Falcons Fight For Share Of First In Alaska This Weekend

#RV Bowling Green Falcons (16-10-6, 12-5-5)
at
Alaska Nanooks (7-17-4, 5-13-4)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Feb. 19 / 11:07 pm ET
LOCATION	Fairbanks, Alaska (Carlson Center)
TELEVISION	None
RADIO	WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick)
LIVE STATS	AlaskaNanooks.com
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	BGSU \| Alaska \| WCHA

#RV Bowling Green Falcons (16-10-6, 12-5-5)
at
Alaska Nanooks (7-17-4, 5-13-4)

GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Feb. 20 / 11:07 pm ET
LOCATION	Fairbanks, Alaska (Carlson Center)
TELEVISION	None
RADIO	WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick)
LIVE STATS	AlaskaNanooks.com
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	BGSU \| Alaska \| WCHA

>>THE WEEK AHEAD
The Bowling Green Falcons fell 4-1 against the Miami RedHawks Friday night at the BGSU Ice Arena. The loss concluded the non-conference portion of BGSU's schedule (4-5-1). The Falcons now resume WCHA play for the final three weekends of the regular season. Bowling Green travels to Alaska this weekend, where they face the Nanooks for the first time this season. BGSU was 3-0-1 last year against Alaska, including a sweep in Fairbanks. The games will be played Friday and Saturday evening, with puck drop at 11:07 pm on both nights.

>>ABOUT ALASKA
* 7-17-4 overall record
* Ninth in WCHA (5-13-4, 14 points)
* 0-8-1 in nine home games since Nov. 7
* Seventh nationally in penalty minutes (13.6)
* Tyler Morley is sixth in WCHA with 24 points and is tied for WCHA lead with 14 goals
* Zach Frye is tied for fifth among WCHA defensemen with 13 points
* Alaska penalty kill is ranked 57th of 60 teams (96-for-127, .756)
* Ranked eighth in WCHA in scoring offense (2.36) and ninth in scoring defense (3.11)

>>NOTABLE
* The Falcons rank ninth nationally and second in the WCHA with 2.13 goals allowed per game
* Brent Tate scored the third goal of his last six games against Miami; it was a power play goal against the nation's best penalty kill unit
* Sean Walker has earned a goal and four assists in his last seven games, and he is now fourth among WCHA defensemen with 14 points
* Shane Bednard earned a point on Friday with an assist, as BGSU freshmen continue to contribute. Since Jan. 1, Falcon rookies have seven goals and 26 points in 12 games
* Matt Pohlkamp had a point in all four games against Alaska last season, including a goal in both of BGSU's wins at Fairbanks in Nov. 2014

>>WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
"We've struggled with executing under a level of intensity. We've been too inconsistent for our liking. But the reality is that there's a championship to play for. We're looking for guys who are willing and able to compete for that. The focus is to play better on a more consistent basis." -- BGSU Head Coach Chris Bergeron

>>THE USCHO.COM POLL
* BGSU lost 80 votes and fell out of the top 20 poll for the first time in 37 weeks.
* Bowling Green is one of three WCHA schools earning votes towards the top 20, behind No. 14 Michigan Tech and No. 19 Minnesota State.
* Clarkson (No. 20) and Miami (receiving votes) are the two non-conference BGSU opponents that are also listed among the nation's best.

>>THE USA TODAY/US HOCKEY MAGAZINE POLL
* Bowling Green has not appeared in the poll for the third straight week.
* BGSU was ranked in the top 15 for four straight weeks at one point this year.
* Michigan Tech is the only WCHA team ranked, sitting at No. 14. Minnesota State has four votes in the poll.

>>THE PAIRWISE
* The PairWise mimics the method of selection for the NCAA Division I men's hockey national tournament, comparing common opponents, head-to-head competition and the RPI.
* BGSU fell four spots to tied for No. 27 in the latest PairWise rankings.
* Michigan Tech is the highest ranked WCHA team in the poll at No. 18.
* Bowling Green ended No. 16 a year ago and the Falcons were the first team out of the NCAA Tournament.
* This week's opponent Alaska is No. 56 (of 60 teams total).

