Battle Of Ranked Teams: No. 15 Falcons Head To No. 20 Michigan Tech

Friday, November 13

Houghton, Mich.

7:07 PM

Bowling Green State University

Michigan Tech

Battle Of Ranked Teams: No. 15 Falcons Head To No. 20 Michigan Tech

November 11, 2015 | Ice Hockey

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

#15 Bowling Green Falcons (4-2-3, 1-1-2 WCHA)
at
#20 Michigan Tech (5-3-0, 5-3-0 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Nov. 13 / 7:07 pm ET
LOCATION	Houghton, Mich. (Jack MacInnes Student Ice Arena)
RADIO	WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick)
LIVE STATS	Courtesy MichiganTechHuskies.com
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	BGSU \| Michigan Tech \| WCHA

#15 Bowling Green Falcons (4-2-3, 1-1-2 WCHA)
at
#20 Michigan Tech (5-3-0, 5-3-0 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Nov. 14 / 7:07 pm ET
LOCATION	Houghton, Mich. (Jack MacInnes Student Ice Arena)
RADIO	WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick)
LIVE STATS	Courtesy MichiganTechHuskies.com
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	BGSU \| Michigan Tech \| WCHA

On Tap
This weekend will be a battle of nationally ranked teams as No. 15 Bowling Green travels to Houghton, Mich. to face the No. 20 Michigan Tech Huskies. This will mark BGSU's first contests against Michigan Tech since falling to the Huskies on March 20 in last season's WCHA Final Five. The games are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, with face-off at 7:07 pm on both nights. The Huskies enter the polls following a sweep of a two-game series at Alabama Huntsville last weekend.

About Michigan Tech
Michigan Tech has begun the 2015-16 season with five wins in its first eight games, all against WCHA foes. The Huskies split three weekend series in October, two against Ferris State and a home-and-home series with Northern Michigan. They began November with a road sweep against Alabama-Huntsville, winning 4-2 and 2-1. MTU ranks 16th nationally in scoring defense with 2.38 goals allowed per game. Sophomore forward Joel L'Esperance is the team's leading scorer with four goals. Sophomore defenseman Mark Auk leads in assists and points with six. Head coach Mel Pearson is in his fifth season and owns a 77-71-17 overall record (57-48-15 in the WCHA).

The All-Time Series
This weekend's pair of games will be the 22nd and 23rd all-time meetings for BGSU and Michigan Tech. In a series that dates back to Nov. 1972, The Huskies lead 11-8-2. The Falcons have faced Michigan Tech nine times during the past two seasons with a 4-4-1 mark in those games. In Houghton, Mich., BGSU is 2-1-1 since 2013, including a split last January (4-3 MTU, 3-2 BGSU). The most recent meeting was on March 20 in the WCHA Final Five, in which MTU won 5-2.

Against Ranked Teams
A year ago, Bowling Green played 11 games against ranked opponents, going 5-4-2 in those contests. In fact, the Falcons split two games at then-No. 11 Michigan Tech last year and was 3-2-1 against ranked teams in true road contests.

In The Polls
After two ties with Lake Superior State, Bowling Green fell one spot in the USCHO.com poll to No. 15 nationally. In the USA Today/US Hockey Magazine poll, the Falcons dropped out of the top 15 poll into others receiving votes. The Falcons have been ranked in the USCHO.com poll for each of the first six weeks of the season, while the team earned a ranking for four straight weeks in the USA Today/US Hockey Magazine top 15 before this week.

The PairWise
The PairWise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method of selection for the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament. It compares all teams by these criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, and the RPI. Bowling Green fell six spots to No. 25 in the PairWise this week. A year ago, BGSU ended the year No. 16 in the PairWise with each of the top 15 teams earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

What They Said
"Michigan Tech is a really good team. They are a team that we are developing a good rivalry with. They are trying to find their identity, but they are really good at home and they have a bunch of good players. These two teams are going to battle hard and it will be a matter of who executes best." -- BGSU Head Coach Chris Bergeron

Starting Strong (Again)
For the third consecutive season, the Falcons have completed the first nine games of the season with only two losses. BGSU began the 2014-15 season with a 6-2-1 record, while the 2013-14 team earned a 5-2-2 mark through nine games.

Century Men
Redshirt senior Dajon Mingo played in his 100th career game on Oct. 9 against Ohio State. He has now played in 105 career games and joins classmates Ben Murphy (126 games) and Mark Cooper (123 games) as the three current Falcons who have 100+ games of collegiate experience. Five other Falcons have played in at least 80 career games.

Passing A Hall Of Famer
Head coach Chris Bergeron owns 84 wins in his six-year career at Bowling Green. With BGSU's 2-0 win on Nov. 1, Bergeron tied BGSU Athletics Hall of Famer Scott Paluch for fourth place on the all-time coaching wins list as a Falcon. He now trails only Buddy Powers (135 wins), Ron Mason (160) and Jerry York (342). Bergeron is 45-28-14 since the start of the 2013-14 season.

