Falcons Host Former CCHA-Rival Miami for Holiday Weekend Festivities

Friday, November 24

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:37PM

Bowling Green State University

Miami

Falcons Host Former CCHA-Rival Miami for Holiday Weekend Festivities

November 21, 2017 | Ice Hockey

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

Bowling Green Falcons (6-4-3, 5-2-3-2 WCHA)
vs.
Miami RedHawks (5-6-1, 2-3-1 NCHC)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Nov. 24, 7:37 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 25, 7:07 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Bowling Green, Ohio (Slater Family Ice Arena)
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon)
LIVE STATS	BGSUFalcons.com
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv

>>FALCONS ON TAP

The Bowling Green hockey program will begin a seven-game home stint as they host former CCHA-rival Miami University this weekend at the Slater Family Ice Arena. The Falcons and the RedHawks will compete in non-conference play on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7:37 p.m., followed by Saturday, Nov. 25 at 7:07 p.m.

>>FRIDAY'S PROMOTIONS

All season ticket holders and Falcon Club members are invited to join Bowling Green hockey assistant coach Ty Eigner in a Chalk Talk session at 6:50 p.m. in the Center Ice Lounge at the Slater Family Ice Arena.

>>VERSUS MIAMI

All-time, Bowling Green holds the 62-48-8 advantage over Miami.
Bowling Green most recently faced the RedHawks on Oct. 28-29, 2016 on the road; a series in which the teams split after a 2-1 overtime win by the RedHawks on Friday was followed by a 4-1 Bowling Green victory on Saturday.
With an overall record of 5-6-1, including a 2-3-1 mark in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Miami is coming off of a home split against No. 14/15 Minnesota Duluth in which they rebounded from a 3-1 loss on Friday for a 3-2 win on Saturday.

>>ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

The Falcons featured three players who posted multi-point performances against then-No. 5 Minnesota State in a 4-1 win Saturday night, including sophomore Alec Rauhauser, junior Stephen Baylis and freshman Cameron Wright.
A native of Bismarck, N.D., Rauhauser earned his first career multi-goal game when he scored the game-winner on the power play in the final minute of the second period, and doubled-it when he marked a second power play goal with 12 seconds remaining in regulation. Both of Rauhauser's goals came with the 5-on-3 man advantage, helping the Falcons go 3-for-7 on the power play.
A defenseman, Rauhauser also notched an assist on freshman Max Johnson's third goal of the season early in the third period, which ties his career-high of a three-point night.
With a power play goal against the Mavericks, Johnson is now on a career-best four-game point streak.
A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Baylis extends his point streak to three games, while it was his third multi-point night of the season due to having a hand in each of Rauhauser's goals.
Freshman Cameron Wright also had a multi-point night, his team-leading fourth of the season, as he was noted on the box score with pair of assists. A native of Newmarket, Ontario, Wright has only been held off the box score in three of Bowling Green's 13 games of the season thus far, and averages a team-leading 1.07 points per game.
On the weekend, the Falcons went 4-for-12 on the power play while holding the Mavericks at 4-for-11.

>>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.
With an assist on the even strength game-tying goal at Minnesota State Saturday evening, sophomore Niko Coffman earned his first career point with the Falcons.
Both goaltenders are having strong performances in the net, as both are ranked in the top-30 in the nation in goals against average or save percentage. Freshman Eric Dop sits 26th in the country with a 2.44 goals against average, while sophomore Ryan Bednard ranks 12th by averaging 2.01 goals against. Additionally, Dop is also ranked 47th nationally with a save percentage of .907, while Bednard posts a .928 save percentage to sit 10th 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 0.55 points per game, Bowling Green features a pair of players who rank in the Top-15 nationally in points per game by freshmen. In addition to freshman Cameron Wright's 1.08 points per game to sit fourth overall, Max Johnson ranks 14th overall in Division I hockey with a 0.85 points per game average.
Defensively, sophomore Alec Rauhauser also averages 0.77 points per game, which ranks him 25th nationally of all defensemen, as well as first overall in the WCHA. The Bismarck, N.D. native has 10 points through 11 games played by three goal and seven assists, and previously went a season-best two-game point streak.
Standing out on the scoresheet was the Falcons underclassmen, who tallied 10 of the Falcons 15 points on the weekend, while eight different players earned at least one point in the WCHA series against Minnesota State.