>>THE WCHA TOURNAMENT
The Bowling Green Falcons clinched a berth in the WCHA Tournament for the third consecutive year with their 3-1 win over Minnesota State on Saturday, Feb. 6. Now, the Falcons' attention has turned to clinching home ice for the first round. The top four tournament teams play at home, and BGSU is currently tied for second with 29 points. The Falcons are five points ahead of fifth-place Northern Michigan with six games remaining. Bowling Green needs eight points from wins, ties or NMU losses to clinch a playoff series at home. BGSU has hosted a playoff series in each of their first two WCHA seasons and has won a playoff series in five consecutive years.

>>STOPPING THE STREAK
Bowling Green was ranked in the USCHO.com top 20 poll for 36 consecutive weeks before falling out this week. Only seven teams had a longer active streak -- North Dakota, Boston College, Providence, UMass Lowell, Boston University, Nebraska Omaha, and Denver.

>>ROAD WARRIORS
BGSU went 11-6-4 away from the BGSU Ice Arena in 2014-15. The team had not won more than 11 games away from home since the 1987-88 team posted 16 victories. The Falcons are 8-6-1 on the road in 2015-16, a pace that would again give them a double-digit road victory total.

>>HAWK=FALCON
Sophomore forward Brandon Hawkins lit up Alaska Anchorage for three goals and five points on Jan. 21-22 and earned his first career WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honor. He followed that with another goal and two points on Jan. 29 against Michigan Tech. Hawkins' four goals are the most in three consecutive regular season games since Tyler Spezia did it between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, 2014, while no Falcon had scored seven points in three games since Dan DeSalvo had eight from Jan. 3-10, 2014. Hawkins now has six goals and 11 points in his last 12 games. His season total of 18 points and nine goals are tied for second on the team.

>>MARKED MAN
Bowling Green senior forward Mark Cooper really enjoys facing the Minnesota State Mavericks. On Saturday, Feb. 6, he scored an unassisted goal in the first period and added a power play goal in the second as BGSU earned a 3-1 win at MSU. Cooper also scored twice in the Falcons' 2-2 tie with the Mavericks on Dec. 5. In his career, eight of his 41 goals are against MSU, including a hat trick during the 2013-14 season. Cooper has six points in his last seven games and leads Bowling Green this season with 12 goals and 19 points. Among WCHA players, Cooper's 12 goals rank fourth, and his four game winning goals are second.

>>HELP IS HERE
BGSU Hockey added two defensemen, both of whom are eligible to play for the Falcons in the second half of the season. Freshmen Jordan Ernst and Adam Smith have both joined the team to battle for playing time in the back end, and the pair have played in all 13 games since joining the team. Ernst most recently played for the Madison Capitols of the USHL and Smith was a member of the Newmarket Hurricanes of the OJHL. Smith scored three points in the series against Alaska Anchorage, including his first collegiate goal on Friday, Jan. 22. Ernst assisted on a goal for his first career point in a win on Friday, Jan. 8 at Lake Superior State, then posted another assist in the Falcons' 4-4 tie with Michigan Tech on Jan. 29.

>>CENTURY MEN
Bowling Green now has seven players with over 100 career games. The group is led by seniors Mark Cooper (148 games) and Ben Murphy (141), while juniors Matt Pohlkamp (110), Sean Walker (109) and Pierre-Luc Mercier (107) joined the club earlier this month. Senior Brent Tate (107) added his name to the list on Jan. 16 against Miami. Junior Kevin Dufour (103 games) eclipsed the century mark on Friday, Jan. 29 against Michigan Tech. These players have combined for 41 goals and 99 points this season.

>>CENTURY MAN, PART TWO
Head coach Chris Bergeron earned his 96th career victory on Saturday, Feb. 6 at Minnesota State. He needs just four more to become the fourth coach in Bowling Green history to reach 100 wins. He would join Jerry York (342 wins), Ron Mason (160) and Buddy Powers (135). Powers was the last to reach the century mark, when his Falcons defeated Ohio State 3-0 on Jan. 14, 2000. Bergeron is 57-36-17 since the start of the 2013-14 season.

