Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, February 5
Mankato, Minn.
8:07 PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Minnesota State
Photo by: Craig Bell, BGSU Marketing and Communications
First Place On The Line This Weekend In Minnesota
February 03, 2016 | Ice Hockey
#19 Bowling Green Falcons (15-8-6, 11-4-5 WCHA)
at
#18 Minnesota State Mavericks (14-9-5, 12-3-5 WCHA)
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#18 Minnesota State Mavericks (14-9-5, 12-3-5 WCHA)
| GAME INFORMATION | Friday, Feb. 5 / 8:07 pm ET |
| LOCATION | Mankato, Minn. (Verizon Wireless Center) |
| TELEVISION | None |
| RADIO | WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick) |
| LIVE STATS | MSUMavericks.com |
| WATCH ONLINE | WCHA.tv |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | BGSU | Minnesota State | WCHA |
#19 Bowling Green Falcons (15-8-6, 11-4-5 WCHA)
at
#18 Minnesota State Mavericks (14-9-5, 12-3-5 WCHA)
| GAME INFORMATION | Saturday, Feb. 6 / 8:07 pm ET |
| LOCATION | Mankato, Minn. (Verizon Wireless Center) |
| TELEVISION | None |
| RADIO | WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick) |
| LIVE STATS | MSUMavericks.com |
| WATCH ONLINE | WCHA.tv |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | BGSU | Minnesota State | WCHA |
>>THE WEEK AHEAD
>>ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
* 14-9-5 overall record
* First in WCHA (12-3-5, 29 points)
* Since last series vs BGSU: 6-3-1 (5-2-1 WCHA)
* 9-1 in WCHA home games; 38-12 goal differential
* Ninth nationally, scoring defense (2.21)
* Second in WCHA, net special teams goals (+7)
* Teddy Blueger leads WCHA with 16 assists, tied for second in points (24) and power play points (11)
* Casey Nelson leads WCHA in defensemen scoring (19 points)
* Blueger (3 assists) and Zeb Knutson (2 goals) had multiple points in previous series vs BGSU
>>WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
"(Minnesota State) plays the game fast and they play the game hard. What we are facing this week is very similar to Michigan Tech in terms of depth, leadership, success and confidence. We are in a great spot to win a regular season championship and that starts Friday against the team we are chasing." -- BGSU Head Coach Chris Bergeron
>>THE WCHA TOURNAMENT
The Bowling Green Falcons are on the cusp of clinching a berth in the WCHA Tournament for the third consecutive year. BGSU is currently in second place in the 10-team WCHA with 27 points. The top eight teams make the tournament, and the Falcons are 13 points ahead of ninth-place Alaska with eight games remaining in the regular season. To clinch a spot in the tournament, Bowling Green needs a combination of four points from wins, ties or Alaska losses. BGSU plays at Alaska on Feb. 19-20.
>>WCHA HOME ICE
The Falcons are also in position to host first-round games in the WCHA Tournament. They are currently nine points ahead of Northern Michigan and Bemidji State, who are tied for fifth place. Because NMU is one of two teams with ten games left, BGSU needs 12 more points to clinch home-ice in the first round. BGSU has hosted playoff series in each of their first two WCHA seasons and has won a playoff series in five consecutive years.
>>ALWAYS RANKED
Bowling Green has been ranked in the USCHO.com top 20 poll for 35 consecutive weeks. Only seven teams have a longer active streak -- North Dakota, Boston College, Providence, UMass Lowell, Boston University, Nebraska Omaha, and Denver. Quinnipiac is tied with the Falcons at 35 straight weeks as both programs entered the poll on Nov. 10, 2014 and have not left since.
>>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 7-5-1 on the road in 2015-16, a pace that would again give them a double-digit road victory total.
>>THE MADHOUSE ON MERCER
Bowling Green has earned a 6-1-5 record through ten 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.
>>HAWK=FALCON
Sophomore forward Brandon Hawkins lit up Alaska Anchorage for three goals and five points two weeks ago and earned his first career WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honor. He followed that with another goal and two points last Friday 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 nine games. His season total of 18 points leads all Falcons and his nine goals are second on the team.
>>MORE SOPHOMORE FIREPOWER
Bowling Green sophomore Tyler Spezia is another Falcon to catch fire on offense during the new year. After securing just four goals and two assists in BGSU's first 20 games, he has nearly matched those totals with three goals and two assists in the last nine. He has a point in five of those nine games, including assists in both wins over Alaska Anchorage two weeks ago.
>>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 eight 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 last Friday.
