Hockey's Senior Night Highlighted by Hosting Michigan Tech

No. 14 Bowling Green Falcons (16-8-6, 13-4-5-2 WCHA)
vs.
Michigan Tech Huskies (13-11-5, 9-8-5 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Feb. 2, 7:37 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 3, 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 returns home to the Slater Family Ice Arena on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3 as it hosts WCHA foe Michigan Tech in the final home series of the regular season.

>>FRIDAY PROMOTIONS

Youth Hockey Night: Contact the ticket office at 877.BGSU.Ticket for a special group ticket promotion for youth hockey groups.
The final pregame Chalk Talk of the regular season will take place with head coach Chris Bergeron at 6:50 p.m. in the Center Ice Lounge for all season ticket holders and Falcon Club members.
Fraternity and Sorority Life Challenge Event
Ziggy Point Event
Residence Life Challenge Event
State Bank Shot of a Lifetime: Students will have the opportunity to shoot for a full four-year scholarship from State Bank.

>>SATURDAY PROMOTIONS

Be there as the Bowling Green hockey program pays tribute to the four-player senior class on Senior Night.
Hockeyville Night: As Bowling Green bids to become the 2018 Kraft Hockeyville, there will be special in-game events including an interactive photo booth, while fans are encouraged to bring Kraft products as noisemakers and food donation.
SAAC's Falcons Fighting Hunger Night: bring items to donate to the food shelf.
Fraternity and Sorority Lift Challenge Event

>>VERSUS MICHIGAN TECH

All-time, Michigan Tech holds the advantage over Bowling Green by a 16-11-4 margin. A tough opponent in recent years, the Falcons have gone 7-9-3 against the Huskies since joining the WCHA.
Earlier this season when the team traveled to Houghton, Mich., the Falcons were able to claim five of six possible conference points at Michigan Tech, after they downed the Huskies 2-1 on Friday, and a 2-2 tie led to a shootout win by Bowling Green in the sixth round.
After the Huskies scored first on Friday, Nov. 3, junior John Schilling tallied two power play goals for his first career multi-goal game and third multi-point performance of his career. With his game-winner, the Falcons were able to claim a 2-1 win on the road. For the complete recap of the victory, click HERE.
By power play goals from Cameron Wright and Mitch McLain in the 2-2 tie on Saturday, Nov. 4, all of the goals for the Falcons at Michigan Tech were scored with the man advantage. Stephen Baylis was able to then pick up the extra point for the Falcons in the sixth round of the shootout. For a complete recap of how the Falcons claimed five of six points against the Huskies, click HERE.
Most notable, the Falcons most recently downed Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational Championship in a 4-1 final at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. In goal, freshman Eric Dop withstood 29 saves, including a game-high of 12 in the opening period of play, and only allowed one goal against on the night, while with the assist on both Ford and Schilling's goals against Michigan Tech, Lukas Craggs led the Bowling Green squad with five points in the two games of the GLI, earning him the title of Great Lakes Invitational Most Valuable Player. For a complete recap of the GLI Championship victory over Michigan Tech, click HERE.
Michigan Tech is off to a 13-11-5 start on the year, including a 9-8-5 mark in WCHA play. The Huskies were recently swept by Ferris State on the road, by scores 4-3 and 3-1. With 34 points, Michigan Tech currently sits fifth in the league, just five points behind Bemidji State, as they are in the hunt for home ice in the 2018 WCHA Playoffs.

>>NATIONALLY RANKED

1st: Alec Rauhauser – Defenseman Points per Game (1.03)
T-7th: Stephen Baylis – Shorthanded Goals (2)
T-7th: Mitch McLain – Shorthanded Goals (2)
8th: Brandon Kruse – Freshman Points per Game (0.83)
T-12th: Alec Rauhauser – Assists per Game (0.80)
13th: Cameron Wright – Freshman Points per Game (0.78)
14th: Ryan Bednard – Winning Percentage (.647)
15th: Ryan Bednard – Goals Against Average (2.26)
16th: Eric Dop – Winning Percentage (.615)
T-16th: Cameron Wright – Power Play Goals (6)
T-16th: Max Johnson – Power Play Goals (6)
T-26th: Max Johnson – Freshman Points per Game (0.67)
28th: Ryan Bednard – Save Percentage (.912)
33rd: Eric Dop – Goals Against Average (2.64)
45th: Alec Rauhauser – Points per Game (1.03)

