Falcons Host Defending WCHA Champs In Weekend Clash

Friday, February 6

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:07 P.M.

Bowling Green State University

Ferris State

February 03, 2015 | Ice Hockey

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

No. 8/9 BOWLING GREEN FALCONS
(15-6-5, 11-4-3 WCHA)
VS.
FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS
(11-15-1, 8-10-0 WCHA)

Friday, Feb. 6 | 7:07 p.m. ET | BG Ice Arena
Television: BCSN / Radio:88.1 FM WBGU
Saturday, Feb. 7 | 7:07 p.m. ET | BG Ice Arena
Television: BCSN / Radio: 88.1 FM WBGU

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

Falcon Weekly With Chris Bergeron

Bemidji State Weekend Highlights

On Tap
The Falcons return home to host defending Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season champion Ferris State Friday and Saturday night in the BG Ice Arena. 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 25 points (Northern Michigan sits five points behind in fourth) but a strong weekend could help the team close the gap on Michigan Tech (31 points) for second. Meanwhile, Ferris State is in the midst of one of the toughest stretches in the country this year, beginning a four-game set with the Falcons after a four-game set with WCHA leader Minnesota State, in which the Bulldogs were outscored 15-4 in four losses. In total, that means eight consecutive contests against teams ranked among the top 10 in the country.

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 11-15-1 overall and 8-10-0 in WCHA play, including a four-game losing streak. The Bulldogs scored exactly one goal in each of those contests and have really struggled on the power play, ranking 57th (out of 59 teams) in the country at 10.3 percent. In fact, the Bulldogs were even worse in January, converting just 2-of-25 (8.0 percent) power play opportunities during the month. Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels is in his 23rd season at the helm for the Bulldogs and boasts a career record of 390-404-88.

The Series
Ferris State is 4-1-1 against Bowling Green over the past two seasons to take a slim 56-55-12 edge in the all-time series. In fact, the Bulldogs have won six straight contests in the BG Ice Arena since a 3-1 BGSU win on Feb. 14, 2009. Head coach Chris Bergeron is only 3-11-1 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
Bowling Green went on the road to face one of the hottest teams in the country in Bemidji State and the Falcons lost the opener 5-2 before picking up a 2-2 tie in the series finale. In game one, Nolan Valleau scored the first two goals of his career but Bemidji State iced the contest with a pair of empty-netters late for the 5-2 victory. In game two, BGSU carried a 2-0 lead into the latter stages of the contest, but Bemidji scored twice in the final four minutes to earn the tie. Kevin Dufour and Pierre-Luc Mercier scored for the Falcons.

In Their Words
"We're a little bit tired, more mental than physical. We need to get back to playing the way we want to play, which is competing at a really high level and putting the focus on the process and the details of our game as individuals. We have not been in this position before where the target is on our chest and we haven't handled it great over the last 6-8 games. Nobody is going to give us a free pass. We are going to get everyone's best game." -- BGSU head coach Chris Bergeron

Rising In The Polls
BGSU will enter the weekend tied for eighth in the USCHO poll, earning a top 10 spot in the rankings for the fourth 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 rose to No. 5.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
Much like the USCHO.com poll, the Falcons have spent four consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. BGSU is ranked No. 9 in the country this week, peaking at No. 6 in each of the past two weeks. 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.

800 More
With #FalconHockey's steady improvement over the course of the season, the BGSU Ice Arena has seen an increase in the bleachers at home games. The BGSU Ice Arena saw crowds of 2,751 and 3,206 against Lake Superior last weekend, continuing their support of Bowling Green. In fact, the BGSU Ice Arena is averaging 2,894 fans per game, which is 800 more than last season. 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.

15 Wins
After the Falcons earned a weekend split against Lake Superior State at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Orange and Brown picked up its 15th win of the season in just 22 contests. The last time Bowling Green won 14 of its first 22 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, finishing 26-14-1 that season.

Falcons On The PK
By killing off 6-of-7 power play opportunities over the past weekend against Bemidji State, the Falcons remain the nation's best unit at 93.3 percent. Since Nov. 8, BGSU has killed off 68-of-71 power play opportunities (95.8 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 97-for-104 (93.3 percent) on the season. Additionally, the Orange and Brown have gone 17-for-104 (16.3 percent) on the power play in 26 games this season. In all, Bowling Green is 114-for-208 (54.8 percent) on special teams, which ranks fourth in the nation for combined special teams.

Offensive-Minded Falcons
The Falcons enter the week as one of the best offensive teams in the WCHA, scoring 3.08 goals in 26 games—ranking third in the league behind only Minnesota State and Michigan Tech. The team ranks 13th nationally in scoring offense.

Berkle's Contribution
Senior forward Adam Berkle had an assist in Saturday night's 2-2 tie against Bemidji State. The Falcons are 4-0-1 when the senior scores a goal in a game, and sit at 6-1-1 when the winger tallies an assist. In all, Berkle has totaled five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 26 games played this season.

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 Friday night's contest with Bemidji State to score his first career goal. 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.

Friedman's Strong Stretch
The freshman forward from Toronto, who was a third-round NHL Draft selection by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2014, has been playing his best hockey for the Falcons over the past several weeks. Mark Friedman has totaled one goal and 10 assists since Dec. 6, marking the best stretch of any Falcons. The Orange and Brown are 7-3-1 when Friedman totals an assist and a 8-2-0 mark when recording a positive on-ice rating.

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. 7 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.

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".