Falcons Hit The Road To Take On Northern Michigan In Top 20 Clash

No. 14 BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS

Bemidji State Highlights

Winterfest Is Coming!

The Last Time
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team held off a furious attack in the third period by Northern Michigan University, helping the Falcons defeat the Wildcats by a score of 3-2 in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association battle. Playing in front of 1,746 fans at the Berry Events Center, the Falcons got goals from Ryan Carpenter , Ralfs Freibergs and Mike Sullivan , while sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke (10-6-6) turned away 37-of-39 shots in the winning effort. The Orange and Brown jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off an all-out Wildcat offensive attack with solid netminding from Burke to solidify their hold on fourth place in the tightly-bunched WCHA standings. The Falcons (14-14-6, 11-11-4) pushed their WCHA point total to 26 points – two behind third place Michigan Tech. The Wildcats (13-19-2, 11-14-1) dropped down to ninth place with 23 points after Bemidji State University defeated Alabama-Huntsville, 4-1, on Saturday evening.

About Northern Michigan
The Northern Michigan Wildcats began its ice hockey program in 1976, and holds a 746-615-117 all-time record coming into the 2014-15 season. The Wildcats have played in both the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) over its years, compiling five total conference championships between the two conferences. NMU announced the program would leave the CCHA to play in the WCHA in 1984 before returning to the CCHA in 1996. However, after the Big Ten Conference announced its intentions to sponsoring men's ice hockey in 2013, the Wildcats returned to the WCHA.

The Series
Bowling Green and Northern Michigan have played a total of 87 games all-time, with the Falcons holding a slight 41-39-7 record against the Wildcats. The Orange and Brown took the first matchup by a 3-2 decision on Nov. 12, 1976. In fact, the Falcons hold a slight advantage in the past five meetings, holding a 3-2-0 record against the Wildcats. BGSU is 21-13-3 all-time at the BGSU Ice Arena and just an 18-25-4 record on the road.

The Last Time Out
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team earned a weekend sweep of Bemidji State by defeating the Beavers, 3-2, on Saturday (Nov. 22) night at the BGSU Ice Arena in front of 2,366 Falcon fans. The Orange and Brown received goals from Mitch McLain , Matt Pohlkamp and Sean Walker , while freshman goaltender Chris Nell turned away 33-of-35 shots on the night to move to 4-0-0 on the season.

Moving On Up (USCHO Poll)
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team is ranked for the fourth consecutive week in the USCHO poll in as many weeks, moving up one slot the No. 14 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 Minnesota State (2) Michigan Tech (5) and Northern Michigan (19) all secured spots.

More National Spotlight
The Falcons, who has won six of its last seven games, have jumped into the No. 14 slot in the USA Today/USA Magazine poll, marking their second appearance in the poll this season in as many weeks. The Orange and Brown join Minnesota State (2) and Michigan Tech (5) as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) representatives.

Please Don't Kill My Vibe
The Falcons have played well on special teams this season; ranking third in the penalty kill in the WCHA this season. The Orange and Brown have gone 49/53 on the PK – including going 9-for-9 over the weekend against Bemidji State— killing off 22 straight power play chances their opponents have had. The last time the Falcons have given up a power-play goal was against Alaska on Saturday, Nov. 8. Since then the Orange and Brown have been perfect on the PK, giving them a 92.5 success rate and are ranked second in the nation in the PK.

How Sweep It Is!
The Falcons swept Bemidji State in front of their home fans at the BGSU Ice Arena on Nov. 21-22, earning four points in league standings. The sweep over the Beavers marked the second time in as many years the Falcons took both games from Bemidji State at the BGSU Ice Arena. The Orange and Brown swept BSU at home last Mark to earn home ice in the WCHA playoffs. The Falcons stand at a perfect 4-0-0 all-time against the Beavers on their home ice, and improve to 4-2-0 overall against BSU.

First Time In A Long Time
Speaking of the sweep, the Falcons have now earned three conference sweeps (UAH, Alaska and Bemidji State) before the month of December, marking the first time the Falcons have sweep three conference opponents before the month of December since 1994-95. In the three sweeps over their conference opponents, the Falcons are averaging 3.5 goals-per-game and holding their opponents to just 1.3 GPG. BGSU has outscored their opponents by a dominating 21-8 margin over the six games, including five goals on the power play. In those six games, the Falcons have dominated in the third period, outscoring their opponents by a 7-1 margin.

One of Eight
Did you know the Falcons are currently one of eight teams in the NCAA Division I level that have at least 10 wins? The Orange and Brown are 10-3-1 overall, joining Minnesota State (11-3-0) and Michigan Tech (12-2-0) as the only teams to have double digit wins for the 2014-15 season. The Falcons' 10-3-1 overall record is the best start to a season since 1995-96, where the Orange and Brown started the season 11-2-1.