>>ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

The Falcons picked up its third conference sweep of the season this past weekend at Lake Superior State, to extend its win streak to four straight. The Falcons flew to a 5-3 victory on Friday, prior to a three-goal first period carrying them to a 3-2 win on Saturday.
A well-rounded performance, 11 different Falcons appeared on the box score with a point on Friday night, while Rauhauser (1-1–2), Spezia (1-1–2) and Linkenheld (0-2–2) earned multi-point nights.
With his pair of assists, sophomore Casey Linkenheld earned his first career multi-point game.
With a goal in Friday's victory, freshman Max Johnson earned a career-best four-game scoring streak. It is the longest of a Bowling Green player this season.
While on his five-game point streak, Rauhauser has tallied nine points by one goal and eight assists. His one-and-one tally in Friday's game marks his seventh multi-point night of the season.
In the second period on Friday, the Falcons held Lake Superior State to just two shots on goal, a new season-best for the team. It is also the fewest shots on goal allowed in a period since Bowling Green sacrificed just three to Alabama Huntsville on Dec. 9, 2017.
In special teams action, Bowling Green went 1-for-2 on the power play while racking up eight shots on goal with the man advantage, as well as 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
With a pair of goals in the 3-2 victory on Saturday, Spezia totaled four points on the weekend by three goals and one assist. It marked the forward's second multi-goal night in his career, while he has now tallied four goals in the last four games.
With a trio of assists, freshman Brandon Kruse had a hand in all three of the Falcons goals on Saturday evening. The three-point night ties his career-best, set two games back against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 20. In his four game point streak, the Saline, Mich. native has totaled eight points by two goals and six assists.
Another multi-point performance came from senior captain Mitch McLain as he tallied two by one goal and one assist. It marks the forward's fifth multi-point night of the season and 18th of his career.
Between the pipes sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard withstood 17 saves with just two goals against on the night. The win improves Bednard's record to 9-4-4 on the season.
Overall, the Falcons went 1-for-3 on the power play, and killed all three of its penalties on the night. After tallying 14 shots on goal in the opening period, the Falcons ultimately earned 36 on the night to Lake Superior State's 19.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Players with active point streaks include Mitch McLain (career-best nine games), Alec Rauhauser (five games), Brandon Kruse (four games), and Tyler Spezia (two games).
Of the Falcons 30 games thus far, a freshman has appeared on the box score with a point in 29 of them. Similarly, sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser has recorded a point in 22 of the 30 games on the season.
All three of Schilling's goals this season have come against Michigan Tech, as he scored a pair in Houghton earlier this season. By his even strength goal and the assist on Ford's game winner, Schilling also earned his second multi-point night of the season in the GLI Championship.
The Falcons tallied 40 shots on goal against the Seawolves Saturday night, making them now 3-0-0 when notching 40 shots on goal or more against its opponent.
Additionally, the Falcons remain undefeated when scoring four or more goals (9-0-0), as well as when they are leading after two periods (13-0-4).
With a four-point weekend, freshman forward Brandon Kruse was named to his second consecutive WCHA Rookie of the Week award. With that, the Saline, Mich. native jumps from 16th in the nation to eighth in freshman points per game. On the season, Kruse now tallies six goals and 19 assists for 25 points on the year – the second most of the Bowling Green squad.
Getting the Falcons on the board on Saturday night was junior Chris Pohlkamp as he scored his second career goal and first since Oct. 31, 2015. Pohlkamp is the 18th different player to score a goal for the Falcons during the 2017-18 season.
Rauhauser's assist on Saturday night was his team-best 24th and extends his team lead in points to 31. A native of Bismarck, N.D., Rauhauser has only been held off the box score in eight of the Falcons 30 games this season, to lead the nation in points per game by a defenseman (1.03).
With his performances against Lake Superior State, senior Mitch McLain extended his point streak to nine straight games, where he has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) during the streak. McLain looks to join the 100 point club soon, as he carries 92 points in his 150 career games played.
Against Alaska Anchorage, junior Adam Smith looked to tally his first point of the season and left with a career-high three-point performance. He did so with his assist on Johnson's goal before adding a goal and another assist in his season point debut. He also led the team with six shots on goal and a plus-4 rating on the ice in the win.
In Sunday's 3-0 win at Ferris State (Jan. 7), sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard earned his second career shutout with 27 saves, including a game-high of 12 in the opening period of play. It marked the first shutout for the Falcons since Feb. 25, 2017 (vs. Alabama Huntsville) and first shutout on the road since March 5, 2016 (at Alabama Huntsville).
After scoring his team-leading sixth career shorthanded goal, senior Mitch McLain has officially joined the Bowling Green hockey record book and sits tied for fifth in program history.
With 44 shots on goal at Ferris State (Feb. 6), the Bowling Green hockey program set a new season-high on the year. The mark included a season-best of 21 shots on goal in the third period alone, to shatter its previous season-high of 42 (vs. Alabama Huntsville, Dec. 9).
The Falcons momentum stems from a big tournament appearance, as they earned its first Great Lakes Invitational championship title in program history. In its first year at Little Caesar's Arena, three Falcons were named to the All-Tournament Team in Lukas Craggs, Alec Rauhauser and Eric Dop. Additionally, Craggs became the Falcons first GLI MVP in program history after his five points through two games played.
In the GLI, Bowling Green opened the tournament with a 6-4 win over Michigan, making it the Falcons second win over a Big Ten team this season, after downing Michigan State at home 4-2 (Oct. 13). It was also the first win over Michigan since Jan. 8, 2013, and the Falcons are now on a two-game win streak against the Wolverines. It was also the first win against Michigan at a neutral site in program history (1-6 record).
The Falcons 2-2 tie against the RedHawks earlier this season 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.
Seven Falcons have now tallied their first career goals thus far in the season, most recently being freshman Justin Wells, who put the Falcons up 2-0 over the Wolverines in the GLI Semifinals in just a 1:09 span. Other Falcons who have tallied their first career goals this season include freshmen Cameron Wright, Brandon Kruse, Connor Ford, Sam Craggs, and Max Johnson, in addition to junior Shane Bednard.

