Falcons And Mavericks Meet For Fifth Time As WCHA Semifinals Begin

Friday, March 18

Grand Rapids, Mich.

4:07 PM

Bowling Green State University

Minnesota State

Photo by: BGSU Marketing and Communications

Falcons And Mavericks Meet For Fifth Time As WCHA Semifinals Begin

March 15, 2016 | Ice Hockey

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

#RV Bowling Green Falcons (22-13-6)
vs.
#15 Minnesota State Mavericks (20-12-7)
WCHA TOURNAMENT FINAL FIVE

CLICK HERE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS PREGAME EVENT INFORMATION
GAME INFORMATION	Friday, March 18 / 4:07 pm ET
LOCATION	Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)
TELEVISION	Fox Sports North / FS Wisconsin Alternate / Fox College Sports Atlantic / Fox Sports Detroit Plus
RADIO	WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick/Adam Ramos)
LIVE STATS	WCHA.com
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	BGSU \| Minnesota State \| WCHA
CLICK HERE TO TAKE A FAN BUS TO THE GAME

>>LINKS
WCHA Final Five Teleconference
WCHA Final Five Championship Page
About the Broadmoor Trophy

>>THE WEEK AHEAD
The No. 3 seed Bowling Green Falcons came back from a loss on Friday night to sweep the final two games of their best-of-three WCHA Tournament first round playoff series against No. 6 seed Bemidji State. BGSU lost 3-1 before winning 7-2 and 3-1. With the series victory, the Falcons advance to the WCHA Final Five for the third consecutive year, where they will seek to advance to the championship game for the first time. BGSU will face No. 2 seed Minnesota State in a semifinal at 4:07 pm. The winner of that game will meet the winner of the Ferris State-Michigan Tech semifinal in the championship Saturday at 6:07 pm.

>>ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
* Needed three games to beat Lake Superior State in playoff series (5-2, 0-2, 3-0)
* Brad McClure led MSU with four points versus LSSU; three other players had three
* McClure scored game-winning goal in both wins
* Goalie Cole Huggins led WCHA with 1.36 GAA last weekend
* Bryce Gervais had three points, Teddy Blueger had two assists in MSU's 5-1 win over BGSU on Feb. 5
* Blueger leads WCHA with 24 assists and 35 points
* Max Coatta leads MSU rookies with 13 points

>>NOTABLE
* The Falcons scored four power play goals on Saturday, their most in a game since Nov. 9, 2007
* BGSU was 6-for-12 on the power play last weekend versus the nation's fourth-ranked penalty kill unit
* The Falcons have won a playoff series in a national-best six straight years
* BGSU is 8-0 in third game of best-of-three; 5-0 under Chris Bergeron
* Stephen Baylis tied for most playoff points among WCHA players last weekend (4)
* Chris Nell saved 93-of-99 shots versus Bemidji State and led WCHA in save percentage (.939)
* Mark Cooper led BGSU with four goals against Minnesota State this season

>>WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
"I don't think you can teach experience; you have to live through it. We've been to Grand Rapids before. We've played Minnesota State in Grand Rapids before. Our expectation is that we're better prepared and we are going to lean on our older guys to act like they've been there before. We believe that if we play well and if our process is good, we'll give ourselves a chance. Anything less than that is unacceptable." -- BGSU Head Coach Chris Bergeron

>>RECAPPING THE WCHA FIRST ROUND
The No. 3 seed Bowling Green Falcons defeated the No. 6 seed Bemidji State Beavers two games to one in their WCHA Tournament first round series. The Falcons fell 3-1 in the first game but responded with 7-2 and 3-1 victories to capture the series. BGSU is now 8-0 all-time in postseason game threes, with five of those wins occuring in the Chris Bergeron era. During the series, Bowling Green was 6-for-12 on the power play against a team ranked fourth nationally in the penalty kill. Stephen Baylis led the team with four points, while Chris Nell saved 93 of 99 shots, both in their first career playoff action.

>>THE WCHA FINAL FIVE
The No. 3 seed Bowling Green Falcons have advanced to the WCHA Final Five for the third time in their three seasons as members of the league. The Falcons will face the No. 2 seed Minnesota State Mavericks in the semifinals Friday. The winner of that game will proceed to the championship against the winner of the Ferris State-Michigan Tech semifinal. BGSU fell 4-0 to Minnesota State in the 2014 semifinals, then dropped a 5-2 decision to Michigan Tech in last season's semifinals. BGSU is 1-1-2 against MSU this season and defeated the Mavericks 3-1 in their most recent meeting.

>>SENIOR NIGHT
The five members of Bowling Green's senior class had one final chance to skate at the BGSU Ice Arena against Bemidji State laid claim to a playoff series win in each year of their Falcon careers. Mark Cooper, Jose Delgadillo, Ben Murphy, Brent Tate and Tommy Burke have all made important contributions to BGSU this season. Last weekend, Cooper scored two goals and an assist, and Tate added two assists. Overall, they have contributed 24 goals, 56 points, 53 blocks and a +18 on-ice rating, while Burke is 4-3-0 with a 2.88 goals against average and a .896 save percentage.

