Hockey Seals Series Sweep of Ferris State with 3-0 Shutout

Sunday, January 7

Big Rapids, Mich.

3:07PM

Bowling Green State University

12-6-6, 9-2-5-2WCHA

Ferris State

9-14-1, 6-9-1-0WCHA

Bowling Green

Ferris State

January 07, 2018 | Ice Hockey

Box Score

By: Jenna Jorgensen (Assistant Director of Athletic Communications)

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Bowling Green hockey program (12-6-6, 9-2-5 WCHA) earned its first conference sweep of the season at Ferris State (9-14-1, 6-9-1 WCHA) this weekend behind a 27-save shutout by sophomore goaltender Ryan Bednard and a pair of goals from senior captain Mitch McLain. With the first shutout of the season, the Falcons extend its win streak to four and claim sole possession of second place in the WCHA standings with 34 points.

Box Score
McLain Goal Call 1-0
Craggs Goal Call 2-0
McLain Goal Call 3-0

Scoring Plays

Per 2 - 6:00 | Shortly after returning to 5x5 play, freshman Brandon Kruse brought the puck into the zone, and wrapped it around the faceoff circle to avoid the Bulldog defenders before shooting. Senior Mitch McLain was ready at the crease to tip it in the five-hole of Ferris State's Smith and put the Falcons up 1-0.
Per 2 – 18:09 | Sophomore Lukas Craggs wasted no time on the power play, as he increased the Falcons lead to 2-0 just 00:07 into the man advantage in the final minutes of the second period. Freshman Connor Ford sent a backhand pass for Craggs one-timer from the slot, notching Craggs' seventh of the season.
Per 3 – 19:31 | While the Falcons were on the penalty kill in the final minutes of regulation, Ferris State pulled its goalie for a 6x4 skater advantage. Looking to clear the puck, McLain's backhander from the Falcons own faceoff circle trickled straight down the ice for the empty netter to seal the 3-0 victory.

Statistical Standouts

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 opening the series with a dominate 6-3 win, followed by tonight's 3-0 victory, it marks the first conference sweep of the season for the Falcons and first since March 10-11, 2017 (WCHA Semifinals at Bemidji State).
Active point streaks include Rauhauser (six games, career-best), L. Craggs (four games, career-best), Ford (four games, career-best), Kruse (two games).
After scoring his team-leading 10th goal of the season, senior Mitch McLain officially joins the Bowling Green hockey record book as his empty net shorty marked the sixth in his career, which ties for fifth in program history. On the year, the Falcons are 7-1-3 when McLain tallies a point, while he is now on a three-game point streak. With the duo, the Baxter, Minn. native tallied his fifth multi-goal game of his career, and third multi-point night of the season.
A consistent presence on the box score, sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser is currently on a career-long six-game point streak with the assist on McLain's goal. A native of Bismarck, N.D., Rauhauser has tallied two goals and six assists in that stretch, and continues to lead the team with 22 points through 24 games played.
With a pair of assists in tonight's game, freshman Brandon Kruse also tallied apples in back-to-back games against the Bulldogs, including his second career multi-point night.
By putting the Falcons up 2-0, sophomore Lukas Craggs is currently riding a four-game point streak, one in which he has scored a goal in three of the last four games. The Elmhurst, Ill. native has also tallied a total of eight points in last four games. Craggs' power play goal also marked the first in his career with the man advantage.
Following up his career-high three point performance against the Bulldogs on Saturday night, freshman Connor Ford extended his point streak to a career-best four-games with an assist on Craggs' goal. Since Jan. 1, the freshman has tallied two goals and four assists for six points, while on the season he totals 11 points by four goals and seven assists.
Bowling Green held its opponent scoreless on the power play for the seventh time this season, where they hold a 5-1-2 record when doing so.
The Falcons continue to hold numerous undefeated records on the season, including when they score first (9-0-5), when leading after two periods (10-0-4) and when they score four or more goals in a game (7-0-0), in addition to its perfect 4-0-0 start to the 2018 campaign.
On the night, the Falcons went 1-for-4 on the power play, in addition to a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
After marking a game high of 11 shots on goal in the third period, the Falcons and Bulldogs were square with 27 shots a piece. Leading the team were McLain and Craggs with five each.

Coach Bergeron's Take

"The overall feeling is that we're happy with the way we played today. I thought we defended really well and were opportunistic around the other team's net. I think it took us awhile to get going offensively, and we didn't get to our 30 shots on net that we aim for, but with seven in the first and then kind of pushing from there, it was good. The biggest thing was getting Ryan Bednard back in net, and having him play better than he played last time; it was nice to see. So there were lots of positives, and first and foremost, it's winning a game on the road against a good team."
"It was huge to get the six points this weekend. When you have games in hand, they are only good if you take advantage of those games in hand. You have to get those points, and it was nice to do that and carry over the momentum we created in Detroit last week. Now we'll go to Northern Michigan, and obviously they're a good team and playing well, and see how we do. But right now we're excited about defending the way we're defending and taking advantage of some opportunities around the other team's net."

Up Next

The Bowling Green hockey program will continue road conference action next weekend, as they travel to Marquette, Mich. to face the Northern Michigan Wildcats. Puck drop is set for 7:07 p.m. Eastern Time on both Friday, Jan. 12 and Saturday, Jan. 13.
An important series, the Falcons are currently second in the WCHA standings with 34 points, while Northern Michigan narrowly trails just three behind at 31 points.
The Falcons will next return to the Slater Family Ice Arena on Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday Jan. 20 as they host Alaska Anchorage in its first of just two home series remaining in the regular season.

Follow the Falcons

For more information on the Bowling Green hockey program, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGFalconHockey and @BGAthletics) and now on Instagram (bgfalconhockey) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.