Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, December 27
Pittsburgh, Pa.
4:35 P.M.
Bowling Green State University
vs
Boston College
Falcons Set For Holiday Showdown At The Three Rivers Classic
December 23, 2013 | Ice Hockey
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
vs.
#7 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
CONSOL Energy Center
Dec. 27-28
4:35 p.m./ TBA
Local Coverage: Sentinel-Tribune (Kevin Gordon) | BG News | BGSUHockey.com
 Weekend Review (Michigan Tech)
Game 1: HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Michigan Technological University on Friday night (Dec. 13), dropping the Huskies by a score of 3-2 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association battle. Playing in front of 2,012 fans at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena, the Falcons saw two different skaters score goals, while Tommy Burke (6-1-3) turned away a career high 39-of-41 shots in the win.
Game 2: HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team tied Michigan Technological University on Saturday night (Dec. 14), 4-4 in overtime, erasing a two-goal deficit over the final three minutes of the third period in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown. Playing in front of 2,429 fans at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena, the Falcons saw four different skaters score goals, while sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke (6-1-4) turned away a career high 43-of-47 shots.
WCHA Is Here (Courtesy of WCHA)
At CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh on December 27-28, Bowling Green (8-8-4) will take on No. 6/7-ranked Boston College (10-4-2) of the Hockey East Association in game one on Friday at 4:35 pm ET followed by Penn State (Big 10) vs. Robert Morris of the Atlantic Hockey Association at 7:35 pm ET. On that Saturday, the Falcons will then take on either Penn State or Robert Morris at either 4:35 or 7:35 pm ET.
Extra Attacker (Twice)
The Orange and Brown erased a two-goal deficit with just under three minutes remaining in regulation on Saturday night (Dec. 14). Both goals came with an extra attacker, marking the first time BGSU has scored two goals with an extra attacker since before the 2001-02 season.
Mingo Streaking
Dajon Mingo led the Falcons in scoring over the weekend with three points (1-2=3) at Michigan Tech, helping the Orange and Brown go 1-0-1 on the road. Mingo has now tallied at least one point in his last five games (3-4=7) for a new career-high point streak.
Burke's Huge Weekend
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke tallied a new career-high in saves -- twice -- over the weekend. Burke saved a career high 39-of-41 shots in the Falcons 3-2 victory on Friday night, and then broke his career-high mark on Saturday by saving 43-of-47 shots in a 4-4 tie with Tech. On the year, Burke's record stands at 6-1-4 with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Less Is More
The Huskies out-shot the Falcons 88-57 over the weekend, marking only the second time this season the Orange and Brown had less shots on net than their opponent (Union College 56-47). In fact, even though Bowling Green was outshot 41-18 on Friday night the Falcons improved to 5-1-3 in the first game of a weekend series.
At The Half
Records/Games
The Falcons have played 20 games this season, carrying an overall record of 8-8-4, with a record of 6-6-2 in conference play. At this point last season, Bowling Green had played in only 17 games, earning an overall record of 3-10-4 with a 2-7-3 mark in the CCHA. The Falcons have hosted nine games at the BGSU Ice Arena this season, the same exact amount from a year ago.
Falcons Home and Away
Overall, the Falcons are 2-6-3 on the road this season, playing in three more games on the road than last year (3-3-2). Conversely, Bowling Green is an impressive 6-2-1 at home this season, compared to a 0-7-2 record at this point last year.
WCHA Points
At this point in the season last year, Bowling Green had played in 12 conference games, compiling a record of 2-7-3 in CCHA play. The Orange and Brown were tied for 10th place in the CCHA with Northern Michigan with 10 conference points. This season the Falcons sit at 6-6-2 in the WCHA, earning a sweep over visiting Alaska-Anchorage at home (Nov. 1-2), and three points over a tough road schedule in the month of November. Bowling Green currently sits tied for third place in the WCHA with Bemidji State with 14 league points.
Attendance
Bowling Green's home attendance has been steady this season, attracting an average of 2,101 Falcon faithful per night at home. The number has stayed consistent compared to last season at this time, as the BGSU Ice Arena averaged 2,218 fans per night at home for the first half of last season.
Short-Handed
The Falcons have allowed three short-handed goals this season, tied for second-most in the WCHA. However, Bowling Green allowed five short-handed goals a year ago, which is a two-goal improvement. The Orange and Brown have also scored three short-handed goals of their own, as junior forward Adam Berkle owns two of them. Berkle is tied for second in the WCHA in short-handed points overall with 2-0=2.
