Friday, March 11
Ann Arbor, Mich. (CCHA Second Round)
7:35 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
at
Michigan
Falcons Continue CCHA Playoff Run in Ann Arbor
March 10, 2011 | Ice Hockey
Bowling Green will play the University of Michigan in a best-of-three series this weekend.
 |
Bowling Green Falcons vs. Michigan Wolverines March 11, 2011 - 7:35 p.m. ET March 12, 2011 - 7:35 p.m. ET March 13, 2011 - 7:35 p.m. ET (if necessary) Yost Ice Arena -- Ann Arbor, Mich. |
 |
| (10-25-4, 3-21-4-2) 11th, CCHA |
(23-9-4, 20-7-1-0) 1st, CCHA |
|
| BGSU game notes | Complete coverage at Game Central (Listen, Follow, Watch ... Falcon Hockey!) |
UM game notes |
THIS WEEK IN FALCON HOCKEY ...
Bowling Green continues its quest to “The D” located in “The Joe” by traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich. for their round two playoff series with the CCHA regular season champion Michigan Wolverines. The Falcons and Wolverines will engage in a best-of-three game series for the right to play inside Joe Louis Arena (Detroit, Mich.) in the conference semi-finals. Game times are set for 7:35 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Game three will be played on Sunday, also at 7:35 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT...
the Bowling Green Falcons played two of their best games in succession by upsetting the sixth-seeded Northern Michigan Wildcats winning two-of-three games last weekend (March 4-6) in Marquette. The Falcons lost game one, 5-3 but came back to win the next two games while riding on the back of sophomore goaltender Andrew Hammond. The Surrey, British Columbia native stopped 73-of-74 shots against him in games two and three and shut out the Wildcats in game two, 2-0, on a 29-save performance. He then tied a career-high with 44 saves in game three in the team's 2-1 double-overtime victory. Freshman Bryce Williamson scored the game-winning goal just 34 seconds into the second overtime session to clinch the series for BGSU.
PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Falcons have an extensive resume in postseason play, accumulating over 130 games in its 41-year history. The program holds a 68-62-3 overall record in postseason play and most recently snapped a seven-game playoff losing streak with its 2-0 win over NMU last weekend. Over their last 25 playoff games dating back to 2001, they have won only four of those, two coming last weekend. The last time BGSU had won a playoff game or series was in the 2007-08 CCHA Tournament when it beat Lake Superior, two games to three, with a 4-3 (OT) game-three clincher.
THE STARTING FIVE - Five Facts On BGSU Hockey
(1) The Falcons' series victory over NMU last weekend marks the first time in CCHA history that the lowest seeded team has won a playoff series. The last time the lowest seeded team won a single game was in the 2004 tournament when Nebraska-Omaha beat Michigan, 3-1, in the first round series.
(2) BGSU's shutout of NMU last Saturday at Marquette was the first time since March 11, 1995 that a Falcon team blanked an opponent in the playoffs when they beat Ferris State, 3-0.
(3) The Falcons have accumulated a 68-62-3 overall record in post season play after snapping a seven-game winless streak in postseason play last weekend.
(4) When playing the University of Michigan in the postseason, the Falcons are a combined 2-8-0. They have not played the Wolverines in the playoffs since the 2003 postseason, where they were swept in two games in the first round of the 2003 tournament, 3-1 and 4-3. In postseason games versus UM, the Falcons have been outscored 48-30 in ten games.
(5) The all-time series between the Falcons and Wolverines rests with Michigan, 34-75-3. The Wolverines defend home ice well, holding a 16-45-0 record against BGSU in “the Yost”, though the Falcons have won two of their last three inside the Yost Ice Arena.
WORTHY POSTSEASON NOTES
- Bowling Green snapped a seven-game losing streak in postseason play with its 2-0 win over NMU last Saturday.
- The Falcons won their first game and series since the 2007-08 postseason when the Falcons knocked off Lake Superior State, winning in a 4-3 OT decision on the third game.
- Bowling Green now improves to 4-0, all-time, in game three scenarios with its 2-1 (2OT) victory last weekend at Northern Michigan.
