Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, December 13
Houghton, Mich.
7:07 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
at
Michigan Tech
Hockey To Battle Michigan Tech In Final WCHA Series Of 2013
December 11, 2013 | Ice Hockey
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
at
Michigan Tech University Huskies
John MacInnes Student Ice Arena
Dec. 13-14
7:07 p.m./7:07 p.m. EST
Local Coverage: Sentinel-Tribune (Kevin Gordon) | BG News | BGSUHockey.com
All-Time Series
About Michigan Tech
Michigan Technological University men's ice hockey team is a NCAA Division I program located in Houghton, Mich. The Huskies play at the John MacInnes Student Ice Center (4,200 capacity) and play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Huskies are three-time NCAA Champions (1962, 1965 and 1975) and are six-time WCHA Champions. Michigan Tech is coached by Mel Pearson (3rd season), and has led the Huskies to their second-best two-season stretch over the last 18 years with 29 wins. Â
The weekend series between the Falcons and Huskies will mark the 13th and 14th time these two teams will play each other. Michigan Tech holds a 7-4-1 all-time record against BGSU. The Orange and Brown are 1-4-1 all-time against the Huskies away from the BGSU Ice Arena, while 3-3 at home.
Weekend Review (Alabama-Huntsville)
Game 1: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Friday night (Dec. 6), shutting out the Chargers, 3-0, in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown. Playing in front of 809 Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Falcons saw three different skaters score goals, while sophomore Tommy Burke (5-1-3) turned away a perfect 18-of-18 shots to earn his first collegiate shutout victory.
Game 2: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team lost to the University of Alabama in Huntsville Saturday night (Dec. 7), dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime, in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association affair. Playing in front of 1,729 Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Orange and Brown saw three different skaters score goals, while freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl (2-7-0) stopped 22-of-26 shots.
WCHA Is Here (Courtesy of WCHA)
At John MacInnes Student Ice Arena (4466) in Houghton Dec. 13-14, Michigan Tech (6-8-4, 4-3-3 WCHA) skates against Bowling Green (7-8-3, 5-6-1) in a pair of 7:07 pm ET encounters. The Huskies, who sport a five-game unbeaten streak (2-0-3) – all in league play – have climbed into a share of fourth place in the conference race with the Falcons. MTU is 4-1-2 on home ice so far this season while BGSU is 1-6-2 on the road. The series rematch is set for Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Bowling Green.
WCHA In The Polls
After a weekend sweep over 14th-ranked Lake Superior State University, Ferris State jumped two spots in the latest United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) National Poll to fourth overall, after the poll was release Monday afternoon (Dec. 9). The Bulldogs are in first place in the conference with a 13-2-2 overall record and an unbeaten mark of 10-0-2 in league games. The Lakers, who dropped two games to the Bulldogs, remained inside the top 20, and sits 17th overall with a 9-6-1 overall mark and 5-5-0 in the WCHA. Minnesota State, who was the preseason coaches' poll favorite, also received votes (29) in the latest poll.
Falcons In Conference Play
This weekend's series marks Bowling Green's seventh straight against a WCHA opponent. In all, the Falcons will have played in 14 straight league games in a seven-week span before playing in the Three Rivers Classic on Dec. 27-28 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The stretch is easily the Falcons longest of the year, and are currently 5-6-1 during the conference stretch, earning 11 points in league play. Bowling Green will conclude their seven-week WCHA span with a weekend series against the Huskies of Michigan Tech.
Friday Night Success
With the victory on Friday night over UAH, the Falcons moved to 4-1-3 this season in the first game of a weekend series. The record is a five-point improvement from last season, as BGSU went 3-5 over the first two and a half months in the first game over a weekend. Bowling Green is a perfect 3-0-1 on Friday nights at the BGSU Ice Arena this season, while only 1-1-2 on the road.
Power Play Latest Facts
The Orange and Brown scored three power-play goals over the weekend against UAH. Over the past six games, the Falcons have gone 7-for-28 on the power play (25 percent), which is their best six-game stretch of the season. Overall, the Falcons are 17-of-91 (18%) on the power play, good for sixth in the league.
Murphy Scores
Ben Murphy scored a power-play goal in the Falcons 3-0 victory over UAH on Friday night. Murphy broke an eight-game scoreless drought with the marker in the first period. On the season, Murphy has seven goals and one assist for eight total points. Murphy's seven goals are tied with Mark Cooper and Bryce Williamson for the most on the team this season. With his man-advantage goal on Friday night, Murphy is tied for second overall in the WCHA with five power-play goals.
Burke's Shutout
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke stopped all 18 shots he faced on Friday night (Dec. 6), recording his first collegiate shutout victory in 25 career games. Burke also stayed unbeaten at home with a 4-0-1 record at the BGSU Ice Arena. On the year, the Falcons' netminder is 5-1-3 with a 2.26 goal-against average and a .907 save percentage.
