No. 8 Falcons Look To Lock Up WCHA Tourney Home Series This Weekend

Friday, February 13

Big Rapids, Mich.

7:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

Ferris State

Photo by: Ruben Kappler, BGSU Marketing & Communications

No. 8 Falcons Look To Lock Up WCHA Tourney Home Series This Weekend

February 11, 2015 | Ice Hockey

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

No. 8 BOWLING GREEN FALCONS
(17-6-5, 13-4-3 WCHA)
AT
FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS
(11-17-1, 8-12-0 WCHA)

Friday, Feb. 13 | 7:07 p.m. ET | Ewigleben Ice Arena
Radio:88.1 FM WBGU
Saturday, Feb. 14 | 7:07 p.m. ET | Ewigleben Ice Arena
Radio: 88.1 FM WBGU

GAME NOTES (.PDF) | Live Stats | Video (WCHA.TV)
Follow Along: @BGFalconHockey | @BGAthletics

Falcon Weekly With Chris Bergeron

Weekend Highlights

On Tap
Bowling Green and Ferris State square off for the second consecutive weekend as the two teams head to Michigan for a two-game set Friday and Saturday. BGSU earned a pair of one-goal, come-from-behind victories at the BGSU Ice Arena this past weekend over the defending Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season champions. The Orange and Brown are in the midst of an eight-week WCHA stretch, playing 16 consecutive league games to finish the regular season. The Falcons have some breathing room in third place in the league standings with 29 points (Northern Michigan sits nine points behind in fourth) but a strong weekend could help the team close the gap on Michigan Tech (35 points) for second. Meanwhile, Ferris State is in the midst of one of the toughest stretches in the country this year, playing a four-game set with the Falcons after a four-game set with WCHA leader and No. 1 in the country Minnesota State. In the first six games of that stretch, the Bulldogs have been outscored 20-7 on the way to six losses.

About Ferris State
A year ago, Ferris State went 29-11-3 and advanced to the NCAA Regional final but the Bulldogs have struggled to replicate that success this year. Ferris State enters the weekend with a record of 11-17-1 overall and 8-12-0 in WCHA play, including a six-game losing streak. The Bulldogs have scored just seven goals during that stretch and have struggled on the power play all year, ranking 57th (out of 59 teams) in the country at 10.2 percent. In fact, the Bulldogs have been even worse since the turn of the new year, converting just 3-of-37 (8.1 percent) power play opportunities since Jan. 1. Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels is in his 23rd season at the helm for the Bulldogs and boasts a career record of 390-406-88.

The Series
With two wins over the weekend, Bowling Green has retaken the lead in the all-time series against Ferris State, holding a 57-56-12 edge. BGSU, in fact, snapped a six-game home losing streak to the Bulldogs over the weekend. Bowling Green is 26-32-7 all-time at Ferris State and is 0-2-1 in the past three contests since a 2-1 overtime win on Feb. 15, 2013. Head coach Chris Bergeron is now 5-11-1 in his BGSU career against Ferris State, but that includes a historic 2-1 best-of-three series victory over the Bulldogs in the 2011-12 CCHA Tournament second round.

Last Weekend
Ben Murphy had two goals and an assist and Tommy Burke earned victories between the pipes each night as Bowling Green defeated Ferris State 2-1 and 3-2 at the BGSU Ice Arena Friday and Saturday. The Falcons came from behind each night, even trailing 2-1 heading to the third period Saturday. Murphy's goals were the game-tying tallies in each contest as the Falcons showed determination and belief over the weekend. BGSU turned aside 11-of-12 power play opportunities on the weekend, including a five-minute major and two four-minute double minors as the Falcons won their 13th conference game, equaling their total from a year ago.

What They Are Saying
"This year, for the most part, we have found a way to take a deficit and get back into the game or to play well with the lead. It's been part of the process. Last year, we showed some inexperience playing with the lead. But this past weekend, we showed that when we get painted into a corner, we play pretty hard. Ferris State is a program we want to be like. We've had some good games against them, so we look at them as a rival. I hope we are earning that respect from them and they look at us as a rival." -- BGSU Head Coach Chris Bergeron

Rising In The Polls
BGSU will enter the weekend eighth in the USCHO poll, earning a top 10 spot in the rankings for the fifth consecutive week. The Falcons entered the poll at No. 19 in the country on Nov. 10 and increased their vote count for 13 straight polls. BGSU peaked as high as No. 6 (on Jan. 19 and Jan. 26). The Falcons are one of three Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHA) teams that earned a spot in the Top 20, as Minnesota State claimed the top spot and Michigan Tech remained No. 5.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
Much like the USCHO.com poll, the Falcons have spent five consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. BGSU is ranked No. 8 in the country this week, peaking at No. 6 on both Jan. 19 and 26. Bowling Green entered the poll at No. 15 on Nov. 24 and has not dropped out since.

