6th-Ranked Falcons Set To Host Lake Superior State In a WCHA Clash

Friday, January 23

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

Lake Superior State

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

6th-Ranked Falcons Set To Host Lake Superior State In a WCHA Clash

January 21, 2015 | Ice Hockey

The Falcons will hold its annual fan-favorite Teddy Bear Toss Friday night.

By: by BGSU Athletic Communications

No. 6/6 BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS

Back on the ice: Duke Pieper's road back to health

On Tap
The Falcons will continue its second-half league schedule, playing host to Lake Superior State at the BGSU Ice Arena. BGSU enters the weekend with a 5-2-2 record in front of the Falcon faithful, and is unbeaten at home since Nov. 14, 2014 (3-2 vs. Ohio State). The Lakers, meanwhile, will enter the weekend coming off its first sweep of the season, coming at the hands of Bemidji State in WCHA play. Lake Superior beat the Falcons three out of four times in 2013-14, and is 3-2-0 over the last five meetings against BGSU.

The Series fv
Bowling Green will enter the weekend holding a 78-70-10 all-time lead in the head-to-head series with Lake Superior State in 168 meetings against each other, dating back to 1970. The two teams battled for the first time in programs' history on Dec. 12, 1970, with the Lakers taking a 4-3 decision. LSSU have won three of the past four meetings against BGSU, including a sweep over the Orange and Brown in the Upper Peninsula last season. However, BGSU holds a 44-25-4 record all-time at the BGSU Ice Arena –where the two teams will be playing this weekend. In fact, in result, the Falcons have outscored the Lakers by a 606-571 margin all-time.

The Last Time Out
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Lake Superior State University on Saturday night (Jan. 25, 2014), by a score of 6-2, in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association affair. Playing in front of 2,693 Falcon faithful at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Falcons had four different skaters tally goals, while freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl turned away 25-of-26 shots on the night. The Orange and Brown received two goals from Mark Cooper and Adam Berkle, while Ben Murphy and Matt Pohlkamp each tallied one goal in the winning effort. Bowling Green went 1-for-3 on the power play, while going a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. For the game, the Falcons score at least one goal in each period, and outshot the Lakers by a 42-27 margin.

Rising In The Polls
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team will enter the week ranked 6th in the USCHO poll, earning a top 10 spot in the rankings for the second time this season. The Falcons earned a No. 19 slot on November 10 and has not dropped since entering the top 20 in what has been their first national ranking since 2007. In fact, the Falcons have increased its points total for 13 straight weeks. BGSU is one of three Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHA) teams that earned a spot in the Top 20, as Minnesota State (1) claimed the top spot for the second consecutive week and Michigan Tech (10) secured spots in the top 10.

USA Today /USA Hockey Magazine
The Falcons will enter the week ranked No. 6 in the nation, according to the USA Today/ USA Magazine poll, improving in the polls for the third week in a row. The Orange and Brow join Minnesota State (1) and Michigan Tech (10) as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) representatives.

Highest Ranking EVER
#FalconHockey's 14-4-4 start marks the best start to a season since 1994-95. However, that's not the only historic fact coming away with their tremendous start. Bowling Green jumped to No.7 in the USCHO.com poll last week, marking the highest ranking for the Orange and Brown since the poll began in 1997.It's the seventh time since November 10 the Falcons have jumped at least one spot in the poll, beginning at No. 19 all the way to No. 7 this week.

800 More
With #FalconHockey's steady improvement over the course of the season, the BGSU Ice Arena has seen an increase in the bleachers at home games. Attendance is up near 800 per game this season compared to last season. The most memorable crowd this season, and now in program's history, was a record-breaking attendance of 5,353 vs. Ohio State on November 14.