Goals Scored/Allowed
The Falcons have found success scoring goals this season, averaging 3.05 goals per game in the first half of the year, compared to just 1.8 the team produced in the first half of last season. Bowling Green's 61-goal output to start the season has been the most goals scored in the first 20 games since 2007-08, when the Falcons scored an identical 61 goals. The Orange and Brown's scoring defense has also improved from a year ago; allowing 2.65 goals per game compared to 2.9 in the first half of 2012.
Team Highs/Lows
The Orange and Brown scored four goals on seven different occasions in the first half of the season, compared to only three in the first half a year ago. The Falcons scored at least six goals twice thus far, including a 7-0 shutout victory over Colgate University on Oct. 19. Bowling Green never scored over four goals in the first half of the season in 2012-13. The Falcons allowed a season-high five goals against Union College (Oct. 12) and Ohio State (Oct. 29) earlier this season.
Special Teams
In 97 power plays this season, Bowling Green has scored 18 goals for a success rate of 18.6 percent, ranking fifth in the WCHA. Last year at the half, BGSU scored only seven goals in 75 power plays for a success rate of 9.3 percent, ranking last (11th) in the CCHA. The Falcons penalty kill has also seen an improvement over the first half of the season, killing 83-of-100 opposing power plays, and ranking sixth in the WCHA. Last season the Orange and Brown ranked 10th on the penalty kill in the conference, killing off just 56-of-74 opposing power plays (54.7 percent).
In The Circle
Bowling Green's faceoff percentage is up compared to last season, as the Falcons have won an impressive 52.2 percent of its draws to last season's 46.9 percent success rate.
Staying Positive
The Orange and Brown carried seven skaters with a positive on-ice rating or better, with Mike Sullivan leading the way with a +7 on-ice rating. This year, Bowling Green has an impressive 13 skaters with a plus on-ice rating. Junior Rusty Hafner and Adam Berkle lead the way for BG with a +7 on-ice rating, followed by junior defenseman Marcus Perrier with a +6 on-ice rating.
Unselfish Falcons
The Falcons currently have 21 skaters with at least one point this season, while four have yet to register any. Out of those four skaters who haven't recorded a point, three of them have yet to play a single game for the Orange and Brown. It is a four-player improvement from last season, as 17 skaters recorded at least one point at the halfway mark of the 2012-13 season.
Leading The Way
This season, the Falcons' top point getters have a skater from each class, as the Orange and Brown have seven skaters with at least 10 points. Senior forward Bryce Williamson leads the team with 17 points, while Dan DeSalvo (15), Mark Cooper (14), Ralfs Freibergs (13), Brent Tate (12), Dajon Mingo (11) and Pierre-Luc Mercier (10) are right behind after 20 games this season. In 17 games last season, DeSalvo led the way as a sophomore with 11 points, followed by Ryan Carpenter (10) and Adam Berkle (9). This season, the Falcons' top goal scorers are Bryce Williamson, Mark Cooper and Ben Murphy with eight goals. Ralfs Freibergs leads both Bowling Green and the WCHA in assists with 13 at the halfway point.
The Men Between The Pipes
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke and freshman netminder Tomas Sholl have split time in the net for the majority of the season. Burke has played in 11 games for the Falcons, while Sholl has played in nine games over the first 20 games of the season. Burke carries a record of 6-1-4, with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Burke is an impressive 4-0-1 at the BGSU Ice Arena and a respectable 2-1-3 on the road this season. He broke his career high in saves on the road against Michigan Tech (Dec. 13-14) by turning away 43-of-47 shots in the Falcons' 4-4 OT tie with the Huskies. Last year, Burke had a 1-3-2 record with a 2.27 GAA and a .897 save percentage. Freshman netminder Tomas Sholl has carried the rest of the load between the pipes for Bowling Green, recording a 2-7-0 record with a 2.65 GAA and a .898 saver percentage. Sholl's start against Union College on Oct. 12 of this season marked his first collegiate start. Sholl's 7-0 shutout in his second start against Colgate University on Oct. 19 marked the first time a freshman shutout an opponent within his first two starts since Bob Petrie in the 1993-94 season.