>>EYES ON CENTURY MEN

Senior Mitch McLain: 133 games played, 40 goals – 36 assists – 76 points
Senior Tyler Spezia: 119 games played, 24 goals – 32 assists – 56 points
Senior Brett D'Andrea: 103 games played, 15 goals – 23 assists – 38 points
Junior Connor McDonald: 93 games played, 2 goals – 15 assists – 17 points
Junior John Schilling: 88 games played, 11 goals – 14 assists – 25 points
Junior Stephen Baylis: 87 games played, 17 goals – 30 assists – 47 points
Junior Chris Pohlkamp: 83 games played, 1 goal – 16 assists – 17 points

>>STANDOUT SOPHOMORE AT THE BLUE LINE

Sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser earned his first career WCHA weekly award when he was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts at then-No. 5 Minnesota State.
A native of Bismarck, N.D., Rauhauser matched his career-high three point night, and marked his first career multi-goal game by a pair of power play goals and an assist. On the weekend against the Mavericks, Rauhauser also led the Bowling Green squad with seven shots on goal helping them earn the split against the nationally ranked program.
On the season, Rauhauser averages 0.77 points per game, which ranks him 25th nationally for all defensemen, as well as first overall in the WCHA. The Bismarck, N.D. native has 10 points through 11 games played by three goal and seven assists.

>>MAXING OUT THE BOX SCORE

Freshman Max Johnson earned his first WCHA Award in his career as he was named Rookie of the Week on Nov. 13 after a three-point weekend against Lake Superior State.
A native of Lakeville, Minn., Johnson marked his second career multi-point night on Friday against the Lakers as he opened the scoring just 2:56 into the game and lifted the Falcons to an early 1-0 lead. Later in the evening, Johnson posted the lone assist on Brandon Kruse's goal that put Bowling Green up 2-1.
With his performance against the Mavericks, Johnson is currently riding a career-best point streak at four straight games, and looks to extend the streak against the RedHawks.

>>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 26th overall in the country with a 2.44 goals against average, in addition to being ranked 47th nationally with a save percentage of .907.
After double-overtime resulting in a 2-2 tie, Dop faced his first career shootout action in his career against Lake Superior State Friday evening. Dop shut down all three of the Lakers shootout attempts, helping the Falcons win the extra point in the third round of the shootout.
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.
Dop posted a .955 save percentage in a 2-1 win at Michigan Tech on Friday, a game in which he earned 21 saves, including a game-high of nine in the narrow third period to keep the Falcons ahead and earn a 2-1 win in regulation. The effort was worthy of earning his second WCHA Rookie of the Week honors of the season, and marked Dop's third win in four starts with the Falcons.

>>STARTING OFF ON THE WRIGHT FOOT

Freshman Cameron Wright is making an early offensive impact, as he leads the Bowling Green squad with five goals and nine assists for 14 points, and to average 1.08 points per game, which ranks fourth overall in Division I Men's Hockey for rookie players. His 1.08 points per game average also leads the freshman class in the WCHA.
On his way to earning 14 points through 13 games played, Wright went on a five-game point streak, from Oct. 10-21, and is currently on a two-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.
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. Continuing the streak, Wright posts a team-leading four multi-point games of the season thus far.

>>IN THE BROTHERHOOD

Head coach Chris Bergeron is familiar with the Miami traditions, as he was both a player and assistant coach for the Redhawks. As an assistant coach, the Redhawks program went 226-139-37 from 2000-10, as well as 161-83-28 in conference play.
Through Bergeron's coaching tenure at Miami, the program made six NCAA Tournament appearances and two Frozen Four showings. As a player, Bergeron served as a two-year team captain from 1989-93 and led the program to its first CCHA Championship as a senior.

>>SIGHTS ON SHORTIES

After notching his team-leading fourth career shorthanded goal against Lake Superior State last weekend, senior Mitch McLain is in the search to join the Bowling Green records page in the category, aiming for a minimum of five to join the standings.
The Falcons featured two shorthanded goals in a game against the Lakers on Nov. 11, one by each McLain and Baylis. On the Bowling Green squad, McLain (4), John Schilling (1), Lukas Craggs (1) and Baylis (1) have all tallied a shorty in their career.

>>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.

>>2017-18 FALCON HOCKEY OUTLOOK

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 21^st 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.

>>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