Fantastic Freshmen
Four Falcon freshmen have notched their first career points this year, while all six have seen their first collegiate action. John Schilling leads the group with four points (two goals and two assists). Chris Pohlkamp scored his first collegiate goal against Alaska Anchorage and now has two points. Forward Shane Bednard and defenseman Connor McDonald have recorded one assist each. Forward Joe McKeown saw his first collegiate action in a 4-2 win at Canisius. Stephen Baylis played his first two career games against Lake Superior State.

Nell And Void
Sophomore goalie Chris Nell started both ends of a weekend series for the first time in his career against Lake Superior State. He allowed only one goal in both games and now ranks second nationally in save percentage (.960) as well as third in goals against average (1.07). With over 1,000 career minutes, Nell now qualifies as BGSU's all-time leader in both categories. He has recorded two shutouts among his six starts (2-1-3) this season. In just 18 career starts, Nell has earned five shutouts and is in sole possession of third place on the all-time BGSU shutouts list. He needs only two more to match the school record of seven, held jointly by Tyler Masters (1999-03) and Andrew Hammond (2010-13).

The Burke Wall
In a 4-2 win at Canisius, senior goalie Tommy Burke recorded his 35th career victory to move past Jordan Sigalet (2001-04) for sole possession of 10th place all-time on the BGSU goalie leaderboard. He is two wins shy of Al Sarachman (1973-77) for ninth. Gary Kruzich (1983-87) is the all-time Falcon goalie leader with 88 career wins. Burke is 2-0-0 during the 2015-16 season.

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, who took the Ottawa Senators on a wild ride a year ago, has now made 26 career starts (as of Nov. 11, 2015) with just one career loss. 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.

Home Ice
BGSU is unbeaten in its last seven games at the BGSU Ice Arena with a record of 1-0-2 this year. Over the past 17 contests at the Madhouse on Mercer, Bowling Green is 11-3-3. The Falcons have thrived defensively at home, allowing no more than two goals in any of the last seven contests in Bowling Green.

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 4-2-3, the Falcons are off to a strong start in an effort to earn back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1994-95 and 1995-96.

Mr. October Turns It On In November
Junior Kevin Dufour is off to a quick start for the second consecutive year. A year ago, Dufour scored a goal in each of the first six games of the season and posted eight of his 13 goals in the month of October. This year, he scored four times in six October games. But Dufour carried the hot streak into November this year, posting a power play goal in the second period of the team's 2-0 win over Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 1. He also scored BGSU's only goal in the 1-1 tie Friday against Lake Superior State, giving him two more goals in three contests this month.

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.

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 3-2-1 on the road in 2015-16 and will be in Houghton, Mich. this weekend before returning home for three straight weeks.

#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 and has an average home attendance of 2,958 through the first three games.

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.

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.

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).

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.

WCHA.TV
In partnership with industry leader Stretch Internet, WCHA.tv will allow fans to watch all 10 league teams and up to 196 games during the 2015-16 season on just about any device – computer, tablet, phone and many Smart TVs – with a responsive experience customized for that particular medium. High-quality HD streams, when available from the originating arena, will be viewable in multiple screen layout options (including picture-in-picture, multi-view format to watch up to four games simultaneously and full-screen video). For more information, visit WCHA.tv.

The Bergeron Factor
BGSU Head Coach Chris Bergeron arrived in Bowling Green in 2010-11 and the Falcons won 10 games in his first season at the helm, doubling the team's win total over the previous season. The next year, Bowling Green climbed to 14 wins and then added another win on top of that in 2012-13. During the 2013-14 season, the Falcons improved their win total for the fourth straight season with an 18-victory campaign and BGSU posted 23 wins a year ago. It is the first time in program history that the team has improved its win total in five consecutive seasons.

Baylis Makes Debut
A freshman forward from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Stephen Baylis was named the Bemidji Pioneer WCHA Preseason Newcomer of the Year. He received five votes and edged Ferris State's Corey Mackin, who received four. Due to NCAA eligibility issues, Baylis missed the first seven games of the regular season but finally made his debut this past weekend against Lake Superior State. While he was held without a point, he was a factor in both games, taking five shots during the weekend. 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.

Coming Soon
Bowling Green commit Ryan Bednard was selected in the 2015 National Hockey League Draft. Bednard, a goalie from Macomb, Mich., was picked in the seventh round by the Florida Panthers. He was the 206th overall selection. This marks the second consecutive year in which a BGSU player was drafted by an NHL team, as Mark Friedman went to the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round during the 2014 draft. BGSU had not featured draftees in consecutive seasons since a four-year stretch from 2004-2007. Bednard was a goalie with the NAHL's Johnstown Tomahawks last season and earned a 16-16-5 record with a 2.66 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.

Live Stats
Live stats for all BGSU home games are available on the BGSU website at BGSUFalcons.com. Navigate to the hockey schedule for links to all available ways to follow the action.