Bowling Green State University Athletics
Tuesday, October 13
Kalamazoo, Mich.
7:00 PM
Bowling Green State University
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Western Michigan
Falcons Carry Top Ten Ranking On The Road For Three Games
October 12, 2015 | Ice Hockey
#10 Bowling Green Falcons (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA)
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Western Michigan Broncos (1-0-1, 0-0-0 NCHC)
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Western Michigan Broncos (1-0-1, 0-0-0 NCHC)
| GAME INFORMATION | Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7:00 pm |
| LOCATION | Kalamazoo, Mich. (Lawson Ice Arena) |
| RADIO | WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick) |
| LIVE STATS | WMUBroncos.com |
| WATCH ONLINE | NCHC.tv |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | BGSU | Western Michigan | WCHA | NCHC |
#10 Bowling Green Falcons (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA)
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Canisius Golden Griffins (0-1-0, 0-0-0 AH)
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Canisius Golden Griffins (0-1-0, 0-0-0 AH)
| GAME INFORMATION | Friday, Oct. 16, 7:35 pm |
| LOCATION | Buffalo, N.Y. (HARBORCENTER) |
| RADIO | WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick) |
| LIVE STATS | GoGriffs.com |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | BGSU | Canisius | WCHA | Atlantic Hockey |
| GAMEDAY CENTRAL | BGSUFalcons.com |
#10 Bowling Green Falcons (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA)
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RIT Tigers (0-2-0, 0-0-0 AH)
| GAME INFORMATION | Saturday, Oct. 17, 7:05 pm |
| LOCATION | Rochester, N.Y. (Blue Cross Arena) |
| RADIO | WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick) |
| LIVE STATS | RITAthletics.com |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | BGSU | RIT | WCHA | Atlantic Hockey |
On Tap
Bowling Green, ranked No. 10 in the country, plays three games this week in three arenas to conclude a five-game-in-eight-day stretch to open the season. In all, the Falcons will play those five contests in five different arenas. After sweeping Ohio State to open the season, the 2-0 Falcons will play at 1-0-1 Western Michigan Tuesday night at 7 pm in a battle of traditional Mid-American Conference rivals and former Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) foes. BGSU will then head to New York for weekend games at Canisius and at RIT (played in Blue Cross Arena in Rochester).
About Western Michigan
Western Michigan began their 2015-16 season with a home-and-home series against Ferris State. The Broncos went 1-0-1 for the weekend, as they took the season opener at home before traveling to Big Rapids, Mich., where they skated to a 1-1 tie. In the 3-2 victory, WMU came back from a 2-1 deficit, and freshman Griffen Molino's first career goal was the game-winner. Chris Dienes and Kyle Novak each notched a pair of points. Goalie Colin Olson stopped 31 of 33 shots, including all 15 in the third period. Novak scored the Broncos' only goal during the 1-1 tie for his third point of the weekend. Senior Lukas Hafner saved 39 of 40 shots. The Broncos are led by fifth-year head coach Andy Murray and skated to a 14-18-5 record during the 2014-15 season.
About Canisius
Canisius College dropped their season opener on Saturday night to Penn State. In the 6-1 loss, the Golden Griffins fell behind 3-0 in the first period and 5-0 overall before finally scoring a Ralph Cuddemi power play goal in the third. Shane Conacher and Dylan McLaughlin earned points with assists on the play. McLaughlin's point was the first of his career. Sophomore goalie Reilly Turner stopped 39 shots and faced 45 overall. Canisius head coach Dave Smith is in his 11th season with the team, who went 18-12-7 and reached the Atlantic Hockey semifinals last season.
About RIT
RIT began the 2015-16 season with a pair of road contests last weekend. The Tigers were defeated in both, 6-0 against Clarkson and 5-1 versus St. Lawrence. Against Clarkson, RIT gave up a pair of first period power play goals, then were victims of four more goals including another on a power play, in the third. The Tigers fell behind St. Lawrence 3-0 before finally lighting the lamp for the first time on a Garrett McMullen goal, which was assisted by Caleb Cameron and Abbott Girduckis. Junior goalie Mike Rotolo started both games and gave up 11 goals in 75 shots. The Tigers' head coach, Wayne Wilson, is in his 17th year at RIT. Last year, he led his team to a 20-15-5 record, the Atlantic Hockey championship and a victory over Minnesota State in the NCAA Tournament.