>>CENTURY MEN
Bowling Green now has seven players with over 100 career games. The group is led by seniors Mark Cooper (145 games) and Ben Murphy (141), while juniors Matt Pohlkamp (107), Sean Walker (106) and Pierre-Luc Mercier (104) joined the club earlier this month. Senior Brent Tate (104) added his name to the list on Jan. 16 against Miami. Jjunior Kevin Dufour (101 games) eclipsed the centry mark on Friday, Jan. 29 against Michigan Tech. These players have combined for 38 goals and 92 points this 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 poured in five goals and 22 points in nine January games, and they have combined for ten goals and 45 points overall. BGSU has two of the WCHA's top six rookie scorers in John Schilling (ten points) and Connor McDonald (ten points).
>>PASSING A HALL OF FAMER
Head coach Chris Bergeron owns 95 wins in his six-year career at Bowling Green. With BGSU's 3-2 win on Nov. 14, Bergeron moved past BGSU Athletics Hall of Famer Scott Paluch into fourth place on the all-time coaching wins list as a Falcon. He now trails only Buddy Powers (135 wins), Ron Mason (160) and Jerry York (342). Bergeron is 56-34-17 since the start of the 2013-14 season.
>>NELL AND VOID
Sophomore goalie Chris Nell has given up just 38 goals in 22 starts (11-5-6) this season. He's allowed two or fewer in 17 of the 22. A WCHA Goaltender of the Year contender, Nell ranks first in the league in goals against average (1.64) and save percentage (.937). He is second in shutouts (three) and third in winning percentage (.636). Nationally, Nell ranks fourth in goals against average and fifth in save percentage. In just 34 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).
>>THE OFFENSIVE BARRAGE
The Falcons' 12-goal barrage against Alaska Anchorage was an offensive explosion unlike any by a BGSU team in a long time. Among the feats accomplished:
* 12 goals are most in regular-season series since 12 vs. Alaska (Jan. 7-8, 2005)
* 21 assists are most in regular-season series since 24 vs. Alaska (Jan. 7-8, 2005)
* 33 points are most in regular-season series since 36 vs Alaska (Jan. 7-8, 2005)
* 10 or more players with multiple points in regular season series are most since 13 vs. Alaska (Jan. 7-8, 2005)
* 17 or more players with one or more points in regular season series are most since 18 vs. Alabama-Huntsville (Oct. 22-23, 2010)
* 12 assists and 18 points on Jan. 22 are most in single game since Jan. 25, 2014 vs. Lake Superior
* 10 combined goal scorers in back-to-back games are most since 12 in games at Connecticut (Dec. 30, 2005) and vs. Colgate (Jan. 3, 2006)
* 78 shots on goal are most in regular season series since 89 at Alabama-Huntsville (Oct. 17-18, 2014)
>>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 58 goals through the first 29 contests. BGSU is on pace to end the regular season with only 76 goals allowed, despite playing 38 games.
>>MORE DEFENSE
This season, BGSU held opponents to three or fewer goals in 21 consecutive games, a streak which ended last Friday 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 2.00 goals against average, which would shatter the school record (2.385) by nearly a half-goal per game. 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 Minnesota State series, sandwiched between assists in games vs. Northern Michigan and at Bemidji State. McDonald was a team-best +4 on-ice during the critical Minnesota State series and is +10 in the last 14 games, which gives him for the overall team lead at +11. He is the only freshman on the team to have played in every game this year. McDonald posted his first multi-point game of his career with two assists against Clarkson on Jan. 3, then scored his first collegiate goal in the 6-2 win over Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 22.
>>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 17 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 15 games, Friedman has three goals and seven assists and has a +6 on-ice mark. He ranks second for assists (13) and points (17) among WCHA defensemen. Friedman has scored points in five of his last seven 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.
>>DU-FOUR SCORE
Junior forward Kevin Dufour has enjoyed a resurgence since the calendar flipped to 2016. Dufour began the season with seven goals and nine points in Bowling Green's first 12 games but had gone eight consecutive contests without earning a point. Beginning with BGSU's 6-3 victory over Clarkson on Jan. 2, Dufour has posted two goals and six points in eight games played. Against Miami on Jan. 16, he scored his first goal since Nov. 20 against Alabama-Huntsville. Dufour has 15 points and is tied for second on the team with nine goals.
>>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 47 games (as of Jan. 31, 2016), while goalie Andrew Hammond, who took the Ottawa Senators on a wild ride a year ago, now has 33 career decisions (as of Jan. 31, 2016) with a record of 23-6-0-4. 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 15-7-5, the Falcons are vying to earn back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1994-95 and 1995-96.
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