18th-Ranked Falcons Set To Host Bemidji State In WCHA Showdown

No. 18 BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS

The Last Time
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated visiting Bemidji State University for the second time in as many nights on Saturday evening (March 8) at the BGSU Ice Arena, taking all four possible points over the final weekend of the regular season. The Falcons were led by two goals from freshman Kevin Dufour and solid netminding by sophomore Tommy Burke (12-6-6), who turned away 19-of-21 shots in the winning effort. With the win, the Falcons (16-14-6, 13-11-4) assured themselves home ice in the first round of the 2014 Western Collegiate Hockey Association after Michigan Tech and Minnesota State tied 1-1 later in the evening. It will mark the first time since the 2007-08 season the Falcons will host a first round playoff series. The Orange and Brown finished the season with 30 league points after a weekend sweep over the Beavers (10-19-7, 10-14-4).

About Bemidji State
The Bemidji State ice hockey program began in 1947-48, and holds an all-time record of 1,014-547-109 (.640). The Beavers' first season at the NCAA Division I level was in 1999-2000 (15 seasons) and holds a record of 228-252-61 (.478) at the NCAA D-I level. Bemidji State played ice hockey beginning of 1946 playing inaugural through 1996-67 as an independent member. The Beavers also spent time in the NAIA from 1968-69 through 1979-80, and also played a part of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.

The Series
Bowling Green and Bemidji State have split the all-time series between the two teams, going 2-2-0 in four head-to-head matchups against each other. The two teams battled for the first time on Dec. 30, 2011, where the Beavers took a 4-1 decision over the Falcons. In fact, the Beavers won the first two meetings outscoring the Orange and Brown 10-5 over those two games. However, the Falcons swept the Beavers in 2013-14, evening the series at 2-2, outscoring BSU 6-2 over the two games.

The Last Time Out
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Ohio State University on Saturday (Nov. 15) night, 3-2, earning a nonconference home-and-home weekend series split with the Buckeyes. Playing in front of 5,075 fans at the Value City Arena, Bowling Green received goals from Mike Sullivan, Sean Walker and Brandon Hawkins, while freshman Chris Nell (3-0-0) turned away 27-of-29 shots on the night. With the win, 19^th-ranked BGSU improved to 8-3-1 overall, and dropped Ohio State to 3-6-1 on the season. In addition, the victory marked the first time the Falcons defeated the Buckeyes at the Value City Arena since Feb. 1, 2008 in a 5-2 triumph over the Scarlet and Grey.

Moving On Up (USCHO Poll)
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team is ranked for the second time in the USCHO in as many weeks, moving up one slot the No. 18 in the latest polls. Bowling Green is one of four Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHA) teams that earned a spot in the Top 20, as Michigan Tech (1), Minnesota State (9) and Northern Michigan (17) all secured spots. Ferris State is knocking on the door having received 53 votes.

Life After A Loss
After a hard-fought 3-2 loss at the hands of former CCHA foe Ohio State Friday (Nov. 14) night, the Falcons came right back and earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory at the Value City Arena Saturday night. With the win, BGSU moved to a perfect 3-0-0 following a loss on the season, averaging 3.7 goals-per-game and allowing an impressive 1.0 GPG to its opponents in the game following a loss.

"Valuable" Win Over The Buckeyes
After the Buckeyes defeated the Orange and Brown at the BGSU Ice Arena on Friday night, Bowling Green entered Saturday night's tilt against Ohio State at the Value City Arena searching for a non-conference series split. The Falcons turned around and defeated the Scarlet and Grey, 3-2, on Saturday night, earning their first victory at the Value City Arena since Feb. 1, 2008 in a 5-2 triumph over the Buckeyes.

Road Warriors
Bowling Green returned to life on the road this weekend, as the Falcons traveled to former CCHA foe Ohio State for a nonconference weekend showdown with the Buckeyes. The Orange and Brown have played a total of 12 games this season, with eight games away from the BGSU Ice Arena. The Falcons have averaged 3.4 goals-per-game on the road and have allowed just 2.0 GPG to its opponents.

More Road Facts
The Falcons have spent the majority of its time this season away from the BGSU Ice Arena, playing eight of 12 games (66%) on the road. The Orange and Brown hold a 6-1-1 record on the road this season, marking their best start within the first eight games away from the BGSU Ice Arena since the 1987-88 season.

5,353 Falcon Faithful
The Falcons played host to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night. The Falcons, who have spent the majority of their time on the road this season, returned from an Alaska road series to take on the Buckeyes in front of a record-breaking crowd of 5,353. It marked the largest crowd ever at the BGSU Ice Arena, shattering the previous record of 5,031 set on Feb. 25, 2012 against Michigan.

Penalty Kill Success
The Falcons have played well on special teams this season; ranking third in both the power play and penalty kill in the WCHA this season. The Orange and Brown have gone 40/44 on the penalty kill, including killing off its last 13 kills. After Alaska scored on the power play in the first period on Saturday, Nov. 8, the Falcons have killed off 13 straight to bump their percentage to 91 percent on the season. In fact, the Falcons are 6-1-1 when they hold their opponents scoreless on the power play on the season.

