Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, March 21
Grand Rapids, Mich.
2:07 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Minnesota State
Falcons Set To Battle MSU In WCHA Final Five Semifinal Matchup
March 18, 2014 | Ice Hockey
No. 3 Bowling Green will take on No 2 Minnesota State on Friday, March 21 at 2:07 p.m.
WCHA FINAL FIVE
No. 3 BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
vs.
No. 2 MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
Van Andel Arena
March 21-22, 2014
2:07 p.m.
No. 3 BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
vs.
No. 2 MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
Van Andel Arena
March 21-22, 2014
2:07 p.m.
No. 3 Bowling Green State University will put their five-game winning streak on the line in Grand Rapids, Mich., taking on second-seeded Minnesota State in the WCHA Final Five semifinals, which will take place on Friday, March 21 at 2:07 p.m. The Mavericks (24-13-1), who defeated Northern Michigan University in two-straight games in the opening round, will put their 11-game unbeaten streak on the line against the Orange and Brown. Meanwhile, the Falcons (18-14-6) swept the Huskies of Michigan Tech in front of their home fans at the BGSU Ice Arena to advance to the Final Five at the Van Andel Arena. The winner will advance to the WCHA Championship on Saturday, and will play the winner of No. 1 Ferris State and No. 4 Alaska-Anchorage.
All-Time Series
The semi-final matchup between Bowling Green and Minnesota State will mark the ninth time these two clubs will meet. The Mavericks hold a 5-2-1 all-time lead over the Falcons. The two teams split their final regular-season series at the BGSU Ice Arena on Nov. 22-23, and are an even 2-2 this season. The Falcons defeated Minnesota State at the Verizon Wireless Center on Nov. 8, handing the Mavericks their only home loss of the 2013-14 season.
The Last Time Out (Minnesota State - Nov. 22-23)
Game 1: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Minnesota State University on Friday night (Nov. 22), 4-3, in a thrilling overtime Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown. Playing in front of 2,372 Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Orange and Brown saw two different skaters score goals, while sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke stopped 21-of-24 shots.
Game 2: BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team lost to Minnesota State University on Saturday night (Nov. 23), falling to the Mavericks 3-2 in overtime. Playing in front of 2,316 Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Falcons saw two skaters score goals, while freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl turned away 30-for-33 shots in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown.
WCHA Final Five Set (Courtesy of the WCHA)
The flagship event of the men's Western Collegiate Hockey Association– the WCHA Final Five – gets underway this Friday (March 21) at 10,834-seat Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a standout four-team field that features regular season and MacNaughton Cup champion Ferris State as the No. 1 seed, regular season runner-up Minnesota State as the No. 2 seed, Bowling Green as the No. 3 seed and Alaska Anchorage as the No. 4 seed. Tickets are still available. Those four first round playoff winning teams head to Grand Rapids with a common goal of claiming the Broadmoor Trophy on Saturday night and receiving the WCHA's automatic berth into the national tournament.
Evenly Matched
Playing four games in a span of three weeks in November, the Falcons and Mavericks will take the ice one last time (March 21) to decide who will take the season series and advance to the WCHA Championship game. The two clubs went toe-to-toe in what became a hard-fought four regular-season games. The Falcons and Mavericks went 2-2 in four games in the month of November, as three of them required overtime. BGSU and MTU finished tied with 10 goals each and both averaged an even 2.5 goals-per-game against each other in the regular season.
BG Against The Remaining Teams
Bowling Green will enter the weekend with an overall record of 18-14-6, the most wins they have totaled in a season since the 2007-08 season. Four of those wins have come against the remaining teams that will also be taking part of the 2014 WCHA Final Five. The Falcons hold a season record of 4-4-2 against #1 Ferris State, #2 Minnesota State and #4 Alaska-Anchorage combined. The Orange and Brown hold a slight 26-25 scoring margin against the teams, averaging 2.6 goals-per-game while allowing 2.5 GPG. Â
Playoff Savvy Team
With a WCHA Quarterfinals sweep over Michigan Tech last weekend (March 14-15), the Falcons have now won a league playoff series for the fourth consecutive year. The Falcons have won five playoff series' in that span, picking up first round victories in the CCHA Playoffs in each of the past three years. BGSU also won a CCHA quarterfinal series in 2011-12 over second-ranked Ferris State. This is the first time the Falcons have swept a series during the stretch as BGSU posted game-three wins in each of the other victories.
