Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, November 3
Houghton, Mich.
7:07PM
Bowling Green State University
at
Michigan Tech
Falcons Flock North for First WCHA Road Series of the Year
October 31, 2017 | Ice Hockey
Bowling Green Falcons (3-3-1, 2-1-1 WCHA)
vs.
Michigan Tech (4-4-1, 2-3-1 WCHA)
Â
vs.
Michigan Tech (4-4-1, 2-3-1 WCHA)
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| GAME INFORMATION | Friday, Nov. 3, 7:07 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 4, 7:07 p.m. ET |
| LOCATION | Houghton, Mich. (MacInnes Student Ice Arena) |
| RADIO | Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon) |
| LIVE STATS | MichiganTechHuskies.com |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | Bowling Green |
| WATCH ONLINE | WCHA.tv |
>>FALCONS ON TAP
- The Bowling Green hockey program will continue Western Collegiate Hockey Association action by traveling to Houghton, Mich. to face Michigan Tech this weekend. The Falcons will compete in its first WCHA road series beginning on Friday, Nov. 3, followed by Saturday, Nov. 4, while both game times are set for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop.
>>VERSUS MICHIGAN TECH
- All-time, Michigan Tech holds the advantage over Bowling Green by a 16-9-3 margin.
- Bowling Green most recently faced Michigan Tech on March 18, 2017 in the WCHA Championship. The game in Houghton, Mich. resulted in a 3-2 double-overtime victory for the Huskies; a game in which Bowling Green scored twice in a 24 second span to tie the game in the third period and force overtime.
- A tough opponent in recent years, the Falcons have gone 5-9-2 against the Huskies since joining the WCHA. The Falcons last victory over Michigan Tech came on Nov. 14, 2015 in a 3-2 win on the road.
- Michigan Tech enters the Slater Family Ice Arena on a three-game losing streak, after splitting a home series with Alabama Huntsville, and being swept on the road by scores of 3-1 and 5-3 at Minnesota State.
- Overall, the Huskies are 4-4-1 on the season, which includes a pair of wins at the Minnesota Duluth Ice Breaker Tournament over Union and the Bulldogs. In WCHA action, Michigan Tech is 2-3-1 after facing Lake Superior State, Alabama Huntsville and Minnesota State.
>>ABOUT LAST WEEKEND
- The Falcons 2016-17 leading scorer appeared on the box score for the first time this season with a goal when Mitch McLain tied the game 1-1 midway through the second period on Friday evening against the Nanooks. On Saturday, McLain also earned an assist on Stephen Baylis' goal that put the Falcons up 2-1 over Alaska midway through the game, which ultimately stood as the game-tying goal, for a two-point weekend.
- A good omen, Sophomore Alec Rauhauser notched the game-winner in the Falcons 2-1 victory over Alaska. The Falcons now have an undefeated record of 5-0-1 when the defenseman scores in his career.
- After a 2-2 draw Saturday evening against Alaska, the Falcons went to 3x3 overtime action and a shootout to determine a conference winner. This was Bowling Green's second WCHAÂ tie under the current rules. Last season, the Falcons earned an extra point with a second-overtime victory over Alaska-Anchorage on Nov. 25, 2016. The Falcons had not previously played in a WCHA shootout.
- Testing the special teams this past weekend, the Falcons' penalty kill unit was a perfect 6-for-6 on Saturday and 9-for-9 in the series.
>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Five Falcons have now tallied their first career goals thus far in the season, most recently being freshman Max Johnson, who put the Falcons up 4-0 over Minnesota State on the power play. Other Falcons who have tallied their first career goals this season include freshmen Cameron Wright, Brandon Kruse, and Connor Ford, in addition to junior Shane Bednard.
- Both goaltenders are having strong performances in the net, as freshman Eric Dop sits 12th in the country with a 2.00 goals against average, while sophomore Ryan Bednard ranks 23rd by averaging 2.22 goals against. Additionally, Dop is also ranked 13th nationally with a save percentage of .932, while Bednard trails with a .922 save percentage to sit 26th in the country.