14 Wins
After the Falcons earned a hard-fought split with then-No. 11 Michigan Tech last weekend, the Orange and Brown improved to 14-4-4 overall on the season. With another successful WCHA weekend in the books, the Falcons reached 14 wins in their first 21 games. The last time Bowling Green won 14 of its first 21 games was back in 1994-95

Speaking of Winning
The Falcons, like stated in previous notes above, have been doing a lot of winning lately. That 14-4-4 record proves to be the best start to a season since the 1994-95 season when the Falcons won 15 of its first 21 games. Additionally, the 14-4-4 start this season gives the Orange and Brown a .727 winning percentage, which proves to be the fifth-best winning percentage in the nation.

Falcons On The PK
The Falcons continue to play the spoiler role on the power play, killing off 9-for-10 Huskie opportunities over last weekend. The Orange and Brown have gone 31-for-32 on the PK since allowing a power play goal to Northern Michigan on December 5, boosting to the nation's top penalty kill unit at 93.3 percent. That top penalty kill unit was put to the test in Saturday night's 3-2 victory over MTU, killing off a five-minute major interference call over the final 3:15 in the third period to secure two points in league standings.

Special Teams Shining
The Falcons have played well on the penalty kill this season, going 83/89 (93.3%) on the season. Additionally, the Orange and Brown have gone 15-for-88 (17%) on the power play in 22 games this season. Mitch McLain's power play goal –which marked his first PPG of the season—against Michigan Tech Friday night marked BGSU's second PPG in back-to-back weekends. In all, Bowling Green is 98/177 (55.4%) on special teams, which ranks third in the nation for combined special teams.

Offensive-Minded Falcons
The Falcons enter the week as one of the best offensive teams in the WCHA, scoring 3.27 goals in 22 games—ranking second in the league behind only Minnesota State's 3.74 average. However, the Falcons are also in the top 10 nationally in scoring margin, ranking ninth with a 1.09 scoring margin to its opponents.

Burke's Barn
Junior netminder Tommy Burke once again proved to be too much for Michigan Tech at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The junior from Chaska, Minnesota, has a career record of 2-0-1 in Houghton, Michigan after making 38 saves against the Huskies last Saturday night, helping the Falcons earn a 3-2 triumph for a weekend split. Last season, Burke turned in back-to-back performances of 39 and 43 saves, each breaking a career record for most saves in a single game for the goaltender. Overall, Burke is 5-2-3 on the season with a 2.31 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage.

Friedman Heating Up
The freshman defenseman, who hails from Toronto, Ontario, totaled an assist in each game over the weekend against Michigan Tech. Friedman, who was selected in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft, has totaled one point in eight of the last nine games to boost his points-per-game average to .50 on the season. The Falcons are 6-1-1 when Friedman tallies an assist, and a 7-1-1 record when Friedman posts a positive on-ice rating.

Hawkins' late success
The freshman winger, who hails from Macomb, Michigan, tallied goals in back-to-back games against Michigan Tech in last weekend's WCHA clash. Hawkins' two goals boosted his total to nine goals in 22 games –which ranks second on the team. His line of 9-7-16 ranks first in an impressive freshmen class and ranks second in points on the season. The freshman has recorded three goals over his last five games, and averages 0.73 PPG this season. In fact, the Falcons are 6-1-1 when the winger lights the lamp.

Getting On The Board
Connor Kucera, who entered the weekend with five career goals, lit-the-lamp for the first time this season with a goal in the second period at the 7:29 mark at even strength. Not only did Kucera tally a goal, the senior defenseman recorded an assists – giving the Twin Lakes native a three-point weekend for the Falcons. Kucera was a plus-3 on the ice for the weekend, and the Falcons improved to 3-0-1 when the senior records a positive rating.

Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:    3.27 G/GM (2nd)
Scoring Defense: 2.18 G/GM (5th)
Power Play:  15/88 (17%)
Penalty Kill:  83/89 (93%)

Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Matt Pohlkamp (17)
Goals: Kevin Dufour (10)
Assists: Pierre-Luc Mercier (12)
Shots: Brandon Hawkins (69)
Penalties: Mark Friedman (51:00)

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".