All-WCHA Teams Announced; Falcon Freshmen Recognized For Impact

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) announced its all-conference awards today and half of the league's six-person All-Rookie Team came from Bowling Green in Mark Friedman, Brandon Hawkins and Nolan Valleau. As well, 11 Falcons were named to the WCHA All-Academic Team.

Bowling Green, ranked No. 13 in the country, has played ten freshmen this year and the rookie class leads the Falcons in goals, assists and total points. The group has been one of the most productive freshman classes in the country and those performances resulted in hardware for three members of the class. Friedman and Valleau monopolized the defensemen spots on the WCHA All-Rookie Team and Hawkins, the leading scorer in the WCHA among freshman, earned one of the three offensive spots.

"We are very proud of Mark, Nolan and Brandon for their accomplishments this season," BGSU head coach Chris Bergeron said. "All three have had good freshmen years and deserve this recognition."

Hawkins, who hails from Macomb, Mich., is the team's leading scorer already with 14 goals and 14 assists, leading all WCHA rookies with 28 points – four more than any other freshman in the league. He scored his first career goal in the third game of the season during a three-point night in a 5-0 win at Alabama Huntsville. He added another three-point night, with two goals, during the past weekend in a 7-2 win over the same Alabama Huntsville team.

He has gotten more comfortable as the season has progressed and has a current four-game point streak and has picked up at least one point in eight of the past nine contests. Hawkins has four power play goals and three game-winning goals this year. Along with leading the Falcons in goals and points, he also leads in shots and scored on the team's only penalty shot of the year. Hawkins has a +4 on-ice rating.

Friedman comes from Toronto, Ontario and was a third-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2014 NHL Draft. As a defenseman, he leads the squad with 17 assists and has a +6 on-ice rating. His 19 points are tied for fifth among all freshmen in the WCHA and he has six assists on the power play. Defensively, he is an anchor for the top penalty-killing unit in the country at 89.4 percent. The Falcons have allowed just 2.36 goals per game this year, tied for 22^nd nationally.

Friedman's first career goal came against nationally-ranked Miami in the second game of the year. He had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over then-ranked Robert Morris for his first multi-point game of his career. Since then, he's had two more two-point games with a pair of assists in wins over Lake Superior State and Alabama Huntsville. Friedman is also tied for the team lead with 56 blocks this year.

Valleau hails from Novi, Mich. and has two goals and 15 assists from a defenseman position. Much like Friedman, he has been crucial on the top-ranked penalty killing unit in the country and has been a key figure on a staunch defensive team. He has four career multi-point games, recording two assists in each of the first two games of his career – coming against nationally ranked Miami.

His only two goals this year came in the same game at Bemidji State. He also picked up two assists earlier in the year in a 4-1 win at Robert Morris. Valleau carries a +3 on-ice rating and has 35 blocks, as well as picking up six assists on the team's power play.

Along with the All-Rookie awards, 11 Falcons were named to the WCHA All-Academic Team. In order to qualify, a student-athlete must have completed at least one full year at his present institution and must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 for the previous two semesters or cumulative over their entire academic career. BGSU's award winners include Tommy Burke, Mark Cooper, Dan DeSalvo, Jose Delgadillo, Kevin Dufour, Rusty Hafner, Connor Kucera, Ted Pletsch, Matt Pohlkamp, Tomas Sholl and Mike Sullivan.

BGSU enters the WCHA playoffs this weekend with a record of 21-10-5 overall. The Falcons earned the No. 3 seed for the WCHA Tournament and will host sixth-seeded Northern Michigan in a best-of-three series at the BGSU Ice Arena. Games are Friday, Saturday and Sunday with each contest beginning at 7:07 pm. Tickets are available by logging on to BGSUFalcons.com/tickets or by calling 877-BGSU TICKET.

2014-15 WCHA Awards

Player of the Year – Tanner Kero, Sr., F, Michigan Tech
Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year – Tanner Kero, Sr., F, Michigan Tech
Defensive Player of the Year – Colton Parayko, Jr., D, Alaska
Rookie of the Year – Michael Bitzer, Fr., G, Bemidji State
Scoring Champion – Tanner Kero, Sr., F, Michigan Tech
Goaltending Champion – Stephon Williams, Jr., G, Minnesota State
Coach of the Year – Mike Hastings, Minnesota State

2014-15 All-WCHA First Team

Forwards: Tanner Kero, Sr., Michigan Tech; Matt Leitner, Sr., Minnesota State; Tyler Morley, Jr., Alaska
Defensemen: Colton Parayko, Jr., Alaska; Zach Palmquist, Sr., Minnesota State
Goaltender: Jamie Phillips, Jr., Michigan Tech