The RIT Connection
RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson is a double graduate of Bowling Green State University (1984 and 1987) and member of the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame as a player on the 1984 NCAA Division I National Championship team. He also led the Falcons to three NCAA Tournament appearances as an assistant coach. Associate Head Coach Brian Hills is also a BGSU graduate.
The All-Time Series
In Western Michigan, Bowling Green faces an opponent the Falcons formerly played on a yearly basis as members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, but this will be the two teams' first match-up since the league dissolved. BGSU is 71-55-7 all-time against the Broncos. In 2012-13, WMU went 2-1-1 in four games, including two wins in Kalamazoo. In fact, the Falcons are 0-5-1 at Western Michigan in Chris Bergeron's tenure and have come away without a win in eight straight Kalamazoo meetings. BGSU is 7-0-1 all-time against the two weekend opponents (3-0-1 against Canisius and 4-0 against RIT). In 2012-13, then-freshmen Ben Murphy, Dajon Mingo and Brent Tate all scored goals in a 1-0-1 weekend at Canisius, while then-freshman Tommy Burke manned the goal for a 3-2 victory.
What They Are Saying
"They are a very difficult team to play against. They play extremely hard and they are big. Their top guys are really skilled up front. We have to execute at a high level and we have to be ready to go at the drop of the puck." Chris Bergeron on Western Michigan
Swept Aside
Bowling Green opened the season with a series sweep of Ohio State Friday and Saturday. Thirteen different Falcons posted at least one point on the weekend and all six Friday goals were scored by different players in a 6-3 win. BGSU had to earn the victory in different fashion Saturday as sophomore goalie Chris Nell turned aside 25 shots in a 2-0 shutout. It was Bowling Green's first weekend sweep of Ohio State since the 2005-06 season.
Vaulting Up The Polls
BGSU took a big leap up the USCHO.com poll Monday, climbing six spots to No. 10, rising to the top of three ranked WCHA teams. Minnesota State is ranked No. 14 and Michigan Tech is at No. 16. Traditional rival Miami is No. 18 and four other schools that the Falcons will face are earning votes -- Bemidji State (60 votes), Clarkson (24 votes), Northern Michigan (six votes) and Ferris State (three votes).
Starting Strong
BGSU is off to a 2-0 start for the first time in 11 years, since the 2004-05 team opened the year with 5-1 and 1-0 wins at Union. It is the 12th time in program history that the program has been unbeaten and untied after two games. The longest win streak to start a season came when the 1976-77 team went 7-0 and only eight other teams, most recently the 1996-97 squad, have begun a season 3-0 or better.
Century Men
Redshirt senior Dajon Mingo played in his 100th career game Saturday against Ohio State. He joins classmates Ben Murphy (119 games) and Mark Cooper (116 games) as three current Falcons who have 100+ games of collegiate experience.
Passing A Hall Of Famer
Head coach Chris Bergeron has 82 wins in his six-year career at Bowling Green, just two shy of tying BGSU Athletics Hall of Famer Scott Paluch for fourth place on the all-time coaching wins list as a Falcon. Buddy Powers is third with 135 wins, trailing only Ron Mason (160 wins) and Jerry York (342 wins). Bergeron is 43-26-11 since the start of the 2013-14 season.
Setting The Tone
Bowling Green started the 2015-16 season with an impressive six-goal outing on Friday. That was the Falcons' most in a season opener since posting nine against Waterloo in 1997. They added two more goals on Saturday for a weekend total of eight. That is the most goals scored in the season's first two games for BGSU since also scoring eight in games against Merrimack (2) and Boston College (6) to open the 2005-06 season.
