Hockey Hits the Road to Face No. 5 Minnesota State

Bowling Green Falcons (5-3-3, 4-1-3 WCHA)
vs.
No. 5 Minnesota State (8-3-0, 6-2-0 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Nov. 17, 8:07 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 18, 8:07 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Mankato, Minn. (Verizon Center)
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon)
LIVE STATS	MSUMavericks.com
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv

>>FALCONS ON TAP

The Bowling Green hockey program will hit the road for the final time in the 2017 fall campaign as it takes on Minnesota State. The Falcons open the series beginning on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7:07 p.m. local time, followed by Saturday, Nov. 18, at 7:07 p.m. central.

>>VERSUS MINNESOTA STATE

All-time, the Minnesota State holds a 10-5-3 advantage over the Falcons.
Bowling Green most recently faced the Mavericks on Oct. 20-21, 2017 at home; a series in which the teams split after a 4-1 win by the Mavericks on Friday, followed by a 5-2 Bowling Green victory on Saturday.
Very level in recent years, the pair of conference rivals have gone 4-4-2 over the last three seasons.
It is the fourth time in a month that the Falcons will face off against the Mavericks after splitting the series in Bowling Green Oct. 20-21. It will be the final time in the regular season that Bowling Green will face Minnesota State.
Minnesota State is currently on top of the standings in the WCHA at 18 points, with the Falcons narrowly trailing in second at 17 points. With an overall record of 8-3-0, including a 6-2-0 mark in conference action, the Mavericks are coming off of a road sweep at Bemidji State in which they earned a pair of wins by scores of 5-2 and 8-6, while its only conference losses were by a 5-2 mark to Bowling Green (Oct. 21) and a 4-1 loss to Northern Michigan (Nov. 4).

>>LAST TIME AROUND

Last month when the Falcons hosted Minnesota State, the team's split after the Falcons rebounded from a 4-1 loss, to post a 5-2 win on Saturday night.
As he scored an empty net goal on Saturday night against the Mavericks to make it a 5-2 victory for the Falcons, senior Brett D'Andrea earned his 15 career goal in the Orange and Brown. The Falcons remain undefeated when the Marysville, Mich. native scores, as they hold a 13-0-2 all-time record when he does so.
Freshman Max Johnson marked his first career goal in the Saturday night win against the Mavericks.
Standing out on the scoresheet was the Falcons underclassmen, who tallied 12 of the Falcons 14 points on the weekend, while 10 different players earned at least one point in the WCHA opening series.
Sophomore Lukas Craggs opened the scoring on Saturday evening for the Falcons, by producing two goals in a 20 second span. It was the fastest pair of goals since Craggs joined the program, although is still 10 seconds short of ranking in the top-3 fastest pair of goals by a single player in program history.

>>ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

On Friday evening in a 2-2 tie against Lake Superior State, three of the four individual Falcon points were posted by freshmen.
After a scoreless second overtime, the pair of conference rivals went to three rounds of shootouts, before senior captain Mitch McLain scored to give the Falcons the extra point, making it the second consecutive game the Falcons won a sudden death shootout, as well as third consecutive weekend with the extra-point play.
Bowling's Green's shootout attempts were made by Baylis (missed), Johnson (missed), and McLain (made).
Freshman goaltender Eric Dop saved 21 of 23 shots, and competed in goal for his first career shootout, shutting down all three Lakers he faced.
A native of Ottawa, Ontario, junior Stephen Baylis lit up the score sheet on Saturday night as he tallied two goals and two assists, to tie his career-high with a four-point night. After earning his first career shorthanded goal, Baylis also marked his second career multi-goal game, and ultimately led the Falcons with nine total shots on goal on the weekend.
Senior captain Mitch McLain scored his team-leading fifth shorthanded goal in his career to put the Falcons up 2-1 midway through the game, while it marks his fourth career multi-goal performance.
In addition to Baylis and McLain, a total of four Falcons earned multi-point nights including Wright, who marked one goal and one assist, as well as Craggs, who notched his second multi-point game of the season with a pair of assists.
Sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard also appeared on the score sheet as he earned his first career point with the second assist on Baylis' opening goal. Defensively, the Macomb, Mich. native stopped 29 of 31 Lake Superior State shots on goal for just two goals against on the night, and improves to a 2-2-2 record on the season.
The Falcons held Lake Superior State scoreless on its six power play opportunities, burning 10 of its 11 penalty kills on the weekend. It is the fourth time this season that Bowling Green has held its opponents scoreless on the power play.
Leading the team was sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser, who tallied a career-high of nine shots on goal in Saturday's game.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Five Falcons have now tallied their first career goals thus far in the season, most recently being freshman Max Johnson, who put the Falcons up 4-0 over Minnesota State on the power play. Other Falcons who have tallied their first career goals this season include freshmen Cameron Wright, Brandon Kruse, and Connor Ford, in addition to junior Shane Bednard.
Both goaltenders are having strong performances in the net, as both are ranked in the top-20 in the nation in both goals against average and save percentage. Freshman Eric Dop sits ninth in the country with a 1.77 goals against average, while sophomore Ryan Bednard ranks 16th by averaging 2.12 goals against. Additionally, Dop is also ranked eighth nationally with a save percentage of .932, while Bednard trails with a .926 save percentage to sit 13th in the country.
As he scored an empty net goal against Minnesota State (Oct. 21) to make it a 5-2 victory for the Falcons, senior Brett D'Andrea earned his 15 career goal in the Orange and Brown. The Falcons are undefeated when the Marysville, Mich. native scores, as they hold a 13-0-2 all-time record when he does.
All averaging over 0.55 points per game, Bowling Green features three players who rank in the Top-50 nationally in points per game by freshmen. In addition to freshman Cameron Wright's 1.00 points per game to sit fourth overall, Max Johnson ranks 19th overall with a 0.82 points per game average, while Brandon Kruse's 0.55 puts him in a tie for 50th overall in Division I hockey.
Defensively, sophomore Alec Rauhauser also averages 0.64 points per game, which ranks him sixth overall in the WCHA. The Bismarck, N.D. native has seven points through 11 games played by one goal and six assists, and previously went a season-best two-game point streak.
Standing out on the scoresheet was the Falcons underclassmen, who tallied nine of the Falcons 19 points on the weekend, while nine different players earned at least one point in the WCHA series against Lake Superior State.

