Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Bemidji State
Falcons Will Host Bemidji State During Senior Weekend At The BGSU Ice Arena
March 05, 2014 | Ice Hockey
The Falcons will take on the Beavers over the final regular season series with a playoff spot on the line.
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
vs.
 BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY BEAVERS
BGSU Ice Arena
Games #35/36
March 7-8
7:07 p.m./7:07 p.m. EST
About Bemidji State
Bemidji State University ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that started in the 1946-47 season. The Beavers hold a 1,004-526-102 (.647) record all-time prior to the 2013-14 season, and has totaled 14 seasons at the DI level (1999-00 marked the first season). BSU plays their home games at the Sanford Center (4,373). The Beavers have 16 returners from a year ago, and have added nine newcomers to the roster for the season. Head coach Tom Serratore is in his 12th season, going 201-186-49 (.517) during his tenure with the Beavers.
All-Time Series
The weekend series between the Falcons and Beavers will mark just the third and fourth time these two teams will play each other all-time. Bemidji State holds the advantage between the two teams, coming away with a record of 2-0-0 all-time against the Orange and Brown. In the only weekend series meeting between the two clubs, the Beavers outscored the Falcons by a 6-2 margin.
Last Weekend (Northern Michigan)
Game 1: MARQUETTE, Mich – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team could not overcome a 4-0 deficit and lost to Northern Michigan University on Friday night (Feb. 28), dropping the first game of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association showdown at the Berry Events Center. Junior forward Ryan Carpenter scored the lone Falcon goal for the Orange and Brown, while sophomore goaltender Tommy Burke turned away 21-of-25 shots on the night.
Game 2: MARQUETTE, Mich – The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team held off a furious attack in the third period by Northern Michigan University on Saturday night, 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.
WCHA Is Here (Courtesy of WCHA)
At the BGSU Ice Arena (5000) this Friday and Saturday, Bowling Green (14-14-6, 11-11-4 WCHA) will take on Bemidji State (10-17-7, 10-12-4WCHA) in a pair of 7:07 pm ET face-offs. This is the first and only regular season series between the Falcons and Beavers. Tied for fifth, BGSU is 8-5-2 at home this season (6-5-1 WCHA) while BSU is 5-5-2 in league play away (5-7-3 overall). The two teams are separated by two points.
On Tap
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team (14-14-6, 11-11-4) will conclude their 2013-14 regular season this weekend at the BGSU Ice Arena, facing off against the Beavers of Bemidji State University (10-17-7, 10-12-4) with a pair of Western Collegiate Hockey Association games. In the 2011-12 season, BSU defeated the Falcons twice at the Sanford Center, by scores of 4-1 and 2-1 in their only meetings of all-time. This weekend will mark the first time that the two clubs will meet at the BGSU Ice Arena.
Senior Night
On Saturday night, which will mark the final regular-season home game for the Orange and Brown, the ice hockey program will be honoring eight seniors. Jake Sloat (Louisville Colo.), Bryce Williamson (Seba Beach, Alberta), Camden Wojtala (Trenton, MIch.), Chad Sumsion (Woodstock, Ontario), Ryan Viselli (Windsor, Ontario), Brett Mohler (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Andrew Wallace (Bedford, Nova Scotia) and Scott Zacharias (Winnipeg, Manitoba) will all take the traditional skate around the BGSU Ice Arena for the final time of their careers. As a group, the senior class went 53-87-20, including a trip to the CCHA semifinals at Joe Louis Arena in the 2011-12 season, marking the first time since 2000-01 the Falcons have reached the semifinals in the CCHA. The Falcons defeated top-ranked Ferris State in the second round of the CCHA playoffs to reach the semifinals at Joe Louis Arena to take on Michigan.
Offensive-Minded Falcons
With two games remaining in the regular season, the Orange and Brown have had their best season offensively under coach Bergeron in his fourth year. With the Falcons scoring four goals against Northern Michigan last weekend, the Orange and Brown surpassed the 100-goal mark for the season. Their 102-goal output on the year is the highest total under coach Bergeron during his tenure with the Orange and Brown. Bowling Green has increased their goal total in each of coach Bergeron's four years with 74, 85, 100 and now 102 respectively. With two games still remaining on the schedule and possibly the playoffs, the Falcons have a chance to have their best offensive season since 2005-06, totaling 124 goals in 38 games and averaged 3.26 goals-per game.
Home Cookin'
Bowling Green will end their season in front of the Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, where they hold an 8-5-2 mark on their home ice. The Orange and Brown have outscored opponents this season at home by a 50-33 margin, averaging 3.3 GPG and giving up only 2.2 GPG to its opponents. The Falcons have also outscored its opponents on the power play by a 14-10 margin with two shorthanded goals at the BGSU Ice Arena. Bowling Green will enter the final weekend with a chance to have its best season at home since the 2008-09 season, where the Falcons went 10-9-2.
Finish Strong
Bowling Green enters the final weekend against Bemidji at 14-14-6 overall. With two games remaining on the schedule, the Falcons will have a chance to post the program's best record since the mid-1990s. The last time the Orange and Brown have finished above .500 was the 1996-97 season, when the Falcons went 17-16-5.
