No. 9 Falcons To Open League Play Versus Northern Michigan

No. 9 Bowling Green Falcons (5-1-1, 0-0-0 WCHA)
vs.
Northern Michigan Wildcats (2-4-0, 1-1-0 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Nov. 2, 7:37 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Bowling Green, OH (Slater Family Ice Arena)
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon)
LIVE STATS	BGSUFalcons.com
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green (PDF)

No. 9 Bowling Green Falcons (5-1-1, 0-0-0 WCHA)
vs.
Northern Michigan Wildcats (2-4-0, 1-1-0 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Nov. 3, 7:07 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Bowling Green, OH (Slater Family Ice Arena)
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon)
LIVE STATS	BGSUFalcons.com
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green (PDF)

>>FALCONS ON TAP

The Bowling Green State University hockey team will open league play this weekend as they host the Wildcats of Northern Michigan for a two game series.
The Falcons will face-off with the Wildcats at 7:37pm on Friday Nov. 2, and then at 7:07pm on Saturday Nov. 3. Both games will be in Slater Family Ice Arena.
This is the first time this season the Falcons will be playing a regular two game set that does not involve travel between games.

>>VERSUS NORTHERN MICHIGAN

All-time, the Bowling Green Falcons hold a narrow 49-47-8 advantage over Northern Michigan.
Their most recent matchup saw the Wildcats best the Falcons 3-2 in game three of the semifinals of the 2018 WCHA tournament in Marquette, Mich. The Falcons forced overtime in the final seconds before falling in OT.
This will be the first time these two squads will face off this season. It will be the first WCHA series for the Bowling Green Falcons in the 2018-19 campaign.
In the WCHA preseason polls Bowling Green and Northern Michigan were voted to finish second and third respectively. The coaches voted BGSU second while the media voted Northern Michigan second.

>>ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

The Bowling Green Falcons enter this matchup having posted a 5-1-1 record in non-conference play.
Bowling Green defeated No. 7 (then No. 4) Ohio State Buckeyes in game one of their home-and-home series by a decisive 8-2 final in the Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Friday (Oct. 26) night. The Falcons scored eight times on 28 total shots on goal.
Sophomore Max Johnson tallied his first career hat trick scoring three power play goals in the contest.
Freshman forward Alex Barber would score his first career goal for the Orange and Brown.
Senior captain Stephen Baylis would score a five on three shorthanded goal late in the game to complete the scoring for Bowling Green. He is just the second player in school history to do so.
The Falcons then returned home for game two of the series ending in a 2-2 tie with the Buckeyes. The sold out Slater Family Ice Arena received five minutes of free hockey in the overtime period, but neither team could put one through for the victory.
Lukas Craggs and Connor Ford were able to score for Bowling Green, leading them to the tie. The Falcons ended the weekend with a win and a tie against the Buckeyes, winning the series.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Coming into this series with Northern Michigan, three Falcons remain top 10 in the nation in scoring. Max Johnson is tied for No. 1 in the nation with 13 points on the year. This is enough to lead the team overall in scoring. Brandon Kruse remains tied for third with 11 points. Stephen Baylis sits tied for eighth place with ten points.
To this point in the season, Bowling Green has outscored their opponents by a total of 36 to 12 in goals scored. Meaning the Falcons are No. 1 in the country in total goals scored.
With its 23-12-6 overall record, 2017-18 marked the fourth consecutive season that the Falcons have reached the 20-win milestone. The four-year stint is the third longest in program history, behind a nine season, and six season stretch.

>>MAX JOHNSON

Sophomore forward Max Johnson enters this series coming off the best week of his college career thus far. Johnson collected five points total in three games last week scoring the game winning goal in BGSU's 4-1 over WMU (Oct. 23). He then erupted for his first career hat trick in the Falcons' 8-2 win at Ohio State (Oct. 26). Johnson would then close out the week with an assist in Saturday's (Oct. 27) 2-2 tie with the Buckeyes.
He is tied for first in the nation in scoring with 13 points, and sits alone at third place in goals scored with six total. This leads the team. He also leads the nation in power play goals with five.
Max Johnson's performance over this past week gained him two awards being voted WCHA Forward of the Week, and WCHA Forward of the Month for October.

>>NATIONALLY RANKED

The Bowling Green Falcons are currently ranked No. 9 in the most recent USCHO.com poll.
This is the highest Bowling Green hockey has been ranked since March 16, 2015 when the Falcons were ranked No. 9. The last time BGSU was ranked higher than No. 9 was February 16, 2015 when they were No. 8.

>>FINAL NUGGETS

Stephen Baylis' five on three shorthanded goal against Ohio State was just the second ever in school history. BGSU alumnus Dan Bylsma scored the first.
The Falcons' 8-2 victory over (then No. 4) Ohio State was Bowling Green's first win over a top 10 or top 5 ranked opponent since March 11, 2012 when they defeats Ferris State in the CCHA tournemant. The Bull Dogs were raked No. 2 in the nation at the time.

>>PRESEASON POLLS PEG BOWLING GREEN

Bowling Green was voted to finish second overall in the UAHhockey.com WCHA Media preseason poll, and third in the 2018 Mankato Free Press preseason poll.

Junior Falcon defenseman Alec Rauhauser was voted First Team All-WCHA by both the media and the coaches. Rauhuaser's contributions to the 2017-18 campaign included leading the squad with 39 points by nine goals and a team-leading 30 assists. The 39 points marked the most by a single Falcon since the 2008-09 season.
Three more Falcons were voted Second Team All-WCHA by the media. Sophomore forward Brandon Kruse, senior defenseman Chris Pohlkamp and junior goaltender Ryan Bednard all made the cut.

>>2018-19 FALCON HOCKEY OUTLOOK

For the upcoming season, the Falcons will look to return 12 of 16 forwards, all seven defensemen, and all three goaltenders from the 2017-18 campaign that saw the Falcons claim a Great Lakes Invitational Championship.
Bowling Green garnered 159 points in the media preseason poll, and 76 points in the coaches'. The Falcons also had one vote for the top finish on the year in the media preseason poll.
In total, there are a minimum of 18 opportunities to watch the team in the Slater Family Ice Arena. Season tickets are available for as low as $190 and provide the greatest value for fans. Full information is available by CLICKING HERE.

>>COMING INTO THIS SEASON

With an overall record of 23-12-6 in 2017-18, it marked the Falcons' fourth consecutive 20+ win season and fifth straight winning season. Bowling Green had records 21-18-2 in the 2016-17 campaign, 22-14-6 in the 2015-16 campaign, and a 23-11-5 record in the 2014-15 season. Last year was the 22nd season that the Falcons have tallied a 20-plus win season.
By competing in the WCHA Championship at the end of the 2016-17 season, it marked Bowling Green's first conference championship appearance since 1988.

>>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).

>>FLOSPORTS

An exciting new avenue to catch all Falcon Hockey action at home and select road events, the new agreement brings more than 180 WCHA games annually to the FloSports platform, including all 140 league regular season games, any preseason, exhibition and nonconference games hosted by a league school and the entirety of the annual WCHA postseason tournament. Fans will also have access to FloSports' additional college hockey coverage, which includes select Big Ten Conference hockey games through the company's distribution deal with the Big Ten Network.
Featuring live streaming of premier events, original video programming and weekly studio shows, FloSports is a leading provider in the collegiate space, including partnerships with the Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference, Conference USA, the Mountain West Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
To access live and on-demand coverage of WCHA games, visit FloHockey.tv and become a monthly or annual PRO subscriber. Either subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the games on all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Roku or Apple TV 4.

>>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: @BGfalcons
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BGSUathletic

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