Hockey Rounds Out Fall Slate Against Alabama Huntsville

Bowling Green Falcons (7-5-5, 6-2-4-2 WCHA)
vs.
Alabama Huntsville Chargers (6-9-1, 5-4-1 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Dec. 8, 7:37 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 9, 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 continues a seven-game home stint as they host Alabama Huntsville this weekend at the Slater Family Ice Arena. The Falcons and the Chargers will compete in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:37 p.m., followed by Saturday, Dec. 9 at 7:07 p.m. as the Falcons look to defend its first place standing in the WCHA.

>>FRIDAY'S PROMOTIONS

For students, Friday's game will be a Ziggy Point event.
All season ticket holders and Falcon Club members are invited to join Bowling Green hockey assistant coach Barry Schutte in a Chalk Talk session at 6:50 p.m. in the Center Ice Lounge at the Slater Family Ice Arena.

>>SATURDAY'S PROMOTIONS

Saturday's game will be Scout Night, highlighting all Boy and Girl Scouts.
Stick around postgame as the Bowling Green hockey program will be hosting an autograph session. Bring any posters, jerseys or other gear to have signed by all members of the program.
Be ready to sport your best holiday apparel, as the Bleacher Creatures and student section will be having a Holiday Sweater theme for the evening.

>>VERSUS ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE

All-time, Bowling Green holds the 20-4-1 advantage over Alabama Huntsville, and is currently on a five-game win streak against the Chargers.
In four meetings last season, the Falcons outscored Alabama Huntsville by a 21-4 mark for a 4-0 record in the 2016-17 campaign, including a pair of shutouts in February.
Bowling Green most recently faced the Chargers on February 24-25, 2017 at home. By sweeping Alabama Huntsville and shutting them out by scores of 7-0 and 2-0 in the final weekend of the regular season, the Falcons were able to earn a No. 4 seed in the WCHA Playoffs.
With an overall record of 6-9-1, including a 5-4-1 mark in WCHA action, Alabama Huntsville is coming off of a road split at Northern Michigan in which they rebounded from a 3-1 loss on Friday for a 3-2 victory on Saturday. The Chargers have split with its opponents the last three weekends of competition, winning on each Saturday night.

>>ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

Sophomore Niko Coffman earned his first career goal, which stood as the game-winner in a 3-1 win against Bemidji State on Friday night. It was just his 10th career game with the Falcons, and he now has two points in his last three games.
A pair of Falcons earned multi-point nights in Friday's victory as junior Stephen Baylis notched a pair of assists for his fourth multi-point game of the season, in addition to senior Mitch McLain's goal and assist for his second multi-point game of the year.
With an empty net goal in the final minute of play, McLain took the team lead with six goals on the season, including four in his last six games.
Freshman Brandon Kruse earned a career-best four-game point streak as he opened the scoring on Friday night to put the Falcons up 1-0. With his fourth goal and 10th point of the year, Kruse earned goals in back-to-back games after posting one in Bowling Green's 2-2 tie against Miami.
In net on Friday was freshman Eric Dop, who tallied 24 saves on 25 shots on goal by the Beavers, improving his goals against average to 2.67 and his save percentage to .896.
On Saturday evening, freshman Sam Craggs lifted the Falcons to a 2-1 lead nearing the end of the second period as he notched his first career goal. Craggs is the 16th different player to score a goal for the Falcons this year.
With the opening goal in Saturday's game, senior Brett D'Andrea now tallies two goals and an assist in his last three games.
With a pair of assists in the 3-3 tie, sophomore Alec Rauhauser earned his second multi-point game of the year, and now posts five career multi-point games.
In goal, sophomore Ryan Bednard made 29 saves in 32 attempts by the Beavers.
On the weekend, Bemidji State narrowly out-shot the Falcons 57-55, while the Falcons went 8-for-9 on the penalty kill and 0-for-7 on the power play.

>>BROTHERLY LOVE

In Saturday's 3-3 tie against Bemidji State, freshman Sam Craggs tallied his first career goal for the Falcons as he lifted them to a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the second period. To force an overtime session, older brother Lukas Craggs notched his third of the season with the extra skater and just 00:54 remaining in regulation.
Not a first for Bowling Green this season, junior Shane Bednard also posted his first career goal with his brother on the ice. The older Bednard brother scored the Falcons second even strength goal at Michigan State (Oct. 14), as his younger brother Ryan Bednard tended the net with 32 saves and three goals against.