>>EYES ON CENTURY MEN

Senior Mitch McLain: 131 games played, 39 goals – 36 assists – 75 points
Senior Tyler Spezia: 119 games played, 24 goals – 32 assists – 56 points
Senior Brett D'Andrea: 101 games played, 15 goals – 23 assists – 38 points
Junior Connor McDonald: 91 games played, 2 goals – 14 assists – 16 points
Junior Chris Pohlkamp: 83 games played, 1 goal – 16 assists – 17 points
Junior John Schilling: 86 games played, 11 goals – 14 assists – 25 points
Junior Stephen Baylis: 85 games played, 16 goals – 28 assists – 44 points

>>MAXING OUT THE BOX SCORE

Freshman Max Johnson earned his first WCHA Award in his career as he was named Rookie of the Week on Nov. 13 after a three-point weekend against Lake Superior State.
A native of Lakeville, Minn., Johnson marked his second career multi-point night on Friday against the Lakers as he opened the scoring just 2:56 into the game and lifted the Falcons to an early 1-0 lead. Later in the evening, Johnson posted the lone assist on Brandon Kruse's goal that put Bowling Green up 2-1.
On Saturday evening, Johnson marked the assist on Cameron Wright's power play goal that increased the Falcons lead to 4-1 early in the third period. With his performance against the Lakers, Johnson matches his season-best point streak by currently rolling with two straight games, and looks to extend the streak to a career-best of three against the Mavericks.

>>ON OUR RADAR

Freshman goaltender Eric Dop earned his first career win in his first career start between the pipes when he posted 27 saves in the 4-1 victory over Michigan State (Oct. 13).
The Lewis Center, Ohio native currently sits ninth overall in the country with a 1.77 goals against average, in addition to being ranked eighth nationally with a save percentage of .932.
After double-overtime resulting in a 2-2 tie, Dop faced his first career shootout action in his career against Lake Superior State Friday evening. Dop shut down all three of the Lakers shootout attempts, helping the Falcons win the extra point in the third round of the shootout.
Dop earned the first WCHA weekly award of his career when he was named WCHA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 30 for his efforts against Alaska. Dop posted his second win of the season versus the Nanooks (Oct. 27) when he made 25 saves, including a game-high of 14 in the third period. Dop only allowed one goal against in the 2-1 win and kept the Nanooks scoreless on the power play through three chances with the man advantage that generated four shots on goal.
Dop posted a .955 save percentage in a 2-1 win at Michigan Tech on Friday, a game in which he earned 21 saves, including a game-high of nine in the narrow third period to keep the Falcons ahead and earn a 2-1 win in regulation. The effort was worthy of earning his second WCHA Rookie of the Week honors of the season, and marked Dop's third win in four starts with the Falcons.

>>STARTING OFF ON THE WRIGHT FOOT

Freshman Cameron Wright is making an early offensive impact, as he leads the Bowling Green squad with five goals and six assists for 11 points, and to average 1.00 points per game, which ranks fourth overall in Division I Men's Hockey for rookie players. His 1.00 points per game average also leads the freshman class in the WCHA.
On his way to earning 11 points through 11 games played, Wright went on a five-game point streak, from Oct. 10-21.
After marking his first career goal in his first collegiate game, Wright was named WCHA Rookie of the week. The Newmarket, Ontario native posted two goals and one assist in the first week's three games, in addition to tallying a team-leading nine shots on goal.
Wright earned his first career multi-point game when he notched two assists in the Falcons 5-2 victory over then-No. 12 Minnesota State on Saturday night, as he had a hand in fellow freshman Max Johnson's first career goal to put the Falcons up 4-0 over the Mavericks. Wright then earned his second multi-point game in the 2-2 tie at Michigan Tech. Continuing the streak, Wright earned his third career multi-point game on Saturday against Lake Superior State as he marked a power play goal and an assist on Baylis' game-winning goal.