- As he scored an empty net goal against Minnesota State (Oct. 21) to make it a 5-2 victory for the Falcons, senior Brett D'Andrea earned his 15 career goal in the Orange and Brown. The Falcons are undefeated when the Marysville, Mich. native scores, as they hold a 13-0-2 all-time record when he does.
- All averaging over 0.57 points per game, Bowling Green features three players who rank in the Top-50 nationally in points per game by freshmen. In addition to freshman Cameron Wright's 1.00 points per game to sit seventh overall, Max Johnson ranks 23rd overall with a 0.86 points per game average, while Brandon Kruse's 0.57 puts him in a tie for 45th overall in Division I hockey.
- Defensively, sophomore Alec Rauhauser also averages 0.71 points per game, which ranks him 45th in the nation for all defenseman, as well as fifth overall in the WCHA. The Bismarck, N.D. native has five points through seven games played by one goal and four assists.
- Standing out on the scoresheet was the Falcons underclassmen, who tallied 7 of the Falcons 10 points on the weekend, while eight different players earned at least one point in the WCHA series against the Nanooks.
>>EYES ON CENTURY MEN
- Senior Mitch McLain: 127 games played, 36 goals – 36 assists – 72 points
- Senior Tyler Spezia: 119 games played, 24 goals – 32 assists – 56 points
- Senior Brett D'Andrea: 97 games played, 15 goals – 21 assists – 36 points
- Junior Connor McDonald: 87 games played, 2 goals – 12 assists – 14 points
- Junior Chris Pohlkamp: 83 games played, 1 goal – 16 assists – 17 points
- Junior John Schilling: 82 games played, 9 goals – 14 assists – 23 points
- Junior Stephen Baylis: 81 games played, 14 goals – 25 assists – 39 points
>>ON OUR RADAR
- Freshman goaltender Eric Dop earned his first career win in his first career start between the pipes when he posted 27 saves in the 4-1 victory over Michigan State (Oct. 13).
- The Lewis Center, Ohio native currently sits 12th in the country with a 2.00 goals against average, in addition to being ranked 13th nationally with a save percentage of .932.
- Dop earned the first WCHA weekly award of his career when he was named WCHA Rookie of the week on Oct. 30 for his efforts against Alaska. Dop posted his second win of the season versus the Nanooks (Oct. 27) when he made 25 saves, including a game-high of 14 in the third period. Dop only allowed one goal against in the 2-1 win and kept the Nanooks scoreless on the power play through three chances with the man advantage that generated four shots on goal.
>>STARTING OFF ON THE WRIGHT FOOT
- Freshman Cameron Wright is making an early offensive impact, as he leads the Bowling Green squad with three goals and four assists for seven points, and to average 1.00 points per game, which ranks seventh overall in Division I Men's Hockey for rookie players. His 1.00 points per game average also led the freshman class in the WCHA for the month of October.
- On his way to earning seven points through seven games played, Wright went on a five-game point streak.
- After marking his first career goal in his first collegiate game, Wright was named WCHA Rookie of the week. The Newmarket, Ontario native posted two goals and one assist in the first week's three games, in addition to tallying a team-leading nine shots on goal.
- In the second week of action, Wright earned his first career multi-point game when he notched two assists in the Falcons 5-2 victory over then-No. 12 Minnesota State on Saturday night, as he had a hand in fellow freshman Max Johnson's first career goal to put the Falcons up 4-0 over the Mavericks.
>>PRESEASON POLLS PEG BOWLING GREEN
- The Bowling Green hockey program was voted to finish fourth overall in both the 2017 Mankato Free Press WCHA Coaches' and the UAHhockey.com WCHA Media preseason polls.
- For the upcoming season, the Falcons return nine of 12 forwards who appeared in the WCHA Championship, as well as five of seven defensemen for the 2017-18 campaign, resulting in Bowling Green garnering 90 points in the coaches' preseason poll. The Falcons also had one vote for the top finish on the year in the media preseason poll.
- Senior forward Mitch McLain was voted to Preseason All-WCHA First Team honors by both the coaches and media, in addition to receiving votes for Preseason WCHA Player of the Year by the media.
