11th-Ranked BGSU Welcomes Alaska To Town For A WCHA Showdown

Friday, January 9

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

Alaska

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

January 07, 2015 | Ice Hockey

The Falcons, who enter the weekend ranked No. 11 in the country, will play host to Alaska in a two-game WCHA weekend slate at the BGSU Ice Arena.

By: by Jake Dorow, Athletic Communications

The Last Time
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated the University of Alaska on Saturday (Nov. 8) night, earning a Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) weekend series sweep with a 3-2 triumph over the Nanooks. Playing in front of 2,578 fans at the Carlson Center, Bowling Green got goals from Ben Murphy , Matt Pohlkamp and Mark Cooper , while Tommy Burke (3-1-1) turned away 36-of-38 shots on the night.

About Alaska
The Alaska Nanook ice hockey program began in 1925, and re-joined the NCAA Division I level in 1985 with in-state rival Alaska-Anchorage. The Nanooks' 1985-86 season marked the return to the NCAA Division I level, going 17-7-1 overall and 6-5-1 in the GWHC. After a fallout with the GWHC, Alaska-Fairbanks returned to independent members of the NCAA before accepting an invitation to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) as an affiliate member for the 1993-94 season. Dallas Ferguson, current head coach for the Nanooks, took over at the helm and became the 25th head coach in program history in 2008. Ferguson lead the Nanook program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2010 before losing to Boston College in the first round. After realignment in college hockey, Alaska accepted an invitation to join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the 2013-14 season, followed by several other CCHA members.

The Series
Alaska holds a 26-25-6 all-time lead in the head-to-head series with Bowling Green in 57 meetings against each other. The two teams battled on the ice for the first time in programs' history on Dec. 27, 1987, with Bowling Green skating to a 6-4 win over the Nanooks. Bowling Green holds a 12-12-3 record all-time at the BGSU Ice Arena, while skating to a 12-14-3 all-time record at the Carlson Center. The Falcons swept the Nanooks earlier in the year in Fairbanks with identical 3-2 scores, marking the first time the Falcons swept UA in Fairbanks since 1995-96. Bowling Green has fared well against Alaska in recent history, going 3-0-2 against the Nanooks over their last five meetings.

The Last Tilt Played
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team defeated Robert Morris University on Sunday (Jan. 4) evening, scoring two goals over the final 20 minutes to propel the Falcons past the Colonials, 4-1. Playing at the 84 Lumber Arena at the Island Sports Center, the Falcons received goals from Kevin Dufour (10), Brandon Hawkins (7), Brent Tate (4) and Mark Friedman (2) in the winning effort. Bowling Green's Tomas Sholl (3-1-0) earned the start in the cage, turning away 34-of-35 shots in the victory. In a clash between two top-20 teams, the 13th-ranked Falcons (12-3-3) improved to 4-2-2 in non-conference action by taking the second game of the home-and-home series against 19^th-ranked Robert Morris (12-4-4) –wrapping up non-conference play for the 2014-15 season. The Falcons also improved to 11-2-3 since losing to Miami University on October 12, and 9-1-2 when leading after two periods.

National Spotlight
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team will enter the week ranked 11^th in the USCHO poll. The Falcons earned a No. 19 slot several weeks ago and have jumped eight spots to No. 11 since. The Falcons earned their first ranking in the poll since 2007. BGSU is one of three Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHA) teams that earned a spot in the Top 20, as Minnesota State (4) and Michigan Tech (8) secured spots in the top 10.

More National Spotlight
The Falcons, who have gone unbeaten at 5-0-2 over their last seven games, will enter the week ranked 14^th in the USA Today/USA Magazine poll. The Orange and Brown join Minnesota State (4) and Michigan Tech (8) as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) representatives.

Highest Ranking EVER
#FalconHockey's 12-3-3 start marks the best start to a season since 1995-96. However, that's not the only historic fact coming away with their tremendous start. Bowling Green jumped to No. 11 in the USCHO.com poll, marking the highest ranking for the Orange and Brown since the poll began in 1997.

Falcons On The PK
The Falcons have played well on special teams this season; ranking first in the penalty kill in the WCHA this season. The Orange and Brown has killed off 15-for-15 over their last three games, including an impressive 7-for-7 showing at the Winterfest outdoor game against then-19^th ranked Robert Morris University. Overall, BGSU is 66/71 (93%) on the season, which is ranked second in the nation.

How Special It Is
The Falcons have played well on the penalty kill this season, going 66-for-71 (93%) on the season. However, the Orange and Brown have gone 13-for-72 (18%) on the power play in 18 games this season. In all, BGSU is 79-for-143 (55.2) on special teams, which is 8th in the nation for combined special teams.

Unbeaten Falcons
The Orange and Brown's last loss came at the hands of Ohio State on November 15, giving the Falcons a 5-0-2 record since, which is tied for the nation's for the longest unbeaten streak – tied at the top with only Harvard's 7-0-0 unbeaten streak. During the stretch, Bowling Green has outscored its opponents by a 25-13 margin, including 5-1 on the power play and two shorthanded goals. The Falcons are averaging 3.6 GPG to 1.9 allowed, which is a +1.7 margin during the stretch.

Just Keep Winning
12-3-3 is where the Falcons sit after a successful 1-0-1 weekend against then-19^th ranked RMU, giving the falcons a .750 winning percentage – coming in fourth-best in the nation in winning percentage. The Orange and Brown currently sit in third place in league standings (8-1-1,17pts), behind only Minnesota State (23pts) and Michigan Tech (20pts) with two games at hand.

Nell's National Spotlight
Chris Nell, who played in his sixth tilt against then-19th ranked Robert Morris last weekend, moved to 5-0-1 during his steady play throughout the Falcons' first outdoor game in program's history at Winterfest in Toledo, Ohio. Nell logged all 60:00 minutes of action in the crease, earning enough minutes to qualify for national statistics. As of today, the freshman netminder is third nationally with a .945 save percentage. Nell is also fourth nationally with a 1.65 goals-against-average on the season in six starts.

#ChurchOfDufour Back On The Board
Kevin Dufour, who scored nine goals in his first eight games of the season, broke his scoreless streak with a goal in the first period at the 84 Lumber Arena. Dufour took a pass across the slot from freshman Nolan Valleau and slipped a wrister five-hole past Colonials netminder Dalton Izyk for his team-leading 10^th goal of the season.

The Captain Heating Up
Senior captain Dan DeSalvo has found his game as of late. Over the last seven games, the Rolling Meadows, Illinois native has recorded one point in five of those affairs. In fact, DeSalvo has recorded two points over his last three games, pushing his career point total to 91 over his time as a member of the Orange and Brown. Overall, DeSalvo has nine points (all assists) for an average of .53 APG.

Make History Now
The first "modern-era" collegiate hockey game was played on Oct. 6, 2001 when Michigan State and Michigan played in Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. By the end of the 2013-14 season, there was 26 NCAA Division I men's hockey games played outdoors. Bowling Green can now say they have been a part of this uprising tradition of outdoor games, playing at Fifth Third Field during Winterfest on Jan. 3, 2015 –marking the program's first outdoor game ever.

Bowling Green WCHA Ranks
Scoring Offense:    3.28 G/GM (2nd)
Scoring Defense: 2.11 G/GM (3rd)
Power Play:  13/72 (18%)
Penalty Kill:  66/71 (93%)

Bowling Green Leaders
Points: Matt Pohlkamp (14)
Goals: Kevin Dufour (10)
Assists: Pierre-Luc Mercier (10)
Shots: Brandon Hawkins (53)
Penalties: Mark Friedman (39:00)

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".