Frosh Scoring Points
Freshman forward John Schilling began his career at BGSU on a high note with a goal and an assist during the opening weekend sweep of Ohio State. Schilling's two points in two games place him in a tie for 11th place among all rookies with a 1.0 points-per-game average. Forward Shane Bednard and defenseman Chris Pohlkamp both also scored a point during their debut series, as each notched an assist against OSU.
Special Teams
Bowling Green's ability to deny power play goals to their opponents was one of team's best features during the 2014-15 season. Their penalty kill percentage of 89.8% ranked second in the country. Through two games of the 2015-16 schedule, the Falcons have picked up right where they left off. Against Ohio State, BGSU killed 88.9% (8-for-9) of OSU's power play opportunities. Even though they went 0-for-5 on their own power plays, the Falcons' 57.1% success rate on special teams is currently 14th best.
Undefeated And Untied
BGSU is one of seven teams in the country to start the season 2-0-0, and they are doing it with style. It is early, but their four-goals-per-game pace on offense ranks 11th in the country, while their scoring defense (1.5/game) and victory margin (2.5/game) are both among the nation's top ten.
The Puck Stops Here
BGSU's returning goaltending group is among the best in team history, and that proved to be the case during the opening weekend of play. Tomas Sholl went 3-1 last season with a 2.58 goals against average and a .909 save percentage, while Chris Nell posted a 6-4-2 record with a .917 save percentage and a 2.32 GAA. Nell turned in an outstanding effort Saturday, recording 25 saves for his fourth career shutout. The primary starter, Tommy Burke, won 14 games, allowed a BGSU record-low 2.18 goals per contest and saved shots at a .920 clip. Burke opened the season with 27 saves in a 6-3 win at Ohio State to open the season Friday. Burke's career GAA is 2.38 and is the best in BGSU history with a minimum of 1,000 minutes played. He's also third on the all-time BGSU list with a .910 save percentage. Together, the trio allowed just 2.38 goals per game last season, which ranked 21st in the country and was a big improvement over the 2.62 mark from the previous year. This year, the defense has allowed only 1.50 goals per game, which ranks 10th in the nation after the opening weekend.
The Burke Wall
Senior goalie Tommy Burke earned his 34th career victory Friday night in a 6-3 win over Ohio State, tying Jordan Sigalet (2001-04) for 10th all-time on the BGSU goalie leaderboard. Sitting in ninth is Al Sarachman (1973-77) with 37 wins. Gary Kruzich (1983-87) is the all-time Falcon goalie leader with 88 career wins.
Shutting Them Down
Chris Nell's 2-0 shutout of Ohio State in Bowling Green's 2015-16 home opener was a rarity for the Falcons. In fact, Nell's masterpiece came one day shy of the 19th anniversary of the last BGSU shutout in a season's home debut. The Falcons last blanked an opponent in their first home game on Oct. 11, 1996, when they blasted Toronto, 9-0. Nell now owns four career shutouts among seven career victories. The sophomore from Green Bay, Wisc. is now in a five-way tie for third place on the all-time BGSU shutouts list. He joins Jordan Sigalet, Al Sarachman, Mike Liut and Terry Miskolczi in that tie, and he needs just three more to reach the school record, set by Tyler Masters (1999-03) and Andrew Hammond (2010-13).
The Preseason Is The Right Season
After ending the 2014-15 season ranked No. 18 in the country in the USCHO.com poll, the Falcons ticked up a couple of spots to No. 16 in this year's preseason poll with 316 total votes. It is the first time BGSU has earned a ranking in the existence of the USCHO.com preseason poll, which started in the 1997-98 season. The Falcons did earn votes (but not enough to be ranked) in the USCHO.com preseason polls in 2014 (11 votes), 2013 (4 votes), 2008 (3 votes), 2005 (1 vote), 2004 (1 vote), 1999 (1 vote) and 1997 (3 votes). BGSU is one of three teams from the WCHA in the poll as Minnesota State begins the year ranked sixth and Michigan Tech is 15th. Three other WCHA teams (Alaska, Bemidji State and Ferris State) received votes.