Cooper's Ice
Sophomore forward Mark Cooper will enter the final weekend leading the Falcons with 10 goals and 15 points in 15 home games, including his first collegiate hat trick against Minnesota State on Nov. 22, 2013. The forward from Toronto, Ontario, also owns a team-best plus-10 on-ice rating at the BGSU Ice Arena, 10 blocked shots and 48 shots on net.
Carpy Deuces
Junior forward Ryan Carpenter tallied a total of three points against Northern Michigan last weekend, giving him a total of five goals and four assists for nine points in 10 games this season. Carpenter has recorded at least one point in seven of the 10 games since playing for the first time against Alaska on Jan. 10 this year. The co-captain also has 26 shots on net, which is the second most (Berkle and Murphy 27 SOG) over the 10-game span. The forward also scored two goals against the Wildcats last weekend - one in each game - to hand him his first streak of at least two games with a goal.
More Carpenter
Ryan Carpenter's power-play goal at the 17:50 mark in the third period on Friday night against Northern Michigan gave the junior co-captain his 70th career point. Carpenter is the second Falcon to reach the 70-point plateau for the season, joining junior forward Dan DeSalvo on the current roster to have at least 70 career points.
Walker's Helpers
Rookie defenseman Sean Walker recorded two assists (one in each game) this past weekend against Northern Michigan. It is the second time this season that Walker has been on two-game point streak. The rookie from Keswick, Ontario, has totaled five of his eight assists over the last eight games. On the year, Walker has totaled one goal and eight assists for nine points in 33 games, including a plus-6 on-ice rating with 40 blocked shots.
Burke Buckles Down
Sophomore Tommy Burke carried the Falcons to victory on Saturday night, turning away 37-of-39 shots throughout the night. Burke posted two shutout periods, including stopping 15 shots in the third period to halt a furious all-out comeback attempt by the Wildcats to hang onto a 3-2 lead. On the year, Burke is 10-6-6 with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
More Burke
The sophomore netminder will enter the final weekend series at the BGSU Ice Arena with a 5-2-2 record in front of the Falcon faithful. Burke has totaled 215 saves between the pipes for a .919 save percentage at the BGSU Ice Arena. Some notable wins for Burke at the BGSU Ice Arena this season was against Ohio State (Oct. 15), Minnesota State (Nov. 22), and Alabama-Huntsville (first collegiate shutout) on Dec. 6.
Freshman Contribution
Freshman forwards Pierre-Luc Mercier and Kevin Dufour each tallied an assist during the Falcons' 3-2 victory over Northern Michigan n Saturday night (March 1). The assists for Mericer mark his first point in six games, with his last point being an assist against Lake Superior on Jan. 25. Meanwhile, Dufour has been hot lately, tallying three points over his last five games for a total of 6-6=12 on the year. In all, the two forwards have helped the freshman contribute 17 percent of the team's point total (19 goals and 27 assists) for the year.
Month of February
The hockey team ended the month of February with an overall record of 0-3-1. The Falcons posted a 5-3 record in February last season, and finished the second half of the season with a mark of 9-10. Â
Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â 3.00 G/GM (4th)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 2.71 G/GM (5th)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â 17.4% (5th)
Penalty Kill:Â Â Â Â 83.9% (4th)
Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Dan DeSalvo (27)
Goals: Mark Cooper (13)
Assists: Dan DeSalvo (21)
Shots: Bryce Williamson (101)
Penalties: Sean Walker (22 - 69:00)
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 Bemidji State
Head Coach: Tom Serratore (12th season)
2013-14 Overall Record: (10-17--7, 10-12-4)
Key Players
# Player                   GP    G    A    Pts.
13 Cory Ward             34    18   8     26
23 Markus Gerbrandt     34    13   9     22
7  Matt Prapavessis      34    5   17   22
28 Brendan Harms     34    6   11   17
16 Danny Mattson     33    3   14   17
11Â Graeme McCormack 34 Â Â 3 Â Â Â 13 Â Â 16Â Â Â Â Â
Key Goalies
#  Player                 GP    W-L-T    GAA    Sv%
30 Andrew Walsh        23      7-11-4   2.81     .912
35 Jesse Wilkins         11      3-5-3     2.27    .929
Michigan Tech Team Ranks (WCHA)
Scoring Offense:Â Â Â 2.50 G/GM (9th)
Scoring Defense:Â Â Â 2.85 G/GM (T-7th)
Power Play:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16.0% (8th)
Penalty Kill: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 87.2% (1st)
Head coach Chris Bergeron took some time on Tuesday afternoon (March 4) to meet with the media. His team is currently 14-14-6 overall, and 11-11-4 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The Orange and Brown will take on Bemidji State University at the BGSU Ice Arena this weekend in the final regular season series scheduled for the 2013-14 season. The Falcons will need to earn two points to clinch a playoff spot. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:07 p.m. on both nights. Below is a video of Bergeron's press conference.