>>SIGHTS ON SHORTIES

After notching his team-leading sixth career shorthanded goal against Ferris State (Jan. 7), senior Mitch McLain has officially joined the Bowling Green hockey record book. The captain is now tied for fifth in program history with six career shorthanded goals, including two in each of the last two seasons.
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 (5), John Schilling (1), Lukas Craggs (1) and Baylis (1) have all tallied a shorty in their career.

>>EYES ON CENTURY MEN

Senior Mitch McLain: 150 games played, 48 goals – 44 assists – 92 points
Senior Tyler Spezia: 136 games played, 32 goals – 36 assists – 68 points
Senior Brett D'Andrea: 120 games played, 20 goals – 27 assists – 47 points
Junior Connor McDonald: 109 games played, 6 goals – 17 assists – 23 points
Junior Stephen Baylis: 104 games played, 19 goals – 37 assists – 56 points
Junior John Schilling: 99 games played, 12 goals – 18 assists – 30 points
Junior Chris Pohlkamp: 93 games played, 2 goals – 20 assists – 22 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, as well as Player of the Week for a three-point performance in the Great Lakes Invitational.
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.
Rauhauser went on a career-best six-game point streak this season, a span in which he has tallied two goals and six assists for eight points. Rauhauser has also only been held off the box score in eight of the Falcons 30 games this season.
Two weekends back against Alaska Anchorage, Rauhauser matched his career-high three-point night when he earned a trio of assists in the 6-2 victory on Friday night.
On the season, Rauhauser averages 1.03 points per game, which leads the nation for all defensemen, as well as first overall in the WCHA. The Bismarck, N.D. native has 31 points through 30 games played by seven goals and 24 assists.

>>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.
More connections were recently made between the Craggs brothers when elder brother Lukas fed the puck to Sam Craggs to tie the game at 3-3 against Ferris State (Jan. 6). Lukas Craggs also went on to notch a goal of his own in the 6-3 win to seal a four-goal third period for the Falcons.
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.

>>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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Stephen Baylis

Ryan Bednard

Shane Bednard

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

Adam Smith

Tyler Spezia

Justin Wells

Cameron Wright

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