- Also receiving votes for Preseason All-WCHA Teams were senior forward Tyler Spezia and sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser.
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- The Falcons return nine of 12 forwards who appeared in the WCHA Championship, in addition to five of seven defensemen for the 2017-18 campaign. In goal, the Falcons will return Florida Panthers draftee Ryan Bednard, who marked a 2.70 GAA and .882 save percentage.
- Bowling Green adds a class of nine freshmen to the 2017-18 squad, including two goaltenders, two defensemen and five forwards.
- The Falcons return 2016-17 leading scorer in senior forward Mitch McLain, who tallied 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points and will be leading as the Falcons captain for the 2017-18 campaign. A native of Baxter, Minn., McLain also led the team on the ice with a plus-19 rating.
- By registering 30 points last season, the Falcons also return its third highest scorer in senior forward Tyler Spezia, who will serve as the team's assistant captain.
- As a unit, the Falcons return four players who tallied 20 or more points last season, and nine players who registered double-digit points.
>>RETURNING FROM A RECORD YEAR
- With an overall record of 21-18-2, the Falcons marked its third consecutive 20+ win season and fourth straight winning season. Bowling Green had records of 22-14-6 in the 2015-16 campaign, following a 23-11-5 record in the 2014-15 season. Last year was the 21st season that the Falcons have tallied a 20-plus win season.
- The Falcons went on a seven-game win streak entering the WCHA Championship, the longest of Coach Bergeron's career and longest of the Bowling Green hockey team since the 1987-88 campaign; a year in which the team clinched its last conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
- By competing in the WCHA Championship in March, it marked Bowling Green's first conference championship appearance since 1988.
- The WCHA saw a total of nine hat tricks on the year, with Bowling Green accounting for four of those. Mitch McLain marked two on the year, posting the two three-goal performances in a three week span.
- Leading the Falcons offensively was Mitch McLain. On the season, McLain earned a total of six conference awards (2x POTM, 3x POTW, All-WCHA First Team), in addition to being named a WCHA Scholar-Athlete and to WCHA All-Academic honors.
- Bowling Green saw extensive time in the penalty box, and ranked ninth in the nation with a total of 631 minutes for 15.4 minutes per game. The Falcons were one of five WCHA schools in the top ten in the category.
- Bowling Green accumulated 10 WCHA Players of the Week, three WCHA Players of the Month, WCHA Championship Third Star of the Game, NCAA Hockey No. 1 Star of the Week, No. 4 spot on SportCenter's Top 10 Plays of the Night over the course of the 2016-17 season.Â
>>ON THE MIC
- All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into the Falcon Radio Network and can be heard globally on www.bgsufalcons.com and WBGUFM.com. Falcon Hockey play-by-play broadcaster Ryan Vallon will begin the pregame show 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off, and can also be heard on WTOD/WQQO-HD2 (Talk Radio 100.7) and WLQR-FM (106.5 The Ticket).
>>WCHA.tv
- For as low as 60¢ per game for the 2017-18 season, Bowling Green hockey fans can watch all regular season home games as well as all Western Collegiate Hockey Association matchups live or on-demand with WCHA.tv – the Association's official online streaming platform. WCHA.tv provides fans with high-quality, HD broadcasts (when available from the originating arena) on multiple platforms, including – new for this season – TV-connected devices via custom apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
- A WCHA.tv Season Pass would provide Bowling Green hockey fans 32 regular season games, including 14 of the team's 18 road matchups. It would also include all of the Falcons' action in the 2018 WCHA Playoffs. Bowling Green's first official WCHA.tv broadcast will be on Friday, Oct. 13 as the team hosts Michigan State at 7:37 p.m.
>>LIVE STATS
- Live stats for all Bowling Green home games and 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.
>>FOLLOW THE FALCONS
- Twitter: @BGFalconHockey and @BGathletics
- Instagram: @BGFalconHockey and @BGFalcons
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/BGSUathletic
- Snapchat: bgathletics
- Ticketing Information:Â https://spark.adobe.com/page/1D4rbBUtBaXtr/
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