Follow the Falcons At The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

Robert Morris

Oct 4 (Sat)

6:07 p.m.

Follow the Falcons At The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

Follow Dan Bylsma (Team USA Head Coach) and Ralfs Freibergs (Current Falcon hockey player) take on the world for their countries during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics

by BGSU Athletic Communications

The Bowling Green State University ice hockey program has a rich tradition that has seen a total of nine Olympians represent the Falcons’ ice hockey program in years past. This year, the Orange and Brown are proud to say they will add two more names to the special list of Falcons that have played or coached in the Olympic Games. Former Falcon forward Dan Bylsma will be the head coach for the 2014 Team USA men’s ice hockey team, while current Falcon defenseman Ralfs Freibergs will play for Team Latvia in this year’s Sochi games.

Provided below will be a full schedule of the entire 2014 men's olympic hockey schedule, including the preliminary rounds in which both Bylsma and Freibergs will compete in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic games. Separate schedules of both Team USA (Dan Bylsma) and Team Latvia (Ralfs Freibergs) are also provided. Throughout the tournaments, BGSUFalcons.com will provide up-to-the-minute coverage and a running list of articles that mention both Bylsma and Freibergs.

Make sure to watch for Twitter updates through @jdorow19 (BGSU Hockey SID), @BGAthletics (Official Account of BGSU Athletics), and @BGFalconHockey (Official Account of BGSU Hockey) – we will provide up-to-the-minute results and coverage on the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics ice hockey tournament, and to keep you updated on how coach Bylsma and Freibergs do against the rest of the competition from around the world.

DAN BYLSMA:
1992 Bowling Green State University graduate Dan Bylsma was named head coach for the 2014 U.S. Olympic men's ice hockey team today, in an announcement by USA Hockey.

"We're thrilled to have Dan as coach of our men's Olympic team," Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey, said in a story for USAHockey.com. "He's rapidly established himself as one of the most prominent coaches in our country today and we know he'll put us in the best position of achieving our ultimate goal of bringing home the gold medal."

Bylsma, who is the fastest NHL coach to ever win 200 games, led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship in 2009 and earned the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach in 2011. He was a four-year player for the Falcons from 1988-92, totaling 37 goals and 50 assists over 157 games played. Bylsma was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the sixth round (109th overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft but did not begin his professional career until after his time at Bowling Green. He made his NHL debut in 1995-96 with the Los Angeles Kings and went on to have a nine-year NHL career before finishing with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2003-04.

RALFS FREIBERGS:
The 2014 Latvia Olympic men's hockey team announced on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014 that current Bowling Green State University ice hockey skater Ralfs Freibergs will join a 25-man roster that will head to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

A 5-11, 191-pound native of Riga, Latvia, Freibergs has played in all 30 games during the 2013-14 season with the Orange and Brown. He currently leads all Falcon defensemen with 20 points (two goals and 18 assists) and owns a plus-2 rating. The left-handed sophomore joined the Falcon family last season, averaging nearly a point-a-game in eight appearances. Freibergs is expected to miss two regular season games for Bowling Green and an exhibition matchup with the U.S. National Development Team (Feb. 2-20) during his stint with the Latvia Olympic ice hockey team.

"We're very happy and proud for Ralfs," Falcons ice hockey head coach Chris Bergeron said. "It's great to have one of our players in the Olympics and representing his country."

Freibergs is no stranger to international play, as the Latvian defenseman played for the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in 2013 held in Stockholm, Sweden, and Helsinki, Finland, between May 3-19. The Latvian hockey team went 2-4-1, earning seven points in the preliminary round. Freibergs played in all seven games, tallying one assist and three shots on goal.

The 2014 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place from Feb. 6-23, with ice hockey set to begin on Saturday, Feb. 12.

2014 Men's Olympic Hockey Groups

GROUP A	GROUP B	GROOUP C
Russia	Austria	Czech Republic
Slovenia	Canada	Lativa (Ralfs Freibergs)
Slovakia	Finland	Switzerland
United States (Dan Bylsma)	Norwary	Sweden

2014 Olympic Hockey Schedule

DATE	TIME	Matchup	Results
Feb. 12	Noon ET	Czech Republic vs. Sweden
Feb. 12	Noon ET	Latvia vs. Switzerland (Ralfs Freibergs)	L, 0-1
Feb. 13	3 a.m. ET	Finland vs. Austria
Feb. 13	7:30 a.m. ET	Russia vs. Slovenia
Feb. 13	7:30 a.m. ET	Slovakia vs. USA (Dan Bylsma)	W, 7-1
Feb. 13	Noon ET	Canada vs. Norway
Feb. 14	3 a.m. ET	Czech Republic vs. Latvia *(Ralfs Freibergs)*	L, 2-4
Feb. 14	7:30 a.m. ET	Sweden vs. Switzerland
Feb. 14	Noon ET	Canada vs. Austria
Feb. 14	Noon ET	Norway vs. Finland
Feb. 15	3 a.m. ET	Slovakia vs. Slovenia
Feb. 15	7:30 a.m. ET	USA vs. Russia *(Dan Bylsma)*	W, 3-2
Feb. 15	Noon ET	Switzerland vs. Czech Republic
Feb. 15	Noon ET	Sweden vs. Latvia *(Ralfs Freibergs)*	L, 3-5 (Freibergs 0-1=1)
Feb. 16	3 a.m. ET	Austria vs. Norway
Feb. 16	7:30 a.m. ET	Russia vs. Slovakia
Feb. 16	7:30 a.m. ET	Slovenia vs. USA *(Dan Bylsma)*	W, 5-1
Feb. 16	Noon ET	Finland vs. Canada
Feb. 18	3 a.m. ET	Slovenia vs. Austria
Feb. 18	7:30 a.m. ET	Russia vs. Norrway
Feb. 18	Noon ET	Switzerland vs. Latvia (Ralfs Freibergs)	W, 3-1
Feb. 18	Noon ET	Czech Republic vs. Slovakia
Feb. 19	3 a.m. ET	Sweden vs. Slovenia
Feb. 19	7:30 a.m. ET	Finland vs. Russia
Feb. 19	Noon ET	Canada vs. Latvia (Ralfs Freibergs)	L, 2-5
Feb. 19	Noon ET	USA vs. Czech Republic (Dan Bylsma)	W, 5-2
Feb. 21	7 a.m. ET	Sweden vs. Finland
Feb. 21	Noon ET	USA vs. Canada (Dan Bylsma)	L, 0-1
Feb. 22	10 a.m. ET	Finland vs. USA (Dan Bylsma)	L, 0-5
Feb. 23	7 a.m.	Sweden vs. Canada