Please Let Me Assist You
Ralfs Freibergs, who was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 5, had two assists over the past weekend against the Chargers. Freibergs has 12 assists on the year, leading both the Falcons and WCHA. The left-hander from Riga, Latvia is averaging 0.67 assists in 18 games this season, and has had an assist in 10 of the 18 games he has played in.
Secondary Assist
Sophomore Dajon Mingo, who played as a defenseman over the weekend, also recorded assists in back-to-back games against the Chargers, marking the first time this season that he has recorded points in back-to-back games. In fact, Mingo is currently on a three-game point streak after recording career-high two goals against Lake Superior State on Nov. 30.
Immediate Impact
Junior forward Ted Pletsch played in his first two games of the season this weekend, and scored a goal at the 5:13 mark in the third period on Friday night. The marker was Pletsch's first goal since Feb. 17, 2012 against #1 Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. The left-hander from Canton, Mich. has totaled 6-4=10 in 58 games for his career.
Sophomore Class
The Falcons' sophomore class scored 50 percent of the team's points last weekend (Dec. 6-7), combining for eight of the 16 points recorded by the Orange and Brown. The sophomores tallied two goals and six assists, helping Bowling Green go 1-1 last weekend. On the year, the sophomore class has tallied 47 total points, with 23 goals and 24 assists in 18 games.
Shots Fired
The Falcons recorded 44 and 43 shots on net, respectively, against the University of Alabama in Huntsville this past weekend marking the second most shots on goal Bowling Green has tallied this season in a weekend series (89 vs. Colgate). The Orange and Brown recorded six goals for the sixth time this season in a weekend series.
Speaking Of Goals
Bowling Green's 54-goal output to start the season has been the most goals scored in the first 18 games of a season since the 2007-08 season when the Falcons scored 56. The Falcons are averaging 3.00 G/GM, good for second overall in the WCHA.
Month Of November
The hockey team ended the month of November with an overall record of 4-5-1, improving from a 1-5-1 mark a year ago. Overall, Bowling Green has doubled their overall point total after two months of play, with 14 this season compared to seven last year. Â
Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â 3.00 G/GM (2nd)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 2.61 G/GM (5th)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â 18.7% (6th)
Penalty Kill:Â Â Â Â 84.4% (4th)
Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Bryce Williamson (15)
Goals: Multiple (7)
Assists: Ralfs Freibergs (12)
Shots: Bryce Williamson (60)
Penalties: Sean Walker (17 - 56:00)
Radio
All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into 88.1 WBGU-FM. Kevin Meyers will provide the play-by-play commentary. The pregame show will air 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The broadcast can be heard globally on www.bgsufalcons.com.
LiveStats
Live stats for all BGSU home games are available on the BGSU website- www.bgsufalcons.com - via Live Scoring. The stats can be accessed from the schedule page in the hockey section of the website by clicking on the "details" icon on the right hand side of the page, then by clicking "live scoring".
Looking At Michigan Tech University
Head Coach: Mel Pearson (3rd season)
2012-13 Overall Record: 13-20-4
2011-12 Overall Record: 16-19-4
Michigan Tech Last Week: Micigan Tech found themselves in a 2-2 overtime deadlock twice over the past weekend against Bemidji State in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series battle. The Huskies outshot the Beavers 9-5 in the third period and 5-2 in OT, but could not find the back of the net for the game winner.
Tech once again found themselves in overtime against Bemidji State in the second game of the WCHA weekend series on Saturday night (Dec. 7), and extended their unbeaten streak to five games with a 2-2 tie. The Huskies applied plenty of offensive pressure on the Beavers' netminder with 41 shots on net, however, Tech could not find the game winner.
Michigan Tech's record sits at 6-8-4 overall, and 4-3-3 in WCHA play. The Huskies are tied for fourth witht the Bowling Green Falcons with 11 league points. Thw two teams are set to play each other in the final WCHA series in 2013.
Key Players
# Player                   GP    G    A    Pts.
23 Alex Petan             18    8     7     15
10 Tanner Kero            18     6     6     12
25 Mike Neville             18     1    8    9
18 Cj Eick                 18     3    5    8
22 Shane Hanna        18   2    4    6
Key Goalies
#  Player                 GP    W-L-T    GAA    Sv%
30 Jamie Phillips        4/4    1-2-1    2.94   .876
31 Pheonix Copley    14/13   5-6-3    1.96   .927      Â
Michigan Tech Team Ranks (WCHA)
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â 2.06 G/GM (9th)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 2.56 G/GM (4th)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8.6% (9th)
Penalty Kill: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 84.8% (3rd)
Bergeron And The Media
Head coach Chris Bergeron took some time on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 10) to meet with the media. His team is currently 7-8-3 overall and 5-6-1 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The Falcons will be back on the road this week (Dec. 13-14), taking on the Huskies of Michigan Tech at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The WCHA series will mark the seventh consecutive week Bowling Green will play a conference opponent before playing in the Three Rivers Classic on Dec. 27-28 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. Below is a video of Bergeron's press conference.
BG Hockey Press Conference 11.18
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