Close Calls
The Falcons have been on a roll as of late, winning six of their last seven games. During that stretch, the Orange and Brown have won by a 3-2 decision on four different occasions. The Falcons' two other wins during the stretch were 3-1 victories, totaling six wins by a combined eight goals. For the season, the Falcons are 4-2-1 in games decided by one goal, including games that were two-goal games with an empty-netter at the end of the tilt.

Sullivan's Big Weekend
Falcons' senior defenseman Mike Sullivan totaled one goal, one assists, and a team-high seven blocked shots to help Bowling Green sweep Bemidji State on Nov. 21-22. Sullivan tallied an assist and the game-winning goal in Bowling Green's 3-1 victory Friday night. The senior defenseman then followed Friday night's performance with a game-high five blocked shots, helping the Orange and Brown kill off seven power plays. Sullivan has totaled seven points (1g, 6a) over the last seven games, averaging 1.00 PPG. In all, the left-handed senior from Toronto, Ontario has two goals and five assists for seven points. The Falcons are a perfect 2-0 when Sullivan scores a goal, and are undefeated at 5-0-1 when tallying an assist.

#ChurchOfDufour
The #ChurchOfDufour has recently contributed in other ways than scoring goals. The sophomore left winger has two assists over the last several weeks to add to his nine goals. The winger currently leads the team in scoring with 11 points (9g, 2a) in 14 games played this season. Dufour is averaging 0.79 points per game this season, and ranks in the top 10 in the WCHA in scoring.

Shorty For Pohlkamp
Matt Pohlkamp tallied his first collegiate shorthanded goal on Saturday night, helping the Falcons earn a 3-2 triumph over the Beavers. The goal marked Pohlkamp's fourth on the season and 13 of his career. The sophomore winger from Baxter, Minnesota has totaled 10 points on season, which is the second-most on the Falcons' roster this season.

Nell's Home Debut
Freshman netminder Chris Nell made his home debut on Saturday, Nov. 22 against Bemidji State after playing three road games to begin his Falcon career. Nell entered the game with a perfect 3-0-0 record, and continued his perfect record turning away 35-of-37 Beaver shots on Saturday night. For the season, Nell has a 4-0-0 record with a .933 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against-average on the year.

Burke Continues To Roll Along
Speaking of good goaltending, junior Tommy Burke added another strong performance to his resume Friday night. Burke won his fourth game of the season, turning away 21-of-22 Beaver shots on Friday night. Burke is 4-2-1 in seven starts this season, earning a .643 winning percentage (4th in the WCHA) and a .928 save percentage on the season.

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:    3.07 G/GM (3rd)
Scoring Defense: 2.14 G/GM (4th)
Power Play:  10/56 (17.9%)
Penalty Kill:  49/53 (92.5%)

Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Kevin Dufour (11)
Goals: Kevin Dufour (9)
Assists: Mercier (8)
Shots: Brandon Hawkins (38)
Penalties: Mark Friedman (31:00)

Looking at No. 19 Northern Michigan
Head Coach: Walt Kyle (13th Season)

No. 19 Northern Michigan Last Week:
*Courtesy of www.nmuwildcats.com*

GAME 1: The No. 19-ranked Northern Michigan University hockey team gave up three goals in the second period, including two power play goals, as the Wildcats dropped their opening game in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series at Alaska Friday.NMU is now 7-3-1 overall with a 4-3-1 WCHA record. The Nanooks improved to 7-6-0 with a 2-5-0 record in league play. Sophomore goalie Mathias Dahlstrom played the first two periods in net for the Wildcats, making 18 saves en route to his third loss of the season. Junior goalie Michael Doan played the third period and saved all six shots faced.

GAME 2: The Northern Michigan University hockey 'Cats rebounded on Saturday, Nov. 30, to beat the Alaska Nanooks, 4-1, in the second game of their two game series. The Wildcats finish their 4-game stint in Alaska with two wins and two losses. The Wildcats are now 8-3-1 overall, 5-3-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Mathias Dahlstrom stopped 29 of 30 Alaska shots on the night. The Wildcats tallied 29 shots, with Davis Jones tallying 25 saves. The hockey 'Cats return to Marquette to host Bowling Green on Friday and Saturday, December 5-6.

Key Players
#   Player                             GP           G            A            Pts.
20 Darren Nowick                   12           4              6              10
15 Dominik Shine                11           3              5              8
10 Gerard Hanson              12           1              6              7
23 Jake Baker                         12           3              3              6
17 John Siemer                      12           2              4              6
11 Shane Sooth                      12           1              5              6

Key Goalies
#   Player                             GP           W-L-T    GAA    Sv%
30 Mathias Dahlstrom         12            8-3-1      1.19        .952
1   Michael Doan                  1              0-0-0      0.00        1.000

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