>>LUCKY NUMBER 13
Stephen Baylis' first take with the Falcons has become a huge success, particularly as the season has worn on. He scored his first career point on Dec. 4 against Minnesota State and now has 22 in 35 career games. However, he posted 14 of those 22 during a seven-game point streak that ended Sunday against Bemidji State. Thus far in the playoffs, Baylis leads the Falcons and is tied for the WCHA lead with four points. He scored a power play goal on Friday night, then posted three assists during BGSU's 7-2 win on Saturday. He is now fifth on the team with eight goals, and he is second among WCHA rookies with 22 points. Nationally, he is now tied for 41st in points per game among rookies. Baylis earned the WCHA's Rookie of the Week honor in back-to-back weeks.

>>ROAD WARRIORS
BGSU has gone 10-8-1 away from the BGSU Ice Arena in 2015-16, following an 11-6-4 campaign in 2014-15. Prior to a year ago, the Falcons had not won more than 11 games away from Bowling Green since the 1987-88 team posted 16 such victories. The 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons mark the first double-digit road win totals in consecutive years since the 1988-89 and 1989-90 season.

>>WALK THIS WAY
Junior defenseman Sean Walker has played a key role for Bowling Green in recent weeks. The second team All-WCHA defenseman put together a career-long six-game point streak, and when that ended in Huntsville, he came back with an assist and a goal in the first two playoff games against Bemidji. He also led the Falcons with a +3 on-ice rating during the three game series. Walker owns four goals and ten assists in his last 16 contests, and the Falcons are now 4-1-0 when he scores a goal. He also leads the Falcons with a +14 on-ice rating and is second with 43 blocks. Among defensemen, Walker is tops with 18 assists and 23 points in the WCHA and is tied for 39th nationally in points per game.

>>THE BIG ORANGE (AND BROWN) MACHINE
Bowling Green's offensive machine is performing at a level not seen in many years. From Feb. 20 to March 5, the Falcons scored five or more goals in three consecutive games and four or more in five straight. The five-game streak with four or more goals was the most since October 1996, when BGSU blasted Toronto, Ohio State, Boston College and Lake Superior State for 38 goals in a six-game span. The three-game streak of five or more goals was the most since October 1999 against Western Michigan and Alaska. BGSU averaged 2.48 goals per game during their first 33 but have vaulted that total to 4.38 per game in the last eight. They have four or more goals in six of those eight contests and improved from 36th to 25th nationally in scoring offense during that time.

>>MARKED MAN
Bowling Green senior forward Mark Cooper is finishing his season in style. In playoff series against Bemidji State, he had two goals and an assist and is now tied for BGSU's active career lead with six postseason points. On Saturday, Cooper scored BGSU's first even-strength goal to give the Falcons a 5-2 lead in their 7-2 win. On Sunday, he opened scoring in the 3-1 win with a power play goal in the second period. He has points in seven of his last eight games. Cooper has four goals and eight assists in that time and leads Bowling Green this season with 16 goals and 31 points. Among WCHA players, Cooper is tied for third in goals and is fifth in points.

>>NELL AND VOID
Sophomore goalie Chris Nell has given up just 67 goals in 35 starts (18-10-6) this season. He has allowed two or fewer in 25 of the 35. A WCHA Player of the Year contender, Nell saved 93 of 99 shots during the Falcons' playoff series win over Bemidji State and led the WCHA with a .939 save percentage in the first round of the postseason. Overall, he tops the WCHA with a .931 save percentage and is third in goals against average (1.91). He is second in shutouts (four) and is third in winning percentage (.618). Nationally, Nell ranks ninth in goals against average and tenth in save percentage. In just 47 career starts, Nell has earned seven shutouts and is now tied with Tyler Masters (1999-03) and Andrew Hammond (2010-13) for the most career shutouts in program history.

>>MAGNIFICENT MITCH MCLAIN
Sophomore forward Mitch McLain was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 29 after providing an offensive spark for Bowling Green in both games of their weekend sweep of Ferris State (Feb. 26-27). McLain earned his first career two goal game, his first career four point weekend and his first multi-point game of the season against the Bulldogs. During the playoff series win over Bemidji State, McLain played a key role in the decisive 3-1 victory. He provided the lead assist on the game's first goal, then scored the game-winning game 3:20 into the third period on an unassisted breakaway eight seconds after serving a penalty. McLain has eight points in his last nine games, more than doubling his season total over the first 32.

>>CENTURY MEN
Bowling Green now has seven players with over 100 career games. The group is led by seniors Mark Cooper (157 games) and Ben Murphy (144), while juniors Matt Pohlkamp (119), Sean Walker (118) and Pierre-Luc Mercier (116) joined the club earlier this season. Senior Brent Tate (116) added his name to the list on Jan. 16 against Miami. Junior Kevin Dufour (112 games) eclipsed the century mark on Friday, Jan. 29 against Michigan Tech. This group combined for five goals and 12 points against Bemidji State last weekend and are responsible for 55 goals and 138 points this season.