>>NATIONALLY RANKED

T-7th: Cameron Wright – Freshman Points per Game (0.88)
9th: Ryan Bednard – Save Percentage (.927)
9th: Ryan Bednard – Goals Against Average (2.02)
T-13th: Alec Rauhauser – Defenseman Points per Game (0.82)
T-20th: Alec Rauhauser – Game-Winning Goals (2)
T-28th: Eric Dop – Winning Percentage (.562)
T-30th: Ryan Bednard – Winning Percentage (.556)
T-35th: Stephen Baylis – Power Play Goals (3)
T-35th: Cameron Wright – Power Play Goals (3)
T-36th: Max Johnson – Freshman Points per Game (0.65)
T-40th: Eric Dop – Goals Against Average (2.70)
T-44th: Brandon Kruse – Freshman Points per Game (0.59)

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Two weeks back, the Falcons 2-2 tie against the RedHawks was highlighted with a penalty shot attempt by freshman Brandon Kruse. A native of Saline, Mich., Kruse scored to put the Falcons up 1-0 with just 00:34 remaining in the first period. Bowling Green is now .500 all-time in penalty shots with 12 goals on 24 attempts, including a 9-for-13 (.692) success rate at the Slater Family Ice Arena. When attempting a penalty shot, the Falcons are 12-9-2 all-time, as well as 7-3-2 when they are successful.
On the season, Bowling Green is 4-0-4 when scoring first, as well as 6-0-4 when leading after two periods.
Standing out between the pipes is sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard, as his sits in the top-10 nationally in both goals against average and save percentage. A native of Macomb, Mich., Bednard sits ninth nationally with a save percentage of .927, in addition to being ranked ninth in the country with a 2.02 goals against average.
Bednard is also top of all WCHA goaltenders in both goals against average and save percentage, with the next closest being Minnesota State's Connor LaCouvee (2.26 GAA), and Ferris State's Justin Kapelmaster (.921 Save %).
Bowling Green garnered a pair of WCHA Player of the Month accolades in November as sophomore Alec Rauhauser was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Month with seven points through eight games played, as well as sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard, who earned WCHA Goaltender of the Month with a 2-0-2 record in November's eight games.
Seven Falcons have now tallied their first career goals thus far in the season, most recently being freshman Sam Craggs, who put the Falcons up 2-1 over Bemidji State (Dec. 2) with an unassisted wraparound goal. Other Falcons who have tallied their first career goals this season include freshmen Cameron Wright, Brandon Kruse, Connor Ford, and Max Johnson, in addition to sophomore Niko Coffman and junior Shane Bednard.
In back-to-back weekends, sophomore Niko Coffman earned his first career point, first career goal, and first career game-winner. A native of Chelsea, Mich., Coffman first earned an assist on the game-tying goal at Minnesota State for his first career point with the Falcons. This past weekend, Coffman notched the game-winner in a 3-1 win over Bemidji State (Dec. 1) at even strength.
Standing out on the scoresheet was the Falcons underclassmen, who tallied eight of the Falcons 16 points on the weekend, while 12 different players earned at least one point in the WCHA series against Bemidji State.

>>EYES ON CENTURY MEN

Senior Mitch McLain: 137 games played, 41 goals – 37 assists – 78 points
Senior Tyler Spezia: 123 games played, 25 goals – 33 assists – 58 points
Senior Brett D'Andrea: 107 games played, 17 goals – 24 assists – 41 points
Junior Connor McDonald: 97 games played, 3 goals – 16 assists – 19 points
Junior John Schilling: 88 games played, 11 goals – 14 assists – 25 points
Junior Stephen Baylis: 91 games played, 17 goals – 33 assists – 50 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. Rauhauser was then named to his first career WCHA Defensive Player of the Month award in November for notching seven points in eight games played.
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 against then-No. 5 Minnesota State. 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 0.82 points per game, which ranks him 13th nationally for all defensemen, as well as first overall in the WCHA. The Bismarck, N.D. native has 14 points through 17 games played by four goals and 10 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 against Lake Superior State 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 earned a career-best four-game point streak.
Johnson currently sits 36th in the nation of all freshmen players with 0.65 points per game as well as fourth in the WCHA. Johnson totals three goals and eight assists for 11 points through 17 games played.

>>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 40th overall in the country with a 2.70 goals against average, in addition to being ranked 59th nationally with a save percentage of .896.
After double-overtime resulting in a 2-2 tie, Dop faced his first career shootout action in his career against Lake Superior State. 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. Since then, Dop has added two additional WCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his performances against Michigan Tech and Bemidji State, for a team-leading three awards on the year; one each in October, November and December.

>>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 10 assists for 15 points, and to average 0.88 points per game, which ranks seventh overall in Division I Men's Hockey for rookie players. His 0.88 points per game average also leads the freshman class in the WCHA.
On his way to earning 15 points through 17 games played, Wright went on a career-best five-game point streak, from Oct. 10-21. Wright has only been held off the box score in six of the Falcons 17 games this season.
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.

>>SIGHTS ON SHORTIES

After notching his team-leading fourth career shorthanded goal against Lake Superior State last month, senior Mitch McLain is looking 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

Twitter: @BGFalconHockey and @BGathletics
Instagram: @BGFalconHockey and @BGFalcons
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BGSUathletic
Snapchat: bgathletics
Ticketing Information: https://spark.adobe.com/page/1D4rbBUtBaXtr/

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Players Mentioned

Stephen Baylis

Ryan Bednard

Shane Bednard

Niko Coffman

Lukas Craggs

Sam Craggs

Brett D'Andrea

Eric Dop

Connor Ford

Max Johnson

Brandon Kruse

Connor McDonald

Mitch McLain

Chris Pohlkamp

Alec Rauhauser

John Schilling

Tyler Spezia

Cameron Wright

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