The NHL Calls
Bowling Green has two active alumni in the NHL, as well as one head coach. Defenseman Kevin Bieksa is a regular in the Anaheim Ducks lineup, while goalie Andrew Hammond took the Ottawa Senators on a wild ride a year ago but is currently on the injured list. Buffalo Sabres' first year head coach Dan Bylsma was just inducted in the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 9 and is a Stanley Cup winner in Pittsburgh as well as having coached the 2014 US Winter Olympic team.
Rising Towards The Top
BGSU is widely considered to be one of the top teams in the WCHA for the 2015-16 season, and that belief is reflected in both the coaches' and media preseason polls, which were released on Sept. 21. The Falcons were ranked second in the Mankato Free Press Coaches' Poll and received one first-place vote. They received 79 points, just ten behind preseason championship favorite Minnesota State. In the Bemidji Pioneer Media Poll, Bowling Green was picked to finish third. Eight of 29 voters ranked the Falcons first, and they totaled 250 points. Michigan Tech was voted second with 263, while Minnesota State again received the top position with 265.
Preseason All-WCHA
Several Bowling Green players received votes for the coaches' and media preseason All-WCHA teams. Sophomore forward Brandon Hawkins and sophomore defenseman Mark Friedman received votes for both teams, while junior defenseman Sean Walker earned votes for the media's All-WCHA team. Hawkins and Friedman were on last season's WCHA All-Rookie Team. Hawkins led the Falcons with 16 goals and 30 points and ranked in the top 10 overall and first among freshman in WCHA scoring. Friedman had a +7 on-ice rating, and he placed seventh in points among WCHA freshmen and defensemen. Hawkins won BGSU's Jim Ruehl Best Defensive Player award. He posted a +10 on-ice rating and earned 20 points in 39 games.
Seeing 20-20
With 23 wins during the 2014-15 season, Bowling Green posted the 19th 20-win season in program history, a mark with includes five 30-win seasons. It is the first time the team won 20 games since the 1995-96 campaign. At 2-0-0, the Falcons are off to a strong start in a build to earn back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Offensive Fireworks
Despite losing important pieces from last year's team such as Adam Berkle and Dan DeSalvo, the Falcons return a vast majority of their offensive firepower for this season. All four players (Brandon Hawkins, Ben Murphy, Mitchell McClain and Kevin Dufour) who scored at least 10 goals during the 2014-15 season are back. The top four and 11 of the top 14 players on the points list are also back. All told, BGSU returns 17 of the 23 players who scored at least one point last season, and they account for 75.8% of all points earned. Of the 119 goals scored during the 2014-15 season, players who scored 103 of those (86.6%) will compete for this year's team.
"Potent"ial Offense
With players returning who scored 103 goals a year ago, Bowling Green figures to have one of the most veteran offenses in the country. In fact, only three other teams return more offense from a year ago -- UMass Lowell (117 goals), Minnesota State (107 goals), and Harvard (106 goals). In total, the 86.6 percent of returning offense ranks seventh in the country behind Nebraska Omaha (91.4 percent), Holy Cross (89.3 percent), Merrimack (88.9 percent), Quinnipiac (88.7 percent), Harvard (87.6 percent) and UMass Lowell (87.3 percent).
Road Warriors
BGSU went 11-6-4 away from the BGSU Ice Arena in 2014-15. The team had not won more than 11 games away from home since the 1987-88 team posted 16 victories. The Falcons are already 1-0-0 on the road in 2015-16 with three games away from the BGSU Ice Arena this week.
Here For The Long Haul
Bowling Green head coach Chris Bergeron signed a five-year contract extension following the 2014-15 season that will keep him at the helm of the Falcons through the 2022-23 season. Bergeron, who is in his sixth season at BGSU, has compiled 80 wins through his first five seasons and has led the Falcons to a win total increase in each of those campaigns. That five-year run of improved win totals is a first in team history. The Falcons' 23 wins in 2014-15 were the most for BGSU in 19 years, since they won 26 in 1995-96. Bergeron has also led the Falcons to at least one best-of-three postseason series victory in each of the last five seasons. BGSU is the only program in the country to accomplish this feat.
