Hockey Returns To The Ice Arena With Conference Play Against Ferris State

Bowling Green Falcons (1-6-1, 0-2-0 WCHA)
vs.
Ferris State Bulldogs (1-7-1, 1-4-1 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Nov. 4, 8:07 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 5, 7:07 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Bowling Green, Ohio (BGSU Ice Arena)
RADIO	WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick)
LIVE STATS	BGSUFalcons.com
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green

>>FALCONS ON TAP
Bowling Green will return to both Western Collegiate Hockey Conference play and home action by welcoming Ferris State to the BGSU Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday. Friday night's game will start at 8:07 p.m., while Saturday's is scheduled for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop.

Friday's game will be a Ziggy Point and Greek Challenge event for students, while Saturday will serve as both Parents Night for the Bowling Green hockey program, as well as Military Appreciation night.

Also be sure to bring your non-perishable food items to the game on Friday night as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee holds its Falcons Fighting Hunger event!

>>SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
After making an appearance in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the Ferris State Bulldogs have had a tough start to the year. The Bulldogs earned its first win of the year on Saturday in a 4-3 final at Minnesota State Mankato in league play for a 1-4-1 mark in WCHA and 1-7-1 record overall. Leading up to the victory, Ferris State tied Northern Michigan on Oct. 22 in a 2-2 final, and was swept this season by Alabama Huntsville and Western Michigan. On the season, the Bulldogs hold an average of 2.33 goals per game and 28.4 shots per game.

In his 25th season at the helm of the Ferris State program is Bob Daniels. Most recently, in 2015-16, Daniels led Ferris State to the school's first postseason tournament championship ever as the Bulldogs claimed the WCHA Final Five Championship during a memorable postseason run. FSU advanced to the national tournament for the third time in five years while reaching the NCAA Final Eight.

Stepping up and leading the Bulldogs is freshman Craig Pefley, who has tallied two goals and nine assists for a team-leading 11 points through nine games played. Ferris State also has senior Gerald Mayhew and junior Mitch Maloney who each mark four goals on the season, although Mayhew tops the team with a +3 rating. In goal, sophomore Darren Smith has accounted for 453:01 minutes of play with a 3.58 goals against average and .885 save percentage, although freshman Justin Kapelmaster saw time for 84:40 minutes in two games thus far with a 2.13 goals against average and .919 save percentage.

>>VERSUS FERRIS STATE
All-time, Bowling Green holds a 60-57-11 advantage over Ferris State. The Falcons have won five of the last six matchups against the Bulldogs, including a sweep last season in a combined score of 10-5. In Friday's 4-3 win, three players accounted for the Falcons' four goals, and eight posted at least one point, while four earned multiple points, including Stephen Baylis. The Falcons came out with a strong 6-2 victory on Saturday, in which five players scored a goal and 11 earned at least one point, including Mitch McLain, who had scored two goals for the first time in his career. Bowling Green also returns eight of the 10 goal-scorers from last years' series.

>>NELL AND VOID
With 17 saves on the night, junior goaltender Chris Nell marked a season-best .944 save percentage in the Falcons first win of the season over Miami. The Green Bay, Wis. native was critical in keeping the Falcons ahead throughout the non-conference matchup, including a big glove save to keep it 2-1 with 9:51 to go in the second period. In addition to robbing the RedHawks of a game-tying goal, Nell shut down all of the addition offensive attacks from the RedHawks. On the weekend, Nell tended the net for 121:34 minutes of play, had three goals against and made a total of 31 saves.

>>SATURDAY'S SHOOTING GAME
The Falcons held a dominate 41-18 edge in shots on goal in the Saturday night 4-1 win at Miami. It was not only a new high in shots on the year, but also the most shots on goal for Bowling Green since Jan. 8, 2016. The Falcons marked four games last season with 40 or more shots on goal, including the 4-3 win over Ferris State at home on Feb. 26, 2016. It was also the first game this season that the Falcons did not give up a power play goal.

>>THE FALCON FLYER
Junior defenseman Mark Friedman, a third round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, scored in back-to-back games at Miami last weekend. With the pair of goals, the Toronto, Ontario native tallies four points in the last five games. Both big goals against the RedHawks, Friedman's goal on Friday came with the extra skater and just 1:06 remaining in regulation to tie the game and force overtime. On Saturday, Friedman's third goal of the season gave Bowling Green its biggest lead of the year with a 4-1 score.

>>POINTS BY POHLKAMP
Senior Matt Pohlkamp has had two multi-point games this season, including a pair of assists against Western Michigan, followed by two goals at home against Ohio State. Most recently, Pohlkamp netted a goal in the 4-1 win over Miami Saturday night to help lift the Falcons to its first victory of the season. The Baxter, Minn. native's goal came just 45 seconds after Pierre-Luc Mercier's game-tying goal, to give Bowling Green its first lead of the series, and it was ultimately the game winner. With the pair of multi-point performances, Pohlkamp accounts for a 0.625 points per game average, in addition to leading the team in shots on goal with 29.

>>MERCIER JOINS THE 60 POINT CLUB
Senior Pierre-Luc Mercier scored for the second time in the last three games with a power play rebound shot that found the top shelf Saturday night against the RedHawks. The game-tying goal created crucial momentum for the Falcons, that Pohlkamp capitalized on to give Bowling Green a 2-1 lead just 45 seconds later. Mercier's goal was his 18th of his career, and 60th collegiate point, making him the fourth active Falcon to mark 60 or more career points (M. Pohlkamp, 70; Walker, 61; Dufour, 61).