Highest Ranking EVER
#FalconHockey's 15-6-5 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 as high as No.6 in the USCHO.com poll this season, marking the highest ranking for the Orange and Brown since the poll began in 1997. In fact, the team increased its vote total for 13 consecutive weeks to start the season. BGSU entered the poll at No. 19 on Nov. 10 and have made a steady climb up the poll as the year has progressed.

#MadhouseOnMercer
With Falcon Hockey's steady improvement over the course of the season, the BGSU Ice Arena has seen an increase in fans at home games. Three of the last six home games have seen attendances over 3,200 and the BGSU Ice Arena is averaging 2,876 fans per game this year, an increase of more than 800 fans per game over last year's 2,022 average. 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.

Team Success
Amazingly, BGSU does not have a single Falcon among the top 100 point scorers in the country despite having the 16th-best offense in the nation. The Falcons, though, boast impressive depth as 12 players have at least 10 points and 20 have scored at least one goal. BGSU is one of three teams (along with St. Lawrence and Yale) to have a winning record but not a single player with 20 points on the year.

17 Wins
After the Falcons earned a weekend sweep of Ferris State at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Orange and Brown picked up its 17th win of the season in just 28 contests. The last time Bowling Green won 17 of its first 28 games was back in 1994-95. In fact, with 20 wins on the horizon, the last time the Falcons reached that mark was in 1995-96, when the team was 17-10-1 through 28 contests.

Super Saturday
BGSU Hockey is 11-0-2 on Saturdays this year, outscoring opponents 45-24 in those contests. Dating back to three Saturday wins to close out the 2013-14 season, the Falcons are unbeaten in 16 consecutive Saturday contests. The Falcons are 6-5-3 on Fridays and 0-1 on Sundays this year.

Road Warriors
BGSU is 9-3-4 away from the BGSU Ice Arena this year (including a tie at Fifth Third Field in Toledo). The Falcons last won nine road games in a single season in 2011-12 and have not won more than that since the 1995-96 team won 11 away from Bowling Green.

Back-to-Back Burke
Junior goaltender Tommy Burke played between the pipes in both games this past weekend against Ferris State. It's just the second time this year that the Falcons have used the same goaltender on back-to-back nights. Burke also played back-to-back in a sweep at Alaska, making the Falcons 4-0 on weekends with a single goaltender. Dating back to last year, the Falcons have swept four consecutive series' when playing just one goaltender.

Falcons On The PK
By killing off 11-of-12 power play opportunities over the past weekend against Ferris State, the Falcons remain the nation's best unit at 93.1 percent. Since Nov. 8, BGSU has killed off 79-of-83 power play opportunities (95.2 percent). In fact, BGSU has been almost as effective offensively as opponents during that stretch, picking up two short-handed tallies.

Special Teams Shining
The Falcons have played well on the penalty kill this season, going 108-for-116 (93.1 percent) on the season. Additionally, the Orange and Brown have gone 17-for-113 (15.0 percent) on the power play in 28 games this season. In all, Bowling Green is 125-for-229 (54.6 percent) on special teams, which ranks fourth in the nation for combined special teams.

Comeback Kids
BGSU came from behind to win both games over the past weekend and the Falcons have now won four times this year after trailing in a contest. In fact, Bowling Green won Saturday night's contest against Ferris State despite trailing 2-1 after two periods. It is the first time the Falcons have won when trailing after two since beating Ohio State 4-3 on Oct. 15, 2013 despite a 3-2 deficit with 20 minutes to play.

Defense Stood Tall
BGSU's 2-1 win Friday was the first time this year that the Falcons have won a game in which it scored two or fewer goals. The Falcons are just 1-5-3 in such contests this year. The last time BGSU had won a contest in that situation was a 2-1 victory over Michigan Tech in game one of last year's WCHA Tournament first round.

#FalconFast
When Ben Murphy and Pierre-Luc Mercier scored just 80 seconds apart in the third period Saturday against Ferris State, it was the eighth time this year that the Falcons have scored twice in less than two minutes. The Falcons scored just 20 seconds apart on Jan. 17 against Michigan Tech, which were the final two goals in a Falcon flurry that accounted for three goals over 1:55. BGSU also scored twice in just 24 seconds against Alaska on Jan. 10. The pair of goals against Ferris State was the fourth-fastest this year.

When It Rains, It Pours
Redshirt freshman Nolan Valleau waited patiently for his first collegiate goal. Despite posting 11 assists and 25 shots in the team's first 24 games, it took him until the second period of the team's 25th game to score his first career goal (against Bemidji State). His second one, though, came much faster as he recorded a tally in the third period as well, less than 27 minutes of game action later.

Nell's Historic Start
Freshman netminder Chris Nell has been a shot in the arm to the defense and goaltending this year. Nell ranks among the top 11 goalies in the country in four key statistics this year, led by a ranking of No. 8 in goals against average at 1.88 per contest.

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".