most votes (79) of any team outside of the Top 20 in last week's poll. But after sweeping Alaska in Fairbanks over the weekend for the first time since the 1995-96 season, BGSU propelled into the rankings. Bowling Green is one of four Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHA) teams that earned a spot in the Top 20, as Michigan Tech (5), Minnesota State (9) and Northern Michigan (18) all secured spots. Ferris State is knocking on the door having received 107 votes.

First Time In A Long Time
Speaking of the road, the Falcons swept the University of Alaska in Fairbanks last weekend. The Orange and Brown took a 3-2 decision on Friday night before earning a 3-2 triumph over the Nanooks on Saturday. With the sweep, the Falcons took two games in Fairbanks, Alaska for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

Life After A Loss
After a hard-fought 3-2 loss at the hands of then-No.10 Miami University on Sunday, Oct. 12, the Falcons have played its best hockey since the beginning of the 2014-15 campaign. Following the loss to the Redhawks, the Falcons have outscored their opponents 27-17 in eight games, going 6-1-1 during the stretch. Bowling Green are also a perfect 2-0-0 following a loss on the season.

Burke Honored
Sophomore netminder Tommy Burke was rewarded for his strong play over the weekend as he was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon. Burke backstopped Bowling Green to a pair of victories at Alaska, the Falcons' first sweep in Fairbanks since 1995-96. The junior from Chaska, Minn. turned away 62-of-66 shots (.939 save percentage), posting 26 saves in a 3-2 victory Friday evening and a season-high 36 stops in a 3-2 triumph Saturday night. Burke's finest effort came late Saturday, as he protected a one-goal lead by stopping all 17 Nanooks shots in the third period.

Cooper's Ice
Junior forward Mark Cooper led Bowling Green to a road sweep over the University of Alaska last weekend, posting two goals, one assist, a plus-two rating, and five shots on goal. The junior from Toronto, Ontario, scored the first goal of the game Friday night, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead and would never trail in the entire tilt. The assistant captain then followed his Friday night performance with one goal – which proved to be the game-winner at 1:40 into the second period – and tallied one assist to help the Falcons sweep Alaska for the first time since 1995-96 in Fairbanks, Alaska. In fact, tallying one goal in each game over the weekend, Cooper has now tallied one goal in each of his four games played at the Carlson Center in his career.

Dufour Back On The Board
The #ChurchOfDufour has taken off, and deservingly so. The sophomore winger from Quebec City has led the nation in goals for the entire season, tallying nine goals through 10 games. However, the left-handed forward added another point to his already impressive start, but this time Dufour added an assists to his team-leading 10 points. Dufour assisted on linemate Matt Pohlkamp's goal at the 18:02 mark in the first period Saturday night. In all, Dufour currently leads the Falcons with nine goals and one assist for 10 points.

Two More For Pohlkamp
Sophomore winger Matt Pohlkamp, who has played alongside Kevin Dufour for the entire season, tallied two goals over the weekend in Fairbanks, Alaska. Pohlkamp's goal in the second period Friday night proved to be the game-winning goal in the Falcons' 3-2 triumph over the Nanooks. In fact, Pohlkamp has now tallied at least one point in eight of the Falcons' 10 games this year – good for 0.90 points-per-game average.

WCHA.TV
The season, fans of the WCHA can watch more than 180 games of its games live and in high definition thanks to WCHA.tv. Powered by America One Sports and Eversport.tv on WCHA.tv the platform enables fans to watch all 10 conference teams in action throughout the season. Every league game will be streamed live, along with each team's non-conference home contests, the league's postseason and the WCHA Final Five. With WCHA.tv, fans can follow their team wherever they are. Each game will be available on multiple platforms, including traditional web browsers on PCs, tablets and mobile phones using the iOS and Android platforms.

#FalconHockey/Social Media
The Bowling Green Falcons hockey team is on Twitter and Instagram. You can follow along all season long by following the Falcons on Twitter @BGFalconHockey. The Orange and Brown use their official hashtags FalconHockey and WeAreBG throughout the entire season. You can also follow the Falcons' Instagram account, BGFalcons.

Evan Pivnick "The Voice" On The Mic
All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into 88.1 WBGU-FM. Evan Pivnick will provide the play-by-play commentary throughout the season. The pregame show will air 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The broadcast can be heard globally on www.bgsufalcons.com.

LiveStats
Live stats for all BGSU home games are available on the BGSU website- www.bgsufalcons.com - via Live Scoring. The stats can be accessed from the schedule page in the hockey section of the website by clicking on the "details" icon on the right hand side of the page, then by clicking "live scoring".

Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:    3.20 G/GM (4th)
Scoring Defense: 2.20 G/GM (4th)
Power Play:  8/39 (20.5%)
Penalty Kill:  33/37 (89.2%)

Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Kevin Dufour (10)
Goals: Kevin Dufour (9)
Assists: Mercier (7)
Shots: Brandon Hawkins (31)
Penalties: Sean Walker (10:00)

Looking at Ohio State
Head Coach: Steve Rohlik (2nd Season)

Ohio State Last Week:
*Courtesy of www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com*

GAME 1: The Ohio State men's hockey team lost to No. 19 Omaha, 4-1, Friday in Value City Arena in the opening game of a non-conference series. The Buckeyes (2-4-1, 0-0-0 B1G) and Mavericks (5-2-1, 2-0-0 NCHC) will close the series at 7 p.m. Saturday in VCA. For the game, Ohio State outshot Omaha, 26-19, a Buckeye opponent season low. Buckeye sophomore Matt Tomkins made 15 saves in 58:32 and UNO goalie Ryan Massa had 25 saves in 59:53.Ohio State was scoreless on the power play for the third game in the row, going 0-for-5. UNO converted 2-of-4 chances.

GAME 2: The Ohio State men's hockey team fell to No. 19 Omaha, 4-3, Saturday in Value City Arena. The win gave the Mavericks (6-2-1, 2-0-0 NCHC), who scored the game's final three goals to come back from a two-goal deficit, a sweep of the series with the Buckeyes (2-5-1, 0-0-0 B1G). The Buckeyes converted 1-of-4 power play chances, their first power play goal in four games. Ohio State held UNO scoreless on three power play opportunities. Fritz now leads the Buckeyes with six assists and nine points this season and is second with three goals. The senior captain has 92 points in 114 career games.

Key Players
#   Player                             GP           G            A            Pts.
16 Tanner Fritz                     8              3              6              9
14 Matt Weis                        8              0              5              5
44 Anthony Greco              8              4              0              4
10 Darik Angell                     8              2              2              4
15 Nick Oddo                        8              2              2              4
19 Chad Niddery                  8              1              3              4


Key Goalies
#   Player                             GP           W-L-T    GAA    Sv%
31 Matt Tomkins               5-4          1-3-1      2.35        .906
30 Christian Frey                  4-4          1-2-0      4.01        .903

MOVEMBER WEEK 1 VIA @BGFALCONHOCKEY