>>FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
The Falcons have eight freshmen, and all of them have notched their first career points. Against Alaska-Anchorage on Jan. 21-22, Adam Smith and Joe McKeown earned their first points while Smith, McKeown and Connor McDonald lit the lamp for the first time. Bowling Green freshmen have poured in seven goals and 26 points in 12 games since the beginning of January, and they have combined for 12 goals and 49 points overall. Four BGSU freshmen rank among the WCHA's top 20 rookie point scorers (John Schilling, 11; Connor McDonald, 10; Stephen Baylis, 8; Shane Bednard, 8).

>>DON'T UNDERESTI-TATE
Brent Tate scored only one goal in his first 20 games of the season, but his offense has been important for the Falcons during the last month. Tate has lit the lamp three times in BGSU's last six games, including a power play goal against Miami Friday night. That goal came against the nation's top-ranked penalty kill unit and was only the seventh power play goal allowed by the RedHawks all season.

>>WALKING ON SUNSHINE
Junior defenseman Sean Walker has played a key role for Bowling Green in some recent series. He has a goal and four assists in his last seven contests, including an assist on BGSU's power play goal against Miami's stellar penalty kill group. He is one of the Falcons' leaders with a +8 on-ice rating and posted a +4 in the series sweep over Alaska-Anchorage and a +2 in the critical split at Minnesota State.

>>NELL AND VOID
Sophomore goalie Chris Nell has given up just 47 goals in 25 starts (12-7-6) this season. He has allowed two or fewer in 18 of the 25. A WCHA Goaltender of the Year contender, Nell ranks first in the league in goals against average (1.79) and save percentage (.933). He is second in shutouts (three) and fourth in winning percentage (.600). Nationally, Nell ranks fifth in goals against average and ninth in save percentage. In just 37 career starts, Nell has earned six shutouts, third-most in program history. He needs just one more to match the school record of seven, held jointly by Tyler Masters (1999-03) and Andrew Hammond (2010-13).

>>DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Bowling Green is on pace to shatter the program record for fewest goals allowed in a season. The 1975-76 team allowed a program-low 90 goals in 32 games. This year, the Falcons have given up just 68 goals through the first 32 contests. BGSU is on pace to end the regular season with only 81 goals allowed, despite playing 38 regular season games.

>>MORE DEFENSE
This season, BGSU held opponents to three or fewer goals in 21 consecutive games, a streak which ended on Jan. 29 against Michigan Tech. The 21-game streak is a school record, as the Falcons broke the previous mark of 14 in their 6-3 win on Jan. 2 against Clarkson. That 14-game stretch occurred during the 2012-13 season. This string of excellence has helped BGSU achieve a 2.13 goals against average, which would shatter the school record (2.39). In the 41 years of Falcon hockey prior to the arrival of Chris Bergeron, BGSU had six seasons with a 3.00 or better goals against average. Bergeron's teams have already matched that total in his six seasons, and his defenses own four of the top five seasons for goals against average in school history.

>>CAN I GET A BIG MAC WITH THAT?
BGSU freshman defenseman Connor McDonald had a season-long four-game point streak, posting assists in both games of the first Minnesota State series, sandwiched between assists in games vs. Northern Michigan and at Bemidji State. McDonald was +3 on-ice during the critical four-game season series against Minnesota State and is +9 in the last 17 games, which gives him the overall team lead at +10. McDonald is the only freshman on the team to have played in every game this year, and he posted his first multi-point game of his career with two assists against Clarkson on Jan. 3. He scored his first collegiate goal in the 6-2 win over Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 22.

>>THE MADHOUSE ON MERCER
Bowling Green has earned a 6-1-5 record through 12 conference home games this season. The Falcons are on pace for their best home slate of conference games since the 1994-95 team went 11-1-1 in the CCHA. In the 20 seasons since, the Falcons' best conference records at the BGSU Ice Arena were 9-4-1 in both 2004-05 and 2014-15.