>>PRESEASON POLLS PEG BOWLING GREEN

The Bowling Green hockey program was voted to finish fourth overall in both the 2017 Mankato Free Press WCHA Coaches' and the UAHhockey.com WCHA Media preseason polls.
For the upcoming season, the Falcons return nine of 12 forwards who appeared in the WCHA Championship, as well as five of seven defensemen for the 2017-18 campaign, resulting in Bowling Green garnering 90 points in the coaches' preseason poll. The Falcons also had one vote for the top finish on the year in the media preseason poll.
Senior forward Mitch McLain was voted to Preseason All-WCHA First Team honors by both the coaches and media, in addition to receiving votes for Preseason WCHA Player of the Year by the media.
Also receiving votes for Preseason All-WCHA Teams were senior forward Tyler Spezia and sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser.

>>2017-18 FALCON HOCKEY OUTLOOK

The Falcons return nine of 12 forwards who appeared in the WCHA Championship, in addition to five of seven defensemen for the 2017-18 campaign. In goal, the Falcons will return Florida Panthers draftee Ryan Bednard, who marked a 2.70 GAA and .882 save percentage.
Bowling Green adds a class of nine freshmen to the 2017-18 squad, including two goaltenders, two defensemen and five forwards.
The Falcons return 2016-17 leading scorer in senior forward Mitch McLain, who tallied 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points and will be leading as the Falcons captain for the 2017-18 campaign. A native of Baxter, Minn., McLain also led the team on the ice with a plus-19 rating.
By registering 30 points last season, the Falcons also return its third highest scorer in senior forward Tyler Spezia, who will serve as the team's assistant captain.
As a unit, the Falcons return four players who tallied 20 or more points last season, and nine players who registered double-digit points.

>>RETURNING FROM A RECORD YEAR

With an overall record of 21-18-2, the Falcons marked its third consecutive 20+ win season and fourth straight winning season. Bowling Green had records of 22-14-6 in the 2015-16 campaign, following a 23-11-5 record in the 2014-15 season. Last year was the 21^st season that the Falcons have tallied a 20-plus win season.
The Falcons went on a seven-game win streak entering the WCHA Championship, the longest of Coach Bergeron's career and longest of the Bowling Green hockey team since the 1987-88 campaign; a year in which the team clinched its last conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
By competing in the WCHA Championship in March, it marked Bowling Green's first conference championship appearance since 1988.
The WCHA saw a total of nine hat tricks on the year, with Bowling Green accounting for four of those. Mitch McLain marked two on the year, posting the two three-goal performances in a three week span.
Leading the Falcons offensively was Mitch McLain. On the season, McLain earned a total of six conference awards (2x POTM, 3x POTW, All-WCHA First Team), in addition to being named a WCHA Scholar-Athlete and to WCHA All-Academic honors.
Bowling Green saw extensive time in the penalty box, and ranked ninth in the nation with a total of 631 minutes for 15.4 minutes per game. The Falcons were one of five WCHA schools in the top ten in the category.
Bowling Green accumulated 10 WCHA Players of the Week, three WCHA Players of the Month, WCHA Championship Third Star of the Game, NCAA Hockey No. 1 Star of the Week, No. 4 spot on SportCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Night over the course of the 2016-17 season.

>>ON THE MIC

All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into the Falcon Radio Network and can be heard globally on www.bgsufalcons.com and WBGUFM.com. Falcon Hockey play-by-play broadcaster Ryan Vallon will begin the pregame show 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off, and can also be heard on WTOD/WQQO-HD2 (Talk Radio 100.7) and WLQR-FM (106.5 The Ticket).

>>WCHA.tv

For as low as 60¢ per game for the 2017-18 season, Bowling Green hockey fans can watch all regular season home games as well as all Western Collegiate Hockey Association matchups live or on-demand with WCHA.tv – the Association's official online streaming platform. WCHA.tv provides fans with high-quality, HD broadcasts (when available from the originating arena) on multiple platforms, including – new for this season – TV-connected devices via custom apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
A WCHA.tv Season Pass would provide Bowling Green hockey fans 32 regular season games, including 14 of the team's 18 road matchups. It would also include all of the Falcons' action in the 2018 WCHA Playoffs. Bowling Green's first official WCHA.tv broadcast will be on Friday, Oct. 13 as the team hosts Michigan State at 7:37 p.m.

>>LIVE STATS

Live stats for all Bowling Green home games and road matchups are available on the BGSU website at BGSUFalcons.com. Navigate to the hockey schedule for links to all available ways to follow the action while the Falcons are both at home and on the road.

>>FOLLOW THE FALCONS

Twitter: @BGFalconHockey and @BGathletics
Instagram: @BGFalconHockey and @BGFalcons
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BGSUathletic
Snapchat: bgathletics
Ticketing Information: https://spark.adobe.com/page/1D4rbBUtBaXtr/

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