#MadhouseOnMercer
With increased success, the BGSU Ice Arena has seen more and more fans line up for BG hockey games. A year ago, Bowling Green played in front of crowds exceeding 3,000 fans four times and the program averaged 2,601 fans per game, an increase of almost 600 per game over the 2,022 in 2013-14. This year, BGSU had 3,022 fans for the home opener against Ohio State.
Crossing A Hawk With A Falcon
Brandon Hawkins recorded one of the best seasons of any freshman across the NCAA during the 2014-2015 season. He ranked third among Division I freshmen with a 0.41 goals per game average and was ninth against his fellow rookies with 0.77 points per game. In the WCHA, he led all freshmen in both points (30) and goals (16). He tied for fourth in the WCHA with four game-winning goals, and he put two shots in the net during the 4-1 win over Northern Michigan that clinched BGSU's spot in the WCHA Final Five. Hawkins' play earned him a spot on the WCHA All-Rookie Team, as well as BGSU's co-Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards.
The Falcon Flyer
Whereas Brandon Hawkins was BGSU's leader on offense as a freshman, Mark Friedman played a similarly large role on defense during his rookie season. Friedman tied for the team lead with 17 assists. His 19 points were tied for seventh in the WCHA among both defensemen and freshmen, and he added a +7 on-ice rating and a BGSU-best 64 blocked shots. His efforts earned co-Rookie of the Year status with Hawkins, as well as a spot on the WCHA All-Rookie team. Friedman began his BGSU career after being selected in the third round (86th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2014 National Hockey League draft.
Ohio's Hockey Town
Wallethub.com has named Bowling Green the top hockey city in Ohio and 18th out of 74 cities nationally that host either an NHL or NCAA Division I team. The rankings were a combination of several factors, including team performance, ticket prices, arena accessibility and friendliness/engagement of the fans. Each area was weighted differently, and some were comprised of a three-year average. "The Madhouse on Mercer" housed an average of 2,601 fans per game during the 2014-15 season. A total of 5,353 fans broke the BGSU Ice Arena attendance record Nov. 14, 2014 when the Falcons hosted Ohio State.
The Captain And His Assistants
Bowling Green has named its captain and assistant captains for the 2015-2016 season. Junior defenseman Sean Walker will serve as the Falcons' captain, while senior forwards Mark Cooper and Brent Tate will compete as the team's assistant captains. Both Cooper and Tate are in the role for the second consecutive season. The trio provided 51 points for the Falcons during the 2014-2015 season. They scored 20 goals and combined for a +11 on-ice rating. During BGSU's three-game postseason run, the three posted three goals and totaled eight points as the Falcons won a best-of-three playoff series for the fifth consecutive year.
First Take With Stephen Baylis
While Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless have one of the most popular sports talk shows on television in "First Take", those two can only dream of having the potential of namesake Stephen Baylis. A freshman forward from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Baylis has been named the Bemidji Pioneer WCHA Preseason Newcomer of the Year. He received five votes and edged Ferris State's Corey Mackin, who received four. Baylis is the reigning regular season Most Valuable Player for the CCHL, where he played for the Carleton Place Canadians. In 54 games, he scored 32 goals and provided 37 assists. He added seven goals and 15 assists in 15 playoff games. Since the 2010-11 season, he has scored 185 points for Carleton Place in 214 games. Baylis also received two votes for the Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year award.
Taking Over Toledo
The BGSU hockey team has once again partnered with the ECHL's Toledo Walleye to feature the Falcons at Toledo's Huntington Center. This year, the Falcons will host the Western Michigan Broncos on Dec. 30 at 5:00 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Walleye. BGSU last skated in the Huntington Center during the 2009-10 season against Michigan. The Falcons also played in Toledo last season, when they earned a 2-2 tie against No. 19 Robert Morris in the program's first outdoor game, at the Walleye's Winterfest. Tickets can be purchased online at BGSUFalcons.com/tickets or through ToledoWalleye.com, by phone at 877-BGSU-TICKET, or in person at the BGSU Ticket Office, located in the Stroh Center.
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 and WBGUFM.com.
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