Hockey Looks to Carry Momentum into WCHA Action at Ferris State

Bowling Green Falcons (10-6-6, 7-2-5-2 WCHA)
vs.
Ferris State Bulldogs (9-12-1, 6-7-1 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Jan. 6, 5:07 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 7, 3:07 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Big Rapids, Mich. (Ewigleben Arena)
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon)
LIVE STATS	FerrisStateBulldogs.com
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green
WATCH ONLINE	WCHA.tv

>>FALCONS ON TAP

The Bowling Green hockey program will continue its busy stretch of games as it travels to Big Rapids, Mich. to face Ferris State on Saturday, Jan. 6 and Sunday, Jan. 7. It will mark five games in an 11 day span for the Falcons, as they take on the Bulldogs this weekend in 5:07 and 3:07 p.m. puck drops.
The road trip to Big Rapids will be the only series between the Falcons and Ferris State in the 2017-18 regular season.

>>VERSUS FERRIS STATE

All-time, the Falcons hold a 64-59-12 advantage over Ferris State.
Most recently, Bowling Green handedly swept the Bulldogs in the First Round of the WCHA Playoffs by scores of 6-1 and 5-3 to win a best-of-three playoff series the last seven consecutive years, including all four as members of the WCHA. The Falcons were then able to advance to the WCHA Semifinals on a five-game win streak. Bowling Green was also able to net four power play goals against Ferris State in Saturday's 5-3 victory, going 4-for-8 on the power play.
The Falcons have one nine of the last 11 matchups against the Bulldogs, as they split both times they faced off in the 2016-17 regular season. While at the Slater Ice Arena, the Falcons came out with a big 4-1 win (Nov. 4), although Ferris State rebounded with a 3-1 final on Saturday (Nov. 5), making it the only loss the Falcons suffered the entire month of November.
While on the road in Big Rapids in January, the Falcons posted an exciting 3-2 overtime win on Friday (Jan. 27), before dropping a 5-0 final on Saturday (Jan. 28).

>>NATIONALLY RANKED

T-7th: Alec Rauhauser – Defenseman Points per Game (0.91)
23rd: Eric Dop – Winning Percentage (.600)
23rd: Ryan Bednard – Goals Against Average (2.39)
24th: Eric Dop – Goals Against Average (2.44)
24th: Ryan Bednard – Winning Percentage (.583)
26th: Cameron Wright – Freshman Points per Game (0.71)
T-28th: Stephen Baylis – Power Play Goals (4)
30th: Ryan Bednard – Save Percentage (.911)
T-30th: Frederic Letourneau – Game-Winning Goals (2)
T-30th: Alec Rauhauser – Game-Winning Goals (2)
T-30th: Connor Ford – Game-Winning Goals (2)
T-35th: Max Johnson – Freshman Points per Game (0.64)
T-35th: Brandon Kruse – Freshman Points per Game (0.64)
50th: Eric Dop – Save Percentage (.904)

