Falcons Take Flight To Alaska In WCHA Battle With The Seawolves

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
at
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
Sullivan Arena
Games #31/32
Feb. 14-15
7:07 p.m./7:07 p.m. AT

Live Stats Audio Game Notes

Local Coverage: Sentinel-Tribune (Kevin Gordon) | BG News | BGSUHockey.com

About Alaska Anchorage
The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves are a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Alaska Anchorage has made a total of three NCAA Tournament appearances (1991, 1991, 1992) and won the Great West Hockey Conference (GWHC) Regular Season Championship in 1986-87. The Seawolves play at the Sullivan
Arena in Anchorage, Alaska.

All-Time Series
The weekend series between the Falcons and Seawolves will mark just the fifth and sixth time these two teams will play each other all-time. Bowling Green holds a perfect 4-0-0 record against UAA, with the first game series in Anchorage in 1988. This weekend series will mark the first time in Falcons' program history the Orange and Brown will play the Seawolves at Sullivan Arena in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association game.

The Last Time Out (Alaska Anchorage- Nov. 1-2)

Game 1: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated the University of Alaska Anchorage of Friday night (Nov. 1), sinking the Seawolves (3-2-0, 0-1-0), 6-1, to earn their first Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) victory. Playing in front of 2,235 Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Falcons (3-2-2, 1-0-0) saw five different players score goals, while sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke turned away 19-of-20 shots.

Game 2: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team shut out the University of Alaska Anchorage on Saturday night (Nov. 2), defeating the Seawolves, 1-0, to earn the weekend series sweep. Playing in front of 2,230 Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Falcons (4-2-2, 2-0-0) lone goal came off the stick of sophomore forward Brent Tate, while freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl turned away a perfect 16-for-16 shots to earn his second shut out victory of the season.

WCHA Is Here (Courtesy of WCHA)
And up at Sullivan Arena (6251) in Anchorage this weekend, one of the biggest league series ever for Alaska Anchorage will take place as the host Seawolves (14-11-3, 10-9-3 WCHA) engage Bowling Green (13-12-5, 10-9-3 WCHA) in a pair of 7:07 pm AT puck drops. The two teams are tied for fourth place and the final home playoff berth. The Seawolves, who will be marking their final regular season home games, sport one of the best home records among conference teams, standing 10-3-1 overall and 8-3-1 in league play. The Facons, who swept UAA 6-1 and 1-0 back on Nov. 1-2 at the BGSU Ice Arena, are 5-6-3 away from home overall and an even .500 in WCHA games at 4-4-2. Alaska Anchorage, who joined the WCHA for the 1993-94 season, has never hosted a first round league playoff series.

Not Taking Care Of Home Ice
The Falcons had their longest home stand of the season, hosting three series over a four-week span. Entering the home stand with a home record of 6-2-1 at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Orange and Brown were only able to come away with a 2-3-1 record in the six-game stretch. Bowling Green averaged 3.16 goals during the stretch, but allowed 3.00 goals to their opponents, including back-to-back five-goal games versus Michigan Tech.

Back On The Road
Bowling Green will head back on the road this week, as the Falcons track to Anchorage, Alaska, to take on the Seawolves for the first time in program's history at Sullivan Arena. The Orange and Brown will sport a 5-6-3 road record this season, averaging 3.14 goals-per-game and allowing 2.92 GPG on the road.

100 Goals, Again?
The Falcons lit-the-lamp 101 times in the 2012-13 season, marking the first time the Orange and Brown reached the 100-goal plateau in a season since 2007-08. Bowling Green currently has 94 goals this season, needing only six goals to reach the century mark for the second consecutive season. Under coach Bergeron, the Falcons have increased their goal scoring every season, scoring 74, 85 and 101 goals respectively.

Offensive-Minded Falcons
With six games remaining in the regular season, the Orange and Brown are on pace to have their best offensive season under coach Bergeron in his fourth year. The Falcons are averaging an impressive 3.13 goals per game, which is second-best in the WCHA behind nationally-ranked Ferris State. Bowling Green's 3.13 GPG average is the highest average since the 2005-06 season, where the Falcons averaged 3.26 GPG and scored 124 goals in 38 games.

Opening Strong
The Falcons have opened games strong all season long, scoring 25 and 37 goals in the first two periods, respectively. The Orange and Brown hold a +8 goal differential after the opening act, and a team-best +12 goal differential after the second period. Bowling Green holds a 9-5-2 record with a lead after the first period, while the Falcons are 11-5-1 with a lead entering the third period.

Three Away
Junior forward Dan DeSalvo is three points away from reaching the 80-point plateau for his career. DeSalvo's having his best season as a Falcon, recording a career-best 21 assists with six regular season games still remaining. The last Falcon to record 80 career points before his senior season was Jonathan Matsumoto in the 2005-06 season where he tallied 113 points in three seasons.

