Hockey Heads North to Face Historic Rival in the Wildcats

Bowling Green Falcons (2-7-1, 1-3-0 WCHA)
vs.
Northern Michigan Wildcats (3-6-1, 1-4-1 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Nov. 11, 7:07 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 12, 7:07 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Marquette, Mich. (Berry Events Center)
RADIO	WBGU 88.1 FM (Evan Pivnick)
LIVE STATS	NMUWildcats.com
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green

>>FALCONS ON TAP
Bowling Green will hit the road for the next two weeks of play, beginning with a two-game series at Northern Michigan this Friday and Saturday. Both Western Collegiate Hockey Association games are set for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop.

>>SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats earned its first win of the year against Big Ten rival Wisconsin at home, leading to a 3-6-1 record overall and a 1-4-1 mark in WCHA play thus far. Most recently, Northern Michigan split a road series with Wisconsin in the form of a 5-2 win and a 2-0 loss. On the season, the Bulldogs hold an average of 2.20 goals per game and 24.3 shots per game. In his 15th season at the helm of the Northern Michigan program is head coach Walt Kyle. In his time with the Wildcats, Coach Kyle has tallied six 20-win seasons and boasts an overall record of 252-241-64.

Stepping up and leading the Wildcats is junior Robbie Payne, who has tallied five goals and five assists for a team-leading 10 points through 10 games played. Northern Michigan also has senior Gerard Hanson and junior Zach Diamantoni who each mark seven points on the season, although Diamantoni joins Payne in leading the team with a +4 rating. In goal, sophomore Atte Tolvanen has accounted for 474:40 minutes of play with a 2.78 goals against average and .909 save percentage, although sophomore Mathias Israelsson saw time for 123:59 minutes in three games thus far with 7 goals against and .887 save percentage.

>>VERSUS NORTHERN MICHIGAN
All-time, Bowling Green holds a 46-41-8 advantage over Northern Michigan. The Falcons are currently on a four-game win streak over the Wildcats, including a sweep last season in a combined score of 6-4. Of the last four victories over the Wildcats, wins have all come in one-goal games, including the most recent overtime final of 4-3 on Nov. 28, 2015. This year's junior class made an impact in their sophomore series against Northern Michigan, as the group accounts for four of the five goal-scorers from the series. Bowling Green returns four scoring juniors including Mark Friedman, who scored once each night, as well as Tyler Spezia, Brett D'Andrea and Mitch McLain.

>>OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS
Bowling Green has outshot its opponents for the last four consecutive games, and hold an edge of 277 to 225 in shots on goal on the season. The team averages 27.7 shots on goal per game, while all opponents on the season have been held to an average of 22.5. Leading the way, is seniors Matt Pohlkamp and Sean Walker, as Pohlkamp is tied for second in the WCHA with 3.50 shots on goal per game, while Walker is sixth in the conference by tallying an average of 3.10 shots on goal per game.

Last weekend, the Falcons outshot Ferris State by a 34-15 mark on Friday night, followed by a 27-25 margin on Saturday evening. Still a high on the season, Bowling Green 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.

>>POINTS BY POHLKAMP
Senior Matt Pohlkamp has had three multi-point games this season, including a pair of assists against Western Michigan, followed by two goals at home against Ohio State, as well as a goal and an assist against Ferris State. 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. Against Ferris State in the 4-1, Pohlkamp was also one of four players to generate a multi-point night with his power play, game-winning goal, followed by an assist on Mitch McLain's third of the season. With the trio of multi-point performances, Pohlkamp accounts for a 0.70 points per game average, in addition to leading the team in shots on goal with 35. With the pair of game-winning goals, Pohlkamp is tied for third nationally with GWG this season.

>>MERCIER JOINS THE 60 POINT CLUB
Senior Pierre-Luc Mercier scored for two times in three games through the Miami series 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, 72; Walker, 62; Dufour, 62).

>>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 five points in the last four games as well, and tops the Falcons with eight points in his nine games played this season. McLain also leads the Bowling Green squad with a +2 ranking, and sits 11th overall in the WCHA with 0.89 points per game average.

>>MULTI-POINT PERFORMANCES
Friday night's 4-1 win over Ferris State featured four players who marked multiple points, including freshman Alec Rauhauser who tallied three, which is a season-high for the Falcons squad. Rauhauser scored for the second time this season to put the Falcons up 3-1, assisted in Tyler Spezia's first goal of the season, and in Mitch Mclain's power play goal for the 4-1 final.

Senior Matt Pohlkamp marked his second game-winning goal of the season on the power play, before assisting in McLain's goal, while McLain also assisted in Pohlkamp's goal. Finally, Spezia also marked an assist on Rauhauser's goal to be the fourth Falcon to mark multiple points on the night.

>>FANTASTIC FRESHMEN
Three Falcon freshmen have notched their first career goals this year, including Frederic Letourneau, Alec Rauhauser and now Lukas Craggs. Letourneau, who has seen action in nine 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 five points on the season and has seen ice time in nine 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.

Craggs was the lone goal-scorer for the Falcons on Saturday night in the 3-1 loss against Ferris State. The Elmhurst, Ill. native tied up the game at 1-1 midway through the second period as he was able to tuck in the puck on the rebound.

>>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 last two series. Still a best for the Falcons, Bowling Green only committed four infractions at Miami on Oct. 29 and were able to kill all of them. Overall, the Falcons have gone 8/70 on the power play, and have killed 49/67 penalties.

>>CENTURY MEN
Senior Matt Pohlkamp played in his 130th career game Saturday against Ferris State. 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 (129), Pierre-Luc Mercier (127), and Kevin Dufour (123).

Nearing the 100 game mark is junior Mark Friedman, who clocks ice time in 90 career games, as well as junior Mitch McLain, who has appeared in 89 career games.

>>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 total of five points. It was the first time in his career that Walker has scored in three consecutive games. The Keswick, Ont. native also assisted in Tyler Spezia's first goal of the season in the 4-1 win over Ferris State last weekend.

>>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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