>>ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

The Falcons are coming off of 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.
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).
Four Falcons earned multi-point performances against Michigan in Lukas Craggs (2G, 1A), Max Johnson (1G, 1A), Chris Pohlkamp (2A), and Alec Rauhauser (2A). Craggs' three-point night is a career-best performance for the sophomore.
With assists by fellow freshmen Max Johnson and Carson Musser, freshman Justin Wells tallied his first career goal. The all-rookie goal to put the Falcons up 2-0 over the Wolverines in just a 1:09 span.
In his first game back since Oct. 21, junior Chris Pohlkamp earned his first career multi-point game when he notched an assist on Spezia's opening goal, as well as Craggs' goal to kick off the second period.
With a goal and an assist was freshman Max Johnson, as he earned his third career multi-point game and a team-leading six shots on goal.
In net, sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard tallied 27 saves, including a game-high of 11 in the second period, with four goals against. Bednard now holds a record of 5-3-4 on the season.
A disciplined special teams game, the Falcons went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, and with Johnson's power play goal, 1-for-3 with the man advantage.
Overall, the Falcons outshot the Wolverines by a 38-31 margin, earning two goals in each period on the night.
In its first appearance in a GLI Championship, Bowling Green was then able to down WCHA foe Michigan Tech by a score of 4-1.
With an assist on the opening goal of the game, sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser extends his point streak to four games, tying his career best. Rauhauser also continues to lead the team with 20 points through 22 games, and is currently ranked seventh in the nation in defenseman points per game.
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. The 29 saves is just one shy of his career-high of 30 (vs. Minnesota State, Oct. 20). A native of Lewis Center, Ohio, Dop now holds a record of 5-3-2, 2.46 GAA and .904 save percentage on the season, while he was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Overall, the Falcons went 1-for-2 on the power play, while also going 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Michigan Tech narrowly outshot the Falcons 30-25 on the night, although Bowling Green held a 10-8 edge in the decisive third period.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Bowling Green was able to claim three of four WCHA weekly awards this week after Lukas Craggs was recognized as WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career, Alec Rauhauser earned his second WCHA Defensive Player of the Week of the season, and goaltender Eric Dop was named WCHA Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this year.
On the season, the Falcons remain undefeated when scoring first (7-0-5), when leading after the first period (5-0-2) and when leading after the second period (9-0-4). Bowling Green is also 6-0-0 this season when scoring four or more goals in a game.
Over the course of the tournament, Lukas Craggs tallied back-to-back multi-point nights after two goals and one assist against Michigan in the semifinals was followed up with a pair of assists against Michigan Tech in the Championship, landing him a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
With their performances in the Great Lakes Invitational, Lukas Craggs, Connor Ford, Max Johnson, Chris Pohlkamp and Tyler Spezia are now all on two-game point streaks. 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.
By scoring the opening goal against Michigan on Jan. 1, followed by the final goal of the night against Michigan Tech, senior Tyler Spezia is currently on a two-game scoring streak.
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 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 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.

>>EYES ON CENTURY MEN

Senior Mitch McLain: 142 games played, 43 goals – 38 assists – 81 points
Senior Tyler Spezia: 128 games played, 27 goals – 34 assists – 61 points
Senior Brett D'Andrea: 112 games played, 18 goals – 26 assists – 44 points
Junior Connor McDonald: 102 games played, 6 goals – 16 assists – 22 points
Junior Stephen Baylis: 96 games played, 19 goals – 34 assists – 52 points
Junior John Schilling: 91 games played, 12 goals – 15 assists – 27 points
Junior Chris Pohlkamp: 85 games played, 1 goal – 19 assists – 20 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 is currently on a four-game point streak, which ties his career best marker. In that span, Rauhauser has tallied two goals and four assists.
On the season, Rauhauser averages 0.91 points per game, which ranks him 7th nationally for all defensemen, as well as first overall in the WCHA. The Bismarck, N.D. native has 20 points through 22 games played by six goals and 14 assists.

>>MAXING OUT THE BOX SCORE

Freshman Max Johnson made an impact at the Great Lakes Invitational this past weekend when he notched points in back-to-back games. Against Michigan, Johnson scored the game-winning goal on the power play, in addition to assisting on fellow freshman Justin Wells' first career goal. The freshman forward then followed it up with an assist on senior Brett D'Andrea's power play goal to put the Falcons up 1-0 over Michigan Tech in the GLI Championship, putting him on a two-game point streak.
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 35th in the nation of all freshmen players with 0.64 points per game as well as third in the WCHA. Johnson totals four goals and 10 assists for 14 points through 22 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 24th overall in the country with a 2.44 goals against average, in addition to being ranked 50th nationally with a save percentage of .904.
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 three additional WCHA Rookie of the Week honors for his performances against Michigan Tech, Bemidji State, and the GLI for a team-leading four awards on the year; one each in October, November, December and January.

>>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.

>>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

Frederic Letourneau

Connor McDonald

Mitch McLain

Chris Pohlkamp

Alec Rauhauser

John Schilling

Tyler Spezia

Justin Wells

Cameron Wright

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