>>CENTURY MAN, PART TWO
When Bowling Green defeated Alabama-Huntsville 5-0 to close the regular season, head coach Chris Bergeron became the fourth coach in Bowling Green history to reach 100 wins. He joins Jerry York (342 wins), Ron Mason (160) and Buddy Powers (135). He now stands at 102 career wins, just 33 away from third place on BGSU's all-time list. Bergeron is 63-39-17 since the start of the 2013-14 season.

>>HAWK=FALCON
Sophomore forward Brandon Hawkins is heating up at just the right time. Two weeks ago, he torched Alabama-Huntsville for a goal and two assists in each of the Falcons' two games. Hawkins continued his good work in the playoff series against Bemidji State. In Saturday's 7-2 win, he scored a power play goal 25 seconds after the Falcons had taken a 1-0 lead. Then, on Sunday, he assisted as BGSU took a 1-0 lead in the second period en route to a 3-1 win. Hawkins has twice posted three-game multi-point streaks this season and earned his first career WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honor at the end of January. He has ten goals and 21 points in his last 21 games. Hawkins is third on the team with 13 goals and eighth in the WCHA with 28 points.

>>FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
The Falcons have eight freshmen, and the group has contributed heavily to BGSU's success this season. All of them have multiple points this season, and four are ranked among the top 17 rookie scorers in the WCHA. Stephen Baylis has 14 points in his last eight games and leads BGSU rookies in scoring. He ranks second among WCHA rookies with 22 points. Bowling Green freshmen have poured in 14 goals and 44 points in 21 games since the beginning of January, and they have combined for 19 goals and 68 points overall.

>>DEFENSE, DEFENSE
This season, BGSU held opponents to three or fewer goals in 21 consecutive games, a streak which ended on Jan. 29. 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 2.17 goals against average, which would shatter the school record (2.39). In the 41 years prior to the arrival of Chris Bergeron, BGSU had six seasons with a 3.00 or better goals against average. Bergeron's teams have matched that total in his six seasons, and his defenses own four of the top five seasons for goals against average in school history. Currently, the Falcons rank 11th nationally in scoring defense and have allowed a would-be school record 89 goals this season.

>>SWEEPING UP THE COMPETITION
Bowling Green earned its sixth sweep of the 2015-16 season with a pair of victories over Ferris State on Feb. 26 and 27. In addition to the Bulldogs, the Falcons have taken the brooms to Ohio State, Alabama-Huntsville, Northern Michigan, Bemidji State and Alaska-Anchorage. These six sweeps are the most in a single season for BGSU in 26 years (1989-90). The last Falcon team to have more was the 1987-88 bunch, who earned eight.

>>THE MADHOUSE ON MERCER
Bowling Green finished the 2015-16 home schedule with a 12-5-5 record overall and 8-1-5 in the WCHA. That is the best record in conference games at the BGSU Ice Arena since the 1994-95 team went 11-1-1 in the CCHA. The Falcons now have 36 home wins in the last three seasons, their most since 41 during the 1994-95 to 1996-97 seasons. BGSU scored 68 goals at the BGSU Ice Arena and averaged 3.09 per contest, while they allowed only 48.

>>FLIGHT ATTENDANCE
More than 3,000 fans have piled into the BGSU Ice Arena in five of the last seven home games, including an amazing 4,613 on Saturday against Ferris State. That raises the average attendance this year to 2,670 fans, the most since the 2004-05 season. Last year, BGSU averaged 2,601 fans. The attendance on Saturday night was a season high, eclipsing the 4,025 fans that watched the Falcons host Miami on Friday, Feb. 12. Overall, Bowling Green has welcomed 50,735 fans in 2015-16, the most in one season since 52,126 in 1998-99.

>>SEEING 20-20
With a win over Alabama Huntsville Saturday, Bowling Green recorded the 20th 20-win season in program history, a mark that includes five 30-win campaigns. Combined with the team's 23 wins a year ago, it is the first consecutive 20-win seasons since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 years. With 22 victories, the Falcons need just two more to have an improved yearly win total for the sixth straight season.

>>WCHA SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
On Feb. 18, the WCHA named the recipients of the 2015-16 WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award. Overall, 123 student-athletes were recognized, and that group included three members of the BGSU hockey team. Junior goalie Tomas Scholl received the award for the second time. Junior forward Matt Pohlkamp and sophomore forward Jakob Reichert were first-time honorees. In order to receive the award, student-athletes must have completed at least one year of residency at their present institution prior to the current year and must have a 3.50 GPA (4.0 scale) for the previous two semesters (or three quarters). An athlete may also qualify if his GPA is at least 3.50 for all terms at his or her present institution.