2014-15 All-WCHA Second Team

Forwards: Bryce Gervais, Jr., Minnesota State; Alex Petan, Jr., Michigan Tech; Malcolm Gould, Jr., Michigan Tech
Defensemen: Matt Prapavessis, Sr., Bemidji State; Casey Nelson, So., Minnesota State
Goaltender: Stephon Williams, Jr., Minnesota State

2014-15 All-WCHA Third Team

Forwards: Blake Pietila, Sr., Michigan Tech; Marcus Basara, So. Alaska; Brendan Harms, So., Bemidji State and Blake Tatchell, Sr., Alaska Anchorage (tied)
Defensemen: Shane Hanna, So., Michigan Tech; Brock Maschmeyer, So., Northern Michigan
Goaltender: CJ Motte, Sr., Ferris State

2014-15 WCHA All-Rookie Team

Forwards: Brandon Hawkins, Bowling Green; C.J. Franklin, Minnesota State; Max McHugh, Alabama Huntsville
Defensemen: Mark Friedman, Bowling Green; Nolan Valleau, Bowling Green
Goaltender: Michael Bitzer, Bemidji State

2014-15 WCHA All-Academic Team
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Chad Brears; Brandon Carlson; Alexander Carpenter; Brent Fletcher; Matthew Larose; Frank Misuraca; Craig Pierce; Doug Reid; Benjamin Reinhardt; Ragan Soquila; Jack Prince; Jeffrey Vanderlugt; Anderson White

University of Alaska Anchorage
Scott Allen; Austin Coldwell; Tanner Dusyk; Blake Leask; Michael Matyas; Zachary Rassell; Austin Sevalrud; Blake Tatchell

University of Alaska
Josh Atkinson; Marcus Basara; Sean Cahill; Trevor Campbell; Joshua Erickson; Matt Friese; Alec Hajdukovich; Shawn Hochhausen; Nolan Huysmans; Nolan Kaiser; John Keeney; Jared Larson; Brandon Morley; Tyler Morley; Colton Parayko; Garrick Perry; James D. Peterson; Justin Tateson; Nolan Youngmun

Bemidji State University
Nate Arentz; Phil Brewer; Mitch Cain; Markus Gerbrandt; Brendan Harms; Graeme McCormack; Reid Mimmack; Charlie O'Connor; Ruslan Pedan; Matt Prapavessis; Sam Rendle; Carter Struthers; Andrew Walsh; Jesse Wilkins; Sam Windle

Bowling Green State University
Tommy Burke; Mark Cooper; Dan DeSalvo; Jose Delgadillo; Kevin Dufour; Rusty Hafner; Connor Kucera; Ted Pletsch; Matt Pohlkamp; Tomas Sholl; Mike Sullivan

Ferris State University
Brandon Anselmini; Kenny Babinski; Jason Binkley; Justin Buzzeo; Simon Denis; Zach Dorer; Ryan Lowney; Chad McDonald; Ruben Medrano; CJ Motte; Sean O'Rourke; Trace Pennock; Matt Robertson; Kyle Schempp; Jared VanWormer; Travis White; Charles Williams

Lake Superior State University
Jayson Angus; Chris Ciotti; Garrett Clement; Augstino Correale; Aaron Davis; Eric Drapluk; Alex Globke; Zach Loesch; Austin McKay; Peter Megariotis; Bryce Schmitt; Peter Spratte; Daniel Vernance

Michigan Technological University
Patrick Anderson; Brent Baltus; Christopher Eick; Blake Hietala; Tanner Kero; Christopher Leibinger; Alexander Petan; Jamie Phillips; Blake Pietila; Reid Sturos; Cliff Watson

Minnesota State University
Theodore Blueger; Nicholas Buchanan; Max Gaede; Sean Flanagan; Chase Grant; Cole Huggins; Michael Huntebrinker; Jonathan Jutzi; Dylan Margonari; Casey Nelson; Jordan Nelson; Zachary Palmquist; Zachary Stepan; Brett Stern; Stephon Williams

Northern Michigan University
Cohen Adair; Jake Baker; Aaron Beutenmiller; Derek Dun; Ryan Kesti; Aaron Leach; Brock Maschmeyer; Darren Nowick; Sami Salminen; Ryan Trenz

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Tommy Burke

Mark Cooper

Jose Delgadillo

Dan DeSalvo

Kevin Dufour

Mark Friedman

Rusty Hafner

Brandon Hawkins

Connor Kucera

Ted Pletsch

Matt Pohlkamp

Tomas Sholl

Mike Sullivan

Nolan Valleau

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Bowling Green State University Athletics