- In postseason play, the Falcons average scoring 3.58 goals per game and allow 3.65 goals per game, all-time.
- The Falcons are currently 2-8-0 against Michigan in the postseason and ride a six-game losing streak against the Wolverines.
- BGSU becomes the first team in CCHA history as the lowest seed in the tournament to win a playoff series. The last time the lowest seed had won a playoff games was in the 2004 conference tournament when Nebraska-Omaha beat Michigan, 3-1, in the middle game of the three-game set.
- Since 1985, the lowest seed had held a 3-52-0 record in the first round of the tournament. Bowling Green beat NMU twice last weekend and recorded the first shutout win by the lowest seed in the opening round of the conference tournament in that time.
- In postseason overtime games, the Falcons a 13-13, all-time. In games that went multiple overtimes, the Falcons are 5-1.
- The back-to-back wins against NMU last weekend mark the first time since the 2001-02 season that the Falcons won consecutive playoff games when BGSU won their first three playoff games against Miami and Northern Michigan before falling to Michigan State in that year's CCHA semi-final game.
- Jordan Samuels-Thomas has now scored in four of his five career postseason games he has played in. He has a 1-3-4 line in five games and scored in all three playoff games last weekend.
SOLWAY IS CCHA SCHOLAR-ATHLETE REP
Earlier this week, the CCHA named David Solway as the BGSU representative for the CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. The supply-chain management major has missed the last three games due to injury but has a 5-10-15 line in 35 games played this season. The winner of the award will be announced on March 17 at the annual CCHA Awards Banquet in Detroit.
HAMMOND HANDLES 'CATS IN HIS OWN CAGE
Goaltender Andrew Hammond continued his winning ways in the three-game series with the Northern Michigan Wildcats in the first round of the CCHA playoffs earning the two wins necessary to advance. He had a rough go of it in game one, allowing four goals in just over 26 minutes played but was called upon to start (and win) games two and three. In the final two games of the series Hammond stopped 73-of-74 (.986) shots against him. Those numbers produced a unprecedented 0.43 goals against average (GAA), two wins and one of those a shutout in their Saturday 2-0 victory. Over the weekend he finished having allowed five goals, posting a 1.80 GAA and saving 94.9 percent of the shots taken against him in 166:53 of play. The Saturday shutout was his second of the season and of his career.
... AFTER ENDING REGULAR SEASON ON FIRE
Head coach Chris Bergeron had played with the two-goalie system for 14 weekends before he decided to abandon it in favor of sophomore goaltender Andrew Hammond. After allowing three goals in a period-plus of play against Lake Superior on Jan. 28, Hammond was summoned to take the lead between the pipes and has taken a majority of the starts since. Against Western Michigan four weeks ago, Bergeron gave Hammond both night's starts, the first time he had given either goaltender consecutive starts all season. Though the decision isn't final and competition is open the rest of the season for the starting job, Hammond's line over the last six games suggest that he is the favorite for the rest of the year. Over 368:02 he has allowed only 12 goals, posting a 1.96 GAA and a .933 save percentage while obtaining a 1-4-2-2 record.
HAMMOND SETS AND TIES NEW CAREER HIGH
Though it came in a 4-1 loss and was due to a defense that allowed 48 shots on goal during the contest, sophomore goaltender Andrew Hammond (Surrey, British Columbia) set a new career high in saves during a single game after a 44-save performance against the then No. 14 Alaska Nanooks. Twenty-two of those saves were made in the first period alone after he was peppered with 25 shots in the frame. He then tied that career-high mark in the Falcons 2-1 (2OT) win at Northern Michigan, making 12 stops in each of the first three periods and nine in the first overtime.
Click here for complete BGSU game notes.
To see head coach Chris Bergeron's press conference earlier this week, click here.
BG Hockey : Kevin Piel w/Dennis Williams
Friday, April 25
BG HKY Postgame 3/15/25
Sunday, March 16
BG Hky Postgame 03.08
Sunday, March 09
BG Hky Postgame 3.7
Saturday, March 08