No. 11 Falcons Make Second Alaska Voyage This Year

Friday, February 27

Anchorage, Alaska

11:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

Alaska Anchorage

Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com

February 25, 2015 | Ice Hockey

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

No. 11 BOWLING GREEN FALCONS
(18-9-5, 14-7-3 WCHA)
AT
ALASKA ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES
(7-19-4, 4-18-2 WCHA)

Friday, Feb. 27 | 11:07 p.m. ET | Sullivan Arena
Radio:88.1 FM WBGU (Evan Pivnick)

Saturday, Feb. 28 | 11:07 p.m. ET | Sullivan Arena
Radio: 88.1 FM WBGU (Evan Pivnick)

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

Weekend Highlights

On Tap
Bowling Green makes its final road trip of the 2014-15 regular season as the Falcons take the long trip to Alaska for a two-game set with Alaska Anchorage Friday and Saturday. Both games are scheduled to begin at 11:07 pm ET (7:07 pm Alaska time). BGSU needs just one win to earn home ice for the WCHA Tournament as well as the No. 3 seed. The Falcons lead both Northern Michigan and Bemidji State by seven points in the WCHA standings with four games to play. Bowling Green enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak despite leading or being tied in the third period in all three contests. For Alaska Anchorage, the Seawolves are currently in ninth place in the WCHA and need a strong finish to earn of eight spots in the league tournament. Anchorage trails Lake Superior State by three points and Alabama Huntsville by five.

About Alaska Anchorage
Alaska Anchorage opened the season with a strong 4-1-2 record but the Seawolves have struggled since the early going and have slipped to 7-19-4 on the season. Anchorage has lost eight consecutive games, being outscored 38-11 during the stretch and scoring more than two goals just once in the streak. Only junior forward Blake Tatchell has more than 17 points this year with five goals and 15 assists. As a team, the Seawolves rank 52nd of 59 teams in scoring offense and 50th in scoring defense. Anchorage is also second in penalty minutes at 16.5 per game. Freshman goalie Olivier Mantha has a .911 save percentage and is allowing 3.02 goals per game.

The Series
Bowling Green is 4-1-1 all-time against Alaska Anchorage with four of those six meetings coming last year. The Falcons won twice back in October of 1988 and then went 2-1-1 a year ago, but was 0-1-1 in Alaska against the Seawolves. Brent Tate has two career goals against Anchorage and Tomas Sholl earned a 1-0 shutout victory a year ago in the BGSU Ice Arena.

Last Weekend
BGSU carried third period leads into both contests against Northern Michigan this past weekend, but the Wildcats were able to earn the win in each game. Friday, Bowling Green led 1-0 after two periods and 2-1 with less than two minutes to play but Northern Michigan tied the contest late and won in overtime. Saturday, Bowling Green scored the first three goals of the game and led 3-1 heading into the third, but the Wildcats scored three times in the last 20 minutes for the win. The defeats kept the Falcons from clinching home ice for the WCHA Tournament.

What They Are Saying
"We are two points away from a home ice, third-place finish. We need to play better. Our leadership needs to be able to handle situations and move forward."
-- Head Coach Chris Bergeron

National Recognition
BGSU will enter the weekend 11th in the USCHO poll after spending six straight weeks in the top 10. 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 is No. 2, while Michigan Tech is No. 3.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
Much like the USCHO.com poll, Bowling Green is now ranked No. 11 in the country after spending six consecutive weeks in the top 10. The Falcons peaked at No. 6 on both Jan. 19 and 26, entering the poll at No. 15 on Nov. 24.

Highest Ranking EVER
#FalconHockey's 18-9-5 start marks the best start to a season since the 1995-96 team went 20-11-1 through 32 games. 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 eight home games have seen attendances over 3,200 and the BGSU Ice Arena is averaging 2,830 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 19th-best offense in the nation. The Falcons, though, boast impressive depth as 13 players have at least 10 points (only three other schools have more) 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 23 points or more on the year.

18 Wins
After the Falcons earned a weekend split at Ferris State, the Orange and Brown picked up its 18th win of the season in just 30 contests. The last time Bowling Green won 18 of its first 30 games was back in 1995-96.

Road Warriors
BGSU is 10-4-4 away from the BGSU Ice Arena this year (including a tie at Fifth Third Field in Toledo). The Falcons last won ten road games in a single season in 1995-96 when the Falcons won 11 outside of Bowing Green.

The Burke Wall
Junior goaltender Tommy Burke played in each of the first three games of a four-game set against Ferris State earlier in February. It was just the second time this year that the Falcons 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
Bowling Green entered the weekend with the top penalty killing unit in the country, but Northern Michigan scored a power play goal in each game. The Falcons turned away 5-of-7 power play opportunities but the team's penalty kill percentage dropped to 91.6 percent (from 92.7 percent to start the week). That remains the top unit in the country with Cornell ranking second at 90.2 percent.

Special Teams Shining
Guided by the top penalty kill in the country this year, Bowling Green's combined special teams rank fifth nationally. BGSU broke out of a power play slump to score to goals with a man advantage Saturday to rise to 15.0 percent on the power play this year. In total, BGSU is at 53.9 percent combined special teams. Only Alabama Huntsville, which is No. 1 in the country, ranks higher among WCHA schools at 58.7 percent.

Power Play Breaks Free
Heading into Saturday's game against Northern Michigan, the Bowling Green power play had struggled, coming up scoreless on 28 consecutive chances dating back to a first-period goal against Lake Superior State on Jan. 24. But on the team's first power play opportunity, Brent Tate ended the slump. The Falcons added a Mark Cooper power play goal in the second and went 2-for-5 with the man advantage on the night.

Comeback Kids
BGSU has won four times this year after trailing in a game. Most recently, the Falcons swept Ferris State at home despite falling behind in each contest.

Defense Stood Tall
BGSU's 2-1 win against Ferris State on Feb. 6 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 1-6-3 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 on Feb. 7 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.

Road Warrior Hawk
Freshman Brandon Hawkins is tied for the team lead with 22 points (19th in the country among rookies) and is second with 11 goals. However, 10 of those goals and 17 of those points have come on the road. Hawkins finally scored his first goal in BGSU Ice Arena Friday night against Northern Michigan.

Falcon Freshmen
When Braden Pears made his collegiate debut at Ferris State, he became the tenth freshman this year to see action for the Falcons (nine true freshmen and redshirt freshman Nolan Valleau). Among the top 50 freshmen point scorers in the country, the Falcons hold down two of the spots with Brandon Hawkins leading the way in 19th with 22 points. Defenseman Mark Friedman is tied for 42nd with 17 points. As well, freshman goalie Chris Nell is 21st in the country with a 2.14 goals against average. In total, BGSU's freshmen have accounted for most assists and points of any class on the team.

Nell's Historic Start
Freshman netminder Chris Nell has been solid this year, ranking among the top 30 in the country in four key statistics. His three shutouts this year are tied for 15th in the country and his 2.14 goals against average is 21st.

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.

Live Stats
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".