>>MOOSE MCLAIN
Junior Mitch McLain started out the season by scoring two goals in two games, one being his third career shorthanded goal. Having not slowed down, the Baxter, Minn. native now boasts three points in the last four games as well, and tops the Falcons with six points in his seven games played this season. McLain also leads the Bowling Green squad with a +3 ranking, and sits tied for 19th in the WCHA with 0.86 points per game average.

>>FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Two Falcon freshmen have notched their first career goals this year, including Frederic Letourneau and Alec Rauhauser. Letourneau, who has seen action in seven games thus far, marked his first collegiate goal against then-No. 19 Ohio State. The Montreal, Quebec native had a two two-game point streak, as Letourneau assisted in senior Pierre-Luc Mercier's first goal of the season in the second game of the home-and-home series with Ohio State.

A native of Bismarck, N.D., Rauhauser also has two points on the season and has seen ice time in seven of the Falcons games thus far. The defenseman found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal in the 4-4 tie with Western Michigan at home, and assisted in senior Matt Pohlkamp's power play goal against Ohio State.

>>SPECIAL TEAMS GET EXTRA PRACTICE
The Falcons have seen significant special teams play thus far in the season, which has featured two Bowling Green shorthanded goals already in back-to-back games. The Falcons had averaged 16.3 penalty minutes per game heading into the Miami series, although it significantly dropped to an average of 14.5 minutes after the series. Saturday, the Falcons only committed four infractions and were able to kill all of them.

>>CENTURY MEN
Senior Matt Pohlkamp played in his 128th career game Saturday at Miami. As the active career leader for the Bowling Green squad, Pohlkamp leads four current Falcons who have 100+ games of collegiate experience, including Sean Walker (127), Pierre-Luc Mercier (125), and Kevin Dufour (121).

>>COUNTING CAPTAIN'S POINTS
Bowling Green senior captain Sean Walker had a three-game scoring streak, after finding the back of the net against Western Michigan on back-to-back nights and then again versus No. 19 Ohio State. Walker also scored his first shorthanded goal of his career against the Broncos, and posted two multi-point nights in the three-game span, for a season total of five points. It is the first time in his career that Walker has scored in three consecutive games. The Keswick, Ont. native is also tied for 28th overall in the NCAA with his 0.83 points per game average.

>>SIGHTS ON SHORTIES
Junior Mitch McLain started out the season by scoring two goals in two games, one being his third career shorthanded goal. The Baxter, Minn. native joins senior Matt Pohlkamp in the search to join the Bowling Green records page in the category, each tallying three shorthanded goals, aiming for a minimum of five to join the standings.

>>PRESEASON POLLS PEG BOWLING GREEN
Bowling Green was picked to finish first in the WCHA by both the coaches' and media preseason polls, in addition to being ranked No. 14 in the country by USCHO.com. It is just the second time in school history that Bowling Green has been ranked in the first USCHO.com poll of the year since the poll was initiated for the 1997-98 season, and improved from a No. 16 ranking at the start of the 2015-16 campaign. 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). Bowling Green is also ranked No. 15 in the first USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll of the season. This is the Falcons first appearance in the poll since receiving a No. 13 ranking on 12/14/15.

>>ALL-CONFERENCE ACTION
Multiple Falcons were named for preseason All-WCHA, including junior Mark Friedman and goaltender Chris Nell. Senior Sean Walker also received votes for the Preseason All-WCHA Team, while Friedman and Nell joined Walker in Bowling Green upperclassmen that received votes for Preseason WCHA Player of the Year. Three Falcon freshmen were recognized for the Preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year award, in defenseman Alec Rauhauser and forwards Frederic Letourneau and Casey Linkenheld. Rauhauser also scored his first collegiate goal against the Broncos on Friday night with a power play shot taken from the point.

>>FALCONS IN THE BIG TIME
In addition to three current NHL draftees on the Falcons roster (Ryan Bednard, Mark Friedman, and Adam Smith), two Falcon alumni have made NHL rosters for the 2016-17 campaign. Goaltender Andrew Hammond has begun his third season with the Ottawa Senators, after recording the most wins to start a career by going 20-1-2 in his first 23 NHL games. The second Falcon alum in the big time is Kevin Bieksa, who is beginning his second season with the Anaheim Ducks after an eight-year stint with the Vancouver Canucks.

>>SEEING 20/20
With a 22-14-6 record over the 2015-16 campaign, the Falcons posted back-to-back 20+ win seasons for the first time in 20 years. With 23 wins during the 2014-15 season, Bowling Green posted the 19th 20-win season in program history, followed by the 20th 20-win season with the 22 victories last year. Historically, Bowling Green has marked five 30-win seasons, although the 2014-15 season was the first time the team won 20 games since the 1995-96 campaign has been on a roll ever since.

>>RETURNING OFFENSE TO THE ICE
Despite losing the leading scorer from last season in Mark Cooper (16 goals), the Falcons return a vast majority of their offensive firepower for this season. Nine of the next top-11 scorers on the Falcons squad return to the ice for the 2016-17 season, including seniors Matt Pohlkamp (25 goals) and Kevin Dufour (36 goals). All told, Bowling Green returns 18 of the 25 players who scored at least one point last season.

>>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 RIT on Dec. 30 at 5:07 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Walleye. BGSU last skated in the Huntington Center on Dec. 30, 2015 against Western Michigan, which resulted in a narrow 1-0 Broncos win. Prior to the event last season, the last time the Falcons played in the Huntington Center was during the 2009-10 season against Michigan. 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 WBGUFM. 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.

>>LIVE STATS
Live stats for all Bowling Green home games and select road matchups are available on the BGSU website at BGSUFalcons.com. Navigate to the hockey schedule for links to all available ways to follow the action while the Falcons are both at home and on the road.

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