Second Half Look
The Falcons will play in the Three Rivers Classic on Dec. 27-28, joining Boston College, Penn State University and Robert Morris at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh over the holidays. The Orange and Brown will return to WCHA action for five consecutive weeks. Bowling Green will hit the road for a weekend series against Alabama-Huntsville on Jan. 3-4 and then return to BGSU Ice Arena for a three-week homestand. The Falcons will host Alaska-Fairbanks, Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech before flying our to Alaska-Anchorage for a weekend series with the Seawolves on Feb. 14-15. Bowling Green will finish up their regular season with a weekend series at Northern Michigan and will return to for the final weekend series against Bemidji State on March 7-8.
First Time For Everything
Bowling Green have seen all five of their freshman make immediate impacts on the season thus far, as each one of them has recorded at lease on point. With the rookie's playing regularly, there is bound to be a lot of Falcons first. Listed below are the five rookies and there Falcon firsts at the halfway mark of the season.
Kevin Dufour's first:
Point: Oct. 11 at Union College (assist)
Goal: Nov. 16 at Ferris State
Assist: Oct. 11 at Union College
Multi-point game: Dec. 13 at Michigan Tech (two goals)
Pierre-Luc Mercier's first:
Point: Oct. 11 at Union College (goal)
Goal: Oct. 11 at Union College
Assist: Nov. 1 vs. Alaska Anchorage
Multi-point game: N/A
Matt Pohlkamp's first:
Point: Oct. 12 at Union College (goal)
Goal: Oct. 12 at Union College
Assist: Nov. 1 vs. Alaska Anchorage
Multi-point game: N/A
Sean Walker's first:
Point: Oct. 11 at Union College (assist)
Goal: Dec. 7 vs. Alabama Huntsville
Assist: Oct. 11 at Union College
Multi-point game: N/A
Tomas Sholl's first:
Win: Oct. 19 vs. Colgate University (7-0, 20 saves)
Shutout: Oct. 19 vs. Colgate University (20 saves)
Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â 3.05 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".
Three Rivers Classic Teams
No. 7-Ranked Boston College: 10-4-2 overall, 6-1-1 HEA
Key Players
# Player                        GP   G   A   Pts.
13 Johnny Gaudreau      16   13   15   28
12 Kevin Hayes            16   10   14   24
24 Bill Arnold                 16   4   16   20
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Key Goalies
#  Player               GP   W-L-T   GAA   Sv%
29 Brad Barone        3-0   0-0-0   1.26   .964
30 Thatcher Demko   6-6   4-1-1   2.31   .911
1   Brian Billett        10-10 6-3-1   2.58   .917
Boston College Team Ranks (Hockey East)
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â Â 4.19 G/GM (1st)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 2.44 G/GM (7th)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 15.1% (9th)
Penalty Kill:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 89.9% (1st)
All-Time Series: BC leads 10-3-0
First Meeting: BC W, 6-2, 03/24/78
Last Meeting: BC W, 5-3, 10/17/08
Penn State University: 3-9-1 overall, 0-2-0 BIG 10
Key Players
# Player            GP   G   A   Pts.
19 Eric Scheid      13   7   4   11
4  Luke Juha        13   4   5   9
9  David Goodwin  12   3   5   8
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Key Goalies
#  Player               GP   W-L-T   GAA   Sv%
31 Matthew Skoff      9-9   3-5-1   3.27   .900
34 Eamon McAdam   4-4   0-4-0   4.56   .878
Penn State Team Ranks (BIG 10)
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â Â 2.46 G/GM (6th)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 3.77 G/GM (6th)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 21.2% (2nd)
Penalty Kill:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 81.9% (2nd)
All-Time Series: N/A
First Meeting: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Robert Morris: 2-10-2 overall, 2-5-2 AH
Key Players
# Player         GP   G   A   Pts.
27 Zac Lynch   14   7   10   17
23 Cody Wydo 14   12   4   16
19 Scott Jacklin 12Â Â Â 3Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 10
         Â
Key Goalies
#  Player               GP   W-L-T   GAA   Sv%
1  Terry Shafer      12-11  2-8-2     3.69      .898
30 Brandon Lane    4-1   0-1-0     2.76      .906
Robert Morris Team Ranks (Atlantic Hockey)
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â Â 2.88 G/GM (8th)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 3.22 G/GM (9th)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 20.5% (8th)
Penalty Kill:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 66.1% (12th)
All-Time Series: N/A
First Meeting: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
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