70-Point Club?
Bowling Green 's Ryan Carpenter and Cam Wojtala are quickly approaching 70 points for their careers. Carpenter is one point away with 69 points, while Wojtala needs only three points to reach the 70-point plateau. With Dan DeSalvo (77 points) already passing the career mark, the Falcons could have three players with 70-or-more career points. The last time Bowling Green had three players on the roster with at least 70 career points in the same season was in 2005-06 when Brett Pilkington (91), Alex Foster (82) and Jonathan Matsumoto (80) completed the feat.

Red Hot Start
Speaking of Carpenter, the junior captain has made his presence known in his return to the Falcon lineup. Carpenter missed the first 24 games of the season due to several injuries, but that hasn't slowed the captain down since returning. Carpenter has recorded at least one point in five of his six games, totaling 3-3=6. Carpenter's success has seen him post an assist in his last three games for a season-high three-game point streak.

Not To Be Outdone
Junior winger Adam Berkle has also been successful since returning from his injury suffered in a series against Lake Superior State back in late November. Berkle missed back-to-back series in early December before returning to play against Boston College in the Three Rivers Classic. Since returning, Berkle has scored six goals and two assists, and is currently on a four-game point streak (3-2=5) during that time.

Following The Falcons In Sochi
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey program has a rich tradition that has seen a total of nine Olympians represent the Falcons' ice hockey program in years past. This year, the Orange and Brown are proud to say they will add two more names to the special list of Falcons that have played or coached in the Olympic games. Former Falcon forward Dan Bylsma will be the head coach for the 2014 Team USA men's ice hockey team, while current Falcon defenseman Ralfs Freibergs will play for Team Latvia in this year's Sochi games. Full coverage of the Falcons' Olympians will be provided on BGSUFalcons.com, by clicking on the "additional links" on the right side of the ice hockey page and scrolling down to "follow the Falcons at Sochi".

Month of January
The hockey team ended the month of January with an overall record of 4-2-1. The Falcons posted a 4-3-1 record in January last season, and won only nine games up to this point in the season. The Orange and Brown have improved their win total in four of the five months this season, and has four more wins (13) this year compared to last (9).

Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:   3.13 G/GM (2nd)
Scoring Defense:    2.63 G/GM (4th)
Power Play:     16.4% (7th)
Penalty Kill:     83.6% (5th)

Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Dan DeSalvo (27)
Goals: Mark Cooper (13)
Assists: Dan DeSalvo (21)
Shots: Bryce Williamson (93)
Penalties: Sean Walker (20 - 65:00)

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 The University of Alaska Anchorage
Head Coach: Matt Thomas (1st season)

2013-14 Overall Record: 14-11-3

Alaska Anchorage Last Week: The University of Alaska Anchorage split a pair of road games in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich, last weekend to host Lake Superior State University. The Seawolves dropped a 5-3 decision. The 'Wolves struck first, but four consecutive markers by the Lakers in the second period lifted LSSU to their 13th victory of the season. The Lakers outshot UAA in the game, 32-26, as UAA went 0-for-2 on the man advantage, while the Lakers went 2-for-7 on the power play.

The Seawolves rebounded with a Saturday night victory in the final game of the WCHA weekend series. UAA tallied five goals in the evening to defeat the Lakers 5-2 at the Taffy Abel Arena. Alaska Anchorage went 1-for-3 on the power play, while LSSU was held scoreless with the man advantage.

Alaska Anchorage will enter the weekend showdown with Bowling Green tied for fourth in the WCHA standings. The Seawolves sport a 14-11-3 overall record, and a 10-9-3 record in the WCHA.

Key Players
# Player                        GP    G    A    Pts.
21 Matt Bailey                 28    14   12    26
17 Jordan Kwas            28     9     16    25
9 Blake Tatchell 28 7 15    22
29 Scott Allen       23    12    7 19
10 Brett Cameron 24 6    9 15
7 Austin Coldwell    28    4     9 13

Key Goalies
# Player                         GP    W-L-T    GAA    Sv%
33 Rob Gunderson       11       5-4-1       2.33     .906
35 Chris Kamal               9       5-3-1       2.03     .909

Alaska Anchorage Team Ranks (WCHA)
Scoring Offense:   2.68 G/GM (6th)
Scoring Defense:    2.61 G/GM (3rd)
Power Play:          18.5% (4th)
Penalty Kill:             81.0% (8th)

Bergeron And The Media
Head coach Chris Bergeron took some time on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 11) to meet with the media. His team is currently 13-12-5 overall, and 10-9-3 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The Falcons will take flight to Anchorage, Alaska, to mark their first series at UAA since the 1988-89 season, and the first conference series at Sullivan Arena in program's history. The Orange and Brown hold a perfect 4-0-0 record against the Seawolves. Below is a video of Bergeron's press conference.

Chris Bergeron Press Conference (2/11/14):

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