Re-Living The Hat Trick
Sophomore forward Mark Cooper's three-goal hat trick on Nov. 22 at the BGSU Ice Arena gave the Falcons their second victory over MSU for the year. Cooper's game-winning goal in the sudden-death overtime gave the forward his first collegiate hat trick and a new career-high for goals in a single game. Overall, Cooper now has a team-leading 14 goals in 38 games. Combined with 10 assists, Cooper has totaled 24 points for the third most on the current roster.
DeSalvo Reaches 80
Bowling Green's junior forward Dan DeSalvo recorded three assists in the series-clinching 5-2 victory over Michigan Tech on Saturday (March 15) night. With his big night, DeSalvo has now elapsed the 80-point plateau for his career, becoming the first player to reach the mark before his senior year since Jonathan Matsumoto did so as a sophomore in 2005-06.
Falcons' Danglers
Ryan Carpenter, Dan DeSalvo and Bryce Williamson combined for a total of 11 points in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs, helping the Orange and Brown earn a sweep over the Huskies of Michigan Tech. The three skaters have now all totaled over 70 points in their careers, becoming the first trio of players to have at least 70-career points on the same roster since four players (Alex Foster, Jonathan Matsumoto, Brett Pilkington and Mike Falk) had at least 80 points on the same team in 2005-06.
Four Points For Carpenter
Junior forward Ryan Carpenter exploded for four points (1g, 3a) against Michigan Tech in the series-clinching 5-2 victory over the Huskies last Saturday (March 15) night. The junior co-captain set a new career high for points in a single game, breaking his previous-best of three points in a game. Carpenter is now on a six-game point streak, totaling five goals and five assists for 10 points during the stretch. The junior forward also has recorded at least one point in 11 of his 14 games this season, and has totaled 8-8=16 overall. Â
BG On The Power Play
Bowling Green went 2-for-7 while on the power play against Michigan Tech in the WCHA Quarterfinals at the BGSU Ice Arena, helping the Falcons earn their fourth straight opening playoff series'. The Orange and Brown have scored at least one power-play goal in their last seven games, going 9-or-22 (40 percent) during the stretch. The mark is easily Bowling Green's best stretch on the season, bumping their overall power play to 19.6 percent on the season, which is third-best in the WCHA.
Strong Playoff Debut
Sophomore netminder Tommy Burke backstopped the Falcons to a 2-0 sweep over the Huskies, helping the Orange and Brown advance to the WCHA Final Five. Burke shutout the Huskies for four periods, making 52-of-55 saves for a series and a .945 save percentage. The sophomore goaltender also totaled a 1.50 goals-against average in 119:37 total time in the crease in two games. Overall, Burke has gone 14-6-6 with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage in 27 games this season.
Offensive-Minded Falcons
Bowling Green scored a total of seven goals against Michigan Tech last weekend, bumping their season total to 119 goals in 38 games. The Orange and Brown are averaging 3.13 (4th, WCHA) goals-per-game, which is the highest since the 2005-06 season when the Falcons averaged 3.26 GPG. Their 119 goals are also the most goals totaled as a team since the 2005-06 season, when BGSU tallied 124 in 38 games.
Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â 3.13 G/GM (4th)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 2.63 G/GM (3rd)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â 19.6% (3rd)
Penalty Kill:Â Â Â Â 84.3% (5th)
Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Dan DeSalvo (32)
Goals: Mark Cooper (14)
Assists: Dan DeSalvo (25)
Shots: Bryce Williamson (111)
Penalties: Sean Walker (25 - 72:00)
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".