Two For Tate
Junior assistant captain returned to the lineup against Ohio State over the weekend, immediately making his presence felt with two goals in front of 5,353 fans at the BGSU Ice Arena in Friday night's 3-2 loss. In four games played this season, Tate has totaled three goals, 10 shots, and one power play goal. The junior forward from Canton, Michigan is averaging 0.75 goals-per-game on the season.

Leading Assist Man
Sophomore centerman Pierre-Luc Mericer tallied another assist in the Falcons' 3-2 victory over the Buckeyes on Saturday night, giving him a team-leading eight on the season. In fact, Mercier has recorded an assist in six of the 12 games this season, including two games with multiple assists. The Quebec City native is averaging 0.67 assists per game.

Hawkins' Game Winner
Freshman Brandon Hawkins tallied his fourth goal of the season Saturday night against the Buckeyes at the 17:20 mark in the third period. Tied at 2-2, Hawkins low wrister gave the Falcons their first victory at the Value City Arena since Feb. 1, 2008. The game-winning goal marked Hawkins' first collegiate game-winning goal. In all, Hawkins now has four goals and four assists for eight points in 12 games played.

WCHA.TV
The season, fans of the WCHA can watch more than 180 games of its games live and in high definition thanks to WCHA.tv. Powered by America One Sports and Eversport.tv on WCHA.tv the platform enables fans to watch all 10 conference teams in action throughout the season. Every league game will be streamed live, along with each team's non-conference home contests, the league's postseason and the WCHA Final Five. With WCHA.tv, fans can follow their team wherever they are. Each game will be available on multiple platforms, including traditional web browsers on PCs, tablets and mobile phones using the iOS and Android platforms.

#FalconHockey/Social Media
The Bowling Green Falcons hockey team is on Twitter and Instagram. You can follow along all season long by following the Falcons on Twitter @BGFalconHockey. The Orange and Brown use their official hashtags FalconHockey and WeAreBG throughout the entire season. You can also follow the Falcons' Instagram account, BGFalcons.

Evan Pivnick "The Voice" On The Mic
All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into 88.1 WBGU-FM. Evan Pivnick will provide the play-by-play commentary throughout the season. 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".

Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:    3.08 G/GM (3rd)
Scoring Defense: 2.25 G/GM (4^th)
Power Play:  9/47 (19.1%)
Penalty Kill:  40/44 (90.9%)

Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Kevin Dufour (10)
Goals: Kevin Dufour (9)
Assists: Mercier (8)
Shots: Brandon Hawkins (35)
Penalties: Mark Friedman (29:00)

Looking at Bemidji State
Head Coach: Tom Serratore

Bemidji State Last Week:
*Courtesy of www.bsubeavers.com *

GAME 1: Despite out shooting the No. 5 team in the country 36-22, the Bemidji State University men's ice hockey team was defeated by Michigan Tech Friday evening at Sanford Center, 2-1. Markus Gerbrandt scored BSU's lone goal in the contest. Getting his fifth start of the season, freshman Michael Bitzer was the goal of record for the Beavers, seeing his record dip to 2-3-0. He made 20 saves. The Beavers, now 3-6-0 and 2-3-0 in WCHA play look to salvage a series split tomorrow at 7:07 p.m. when the same team take the Sanford Center ice to wrap up the WCHA series.

GAME 2: After leading No. 5 Michigan Tech 2-1 deep into the second period, the fifth-ranked Huskies scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Bemidji State University men's hockey team, 4-2, Saturday evening at Sanford Center. Nate Arentz and Brendan Harms tallied goals for BSU. BSU opened the scoring at 7:10 of the first period when Arentz buried a rebound from the doorstep for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. BSU out shot the Huskies for the second consecutive night, totaling 35 shots on goal to MTU's 23. Andrew Walsh took the loss for the Beavers making 19 saves, while allowing three goals. His record dips to 1-4-0 in 2014-15. Following the loss the Beavers fall to 3-7-0 overall and 2-4-0 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action. BSU returns to the road Nov. 21-22 for a two-game league series at Bowling Green State University (8-3-1; 5-1-0 WCHA).

Key Players
#   Player                             GP           G            A            Pts.
11 Nate Arentz                     10               5              3              8
23 Markus Gerbrandt         10               4              4              8
18 Brendan Harms               9                4              4              8
7 Matt Prapavessis              10              3              4              7
20 Sam Rendle                    10             1              5              6
13 Cory Ward                       10              3              2              5

Key Goalies
#   Player                             GP           W-L-T    GAA    Sv%
1 Michael Bitzer                   5-5          2-3-0      2.83        .899
30 Andrew Walsh                5-5          1-4-0      3.22        .892

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Tommy Burke

Kevin Dufour

Kevin Dufour

Mark Friedman

Brandon Hawkins

Chris Nell

Mike Sullivan

Sean Walker

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