>>FLIGHT ATTENDANCE
More than 3,000 fans have piled into the BGSU Ice Arena in four of the last five home games, raising the average attendance this year to 2,551 fans. Most recently, BGSU had a season-high 4,025 fans to host Miami Friday. A year ago, BGSU averaged 2,601 fans.

>>OFFENSIVE SPARK
Junior forward Matt Pohlkamp had a career night on Saturday (Nov. 21) against Alabama-Huntsville. He scored BGSU's first two goals and assisted on two others in the 4-3 victory over the Chargers. The four-point game is a career-best for Pohlkamp and is the first four-point game by a Falcon since Ryan Carpenter did it during a 5-2 win over Michigan Tech on March 15, 2014. That win sent Bowling Green to the 2014 WCHA Final Five. Pohlkamp has since added his sixth goal of the season on Friday, Jan. 22 against Alaska-Anchorage and is tied for second on the team with 18 points.

>>THE FALCON FLYER
Sophomore defenseman Mark Friedman, a third round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, turned around a slow start and has been the team's anchor defensively. Friedman had just two points and was +2 on-ice through the first 14 games of the season. However, over the last 18 games, Friedman has three goals, seven assists and a +5 on-ice mark. He ranks second for assists (13) and points (17) among WCHA defensemen. Friedman has scored points in five of his last ten games.

>>OVERTIME IS THE RIGHT TIME
Bowling Green has played in nine overtime games through the first 29 contests of the season, and the Falcons are 2-1-6 in games with an extra session. The program record for overtime games in a season is 11, in both the 2003-04 and 1991-92 seasons.

>>NHL ALUMS
Three Bowling Green alumni have seen action in the NHL this year and one head coach is also a Falcon. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa has played in each of the Anaheim Ducks' first 54 games (as of Feb. 14, 2016), while goalie Andrew Hammond, who took the Ottawa Senators on a wild ride a year ago, now has 34 career decisions (as of Feb. 14, 2016) with a record of 23-7-0-4. Ryan Carpenter, a member of the San Jose Sharks organization, made his NHL debut on Dec. 12 against the Minnesota Wild, centering the team's fourth line. Buffalo Sabres' first year head coach Dan Bylsma was just inducted in the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 9 and is a Stanley Cup winner in Pittsburgh as well as having coached the 2014 US Winter Olympic team.

>>THE BURKE WALL
In a 6-3 win over Clarkson, senior goalie Tommy Burke recorded his 37th career victory to tie Al Sarachman (1973-77) for ninth place all-time on the BGSU goalie leaderboard. He needs just one more win to tie Tyler Masters (1999-03) for eighth. Gary Kruzich (1983-87) is the all-time Falcon goalie leader with 88 career wins. Burke is 4-3-0 during the 2015-16 season.

>>SEEING 20-20
With 23 wins during the 2014-15 season, Bowling Green posted the 19th 20-win season in program history, a mark with includes five 30-win seasons. It is the first time the team won 20 games since the 1995-96 campaign. At 16-9-6, the Falcons are vying to earn back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1994-95 and 1995-96.

>>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 and WBGUFM.com.

>>WCHA.TV IS LIVE
In partnership with industry leader Stretch Internet, WCHA.tv will allow fans to watch all 10 league teams and up to 196 games during the 2015-16 season on just about any device – computer, tablet, phone and many Smart TVs – with a responsive experience customized for that particular medium. High-quality HD streams, when available from the originating arena, will be viewable in multiple screen layout options (including picture-in-picture, multi-view format to watch up to four games simultaneously and full-screen video). For more information, visit WCHA.tv.

>>LIVE STATS
Live stats for all BGSU home games are available on the BGSU website at BGSUFalcons.com. Navigate to the hockey schedule for links to all available ways to follow the action.

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Stephen Baylis

Shane Bednard

Tommy Burke

Mark Cooper

Dan DeSalvo

Kevin Dufour

Jordan Ernst

Mark Friedman

Brandon Hawkins

Connor McDonald

Joe McKeown

Pierre-Luc Mercier

Ben Murphy

Chris Nell

Chris Pohlkamp

Matt Pohlkamp

John Schilling

Adam Smith

Tyler Spezia

Brent Tate

Sean Walker

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