Fox Sports North
FOX Sports North, in conjunction with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), today announced plans to televise the 2014 WCHA Final Five live from Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. on March 21-22. In addition, the broadcast signal will be carried by FOX Sports Wisconsin, FOX Sports Detroit, Sports Time Ohio and FOX College Sports-Central. Dan Parkhurst will serve as play-by-play announcer alongside analyst Jeff Sauer.
Looking At Minnesota State
Head Coach: Mike Hastings (2nd season)
2012-13 Overall Record: 24-14-3
2013-14 Overall Record: 24-13-1
Minnesota State Last Week: Second-seeded Minnesota State won two-straight games playing host to seventh-seeded Northern Michigan last weekend in the WCHA Quarterfinals at the Verizon Wireless Center to advance to the WCHA Final Five. The Mavericks extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games and will take on Bowling Green State University in the semifinal matchup at the Van Andel Arena.
The Mavericks earned a 3-2 decision over NMU on Friday night, as Cole Huggins earned his 18th victory of the season by turning away 16-of-18 shots. Minnesota State jumped out ot a 2-0 lead and never looked back to take game one. MSU then scored a goal in overtime in game two of the series to earn a spot in Grand Rapids, defeating the Wildcats by a score of 5-4. The Mavericks improved to 16-1-1 mark in its own barn.
Key Players
#  Player                      GP    G      A    Pts.
18 MAtt Leitner                  36    11    30   41
12 Jean-Paul Lafontaine  38     20   19   39
22 Johnny McInnis             38     20   16   36
19 Zach Lehrke                  28     8     19   27
9  Bryce Gervais                38     15    8     23
7 Zach Palmquist             38     4     19   23
23 Teddy Blueger              37     3     19   22
   Â
Key Goalies
# Player                   GP    W-L-T    GAA    Sv%
34 Cole Huggins        31    19-7-1    2.01    .919
35 Stephon Williams  12    5-6-0      3.23    .862
Minnesota State Team Ranks (WCHA)
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â 3.18 G/GM (2nd)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 2.42 G/GM (2nd)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 26.2% (1st)
Penalty Kill: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 85.9 (2nd)
Bergeron And The Media: WCHA Final Five
Head coach Chris Bergeron took some time on Tuesday afternoon (March 18) to meet with the media. His team enters the 2014 Western Collegiate Hockey Assocaition (WCHA) Final Five with a 18-14-6 overall record after taking two-straight games from Michigan Tech in the opening round at the BGSU Ice Arena last weekend.
With the win last night (March 15), Bowling Green improves to 18-14-6 and wins a league playoff series for the fourth consecutive year. The Falcons have won five playoff series' in that span, picking up first round victories in the CCHA Playoffs in each of the past three years. BGSU also won a CCHA quarterfinal series in 2011-12 over second-ranked Ferris State. This is the first time the Falcons have swept a series during the stretch as BGSU posted game-three wins in each of the other victories.
The Falcons will enter the Final Five as the third seed and will take on No. 2 Minnesota State on Friday, March 21 at 2:07 p.m. The two teams split the regular-season series, going 2-2 in four games. In those four games, the two teams forced overtime in three of the tilts, and each game was decided by one goal. Ferris State will entertain Alaska-Anchorage in the late game, which will start at approximately 7:07 p.m. at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. Below is a video of coach Bergeron's press conference.
With the win last night (March 15), Bowling Green improves to 18-14-6 and wins a league playoff series for the fourth consecutive year. The Falcons have won five playoff series' in that span, picking up first round victories in the CCHA Playoffs in each of the past three years. BGSU also won a CCHA quarterfinal series in 2011-12 over second-ranked Ferris State. This is the first time the Falcons have swept a series during the stretch as BGSU posted game-three wins in each of the other victories.
The Falcons will enter the Final Five as the third seed and will take on No. 2 Minnesota State on Friday, March 21 at 2:07 p.m. The two teams split the regular-season series, going 2-2 in four games. In those four games, the two teams forced overtime in three of the tilts, and each game was decided by one goal. Ferris State will entertain Alaska-Anchorage in the late game, which will start at approximately 7:07 p.m. at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. Below is a video of coach Bergeron's press conference.
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