Setting The Stage: No. 12 Falcons To Host No. 3 Minnesota State In Mid-Season Showdown

Friday, December 14

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:37 PM

Bowling Green State University

Minnesota State

Setting The Stage: No. 12 Falcons To Host No. 3 Minnesota State In Mid-Season Showdown

December 12, 2018 | Ice Hockey

By: By Kellan Godfrey, BGSU Athletic Communications

No. 12 Bowling Green Falcons (11-3-3, 6-2-2-2 WCHA)
vs.
No. 3 Minnesota State Mavericks (14-2-0, 9-1-0-0 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Dec. 14, 7:37 p.m. ET
GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Dec. 15, 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 No. 12 ranked Bowling Green State University hockey team will host the No. 3 ranked Minnesota State Mavericks this weekend for a two game series on home ice in Slater Family Ice Arena.
The Falcons and Mavericks will face-off for game one on Friday, Dec. 14 at 7:37 pm, and then again on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7:07 pm.
This is the only regular season meeting scheduled between these two WCHA rivals for the 2018-19 season.

>>VERSUS MINNESOTA STATE

All-time, Minnesota State holds an 11-6-3 advantage over Bowling Green.
This weekend will be the only regular season meetings between the Falcons and Mavericks of the 2018-19 campaign.
Very level in recent years, the pair of conference rivals have gone 5-5-2 over the last four seasons.
These conference juggernauts meet with a shift in control of the WCHA on the line. The Minnesota State Mavericks sit atop the WCHA standings with 27 points, and hold an overall record of 14-2-0. A Bowling Green sweep of this series would likely land the Falcons in second place behind Michigan Tech, while overtaking the Mavericks by a point. Therefore, this series between the Falcons and Mavericks will largely determine the look of the WCHA entering the second half of the season.

>>LAST TIME OUT

Bowling Green gained five points in WCHA play this past weekend tying and defeating the Ferris State Bulldogs (Dec. 7-8).
The Falcons fought back to tie Ferris State by a final score of three to three in game one of their series on Friday (Dec. 7) night.
Max Johnson would score to tie the game in the second period before Brandon Kruse's power play goal put the Falcons up by one. Ferris State would score twice taking the lead in the third before Cameron Wright would tie it for Bowling Green.
Following two overtime periods, Taylor Schneider would score in the sudden death shootout. This coupled with two shootout saves by Ryan Bednard would gain the Falcons the extra point in WCHA play.
Bowling Green took the series victory against Ferris State on Saturday (Dec. 8) night scoring an overtime goal to win by a final score of four to three.
The Bulldogs would strike first before Lukas Craggs would tie the game in the first period. Max Johnson would get the first lead for Bowling Green scoring just 21 seconds into the second period. Following a second period goal by FSU, the Bulldogs would take back the lead early in the third period. Brandon Kruse would answer for the Falcons tying the game at three.
Alex Barber would score the game-winning overtime goal for Bowling Green just 25 seconds into the first overtime period. This was the second goal of his career with the Orange and Brown, as he netted the full WCHA victory for BGSU.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

The Bowling Green Falcons scored seven goals over the weekend against Ferris State. They've climbed up two spots nationally in team offense from last week to number seven this week. The Falcons have a goals-per-game average of 3.65, and have scored twice as many goals as their opponents thus far at 62 to 31.
The Falcons find themselves in fourth place in team defense going into this series after holding the top spot nationally for nearly a month. Their goals-allowed-per-game average still sits at an impressive 1.82.
Brandon Kruse continued his strong season recording four points in two games this past weekend. He tallied a goal and an assist in each game against Ferris State bringing his season total up to a team leading 22 points. He also leads BGSU in assists with 17. Kruse has climbed his way back into the lead scoring conversation sitting tied for fifth in the nation. He is tied for first in the WCHA with Minnesota State's Parker Toumie.
Max Johnson kept pace this past weekend pace tallying a goal per game and one assist in Friday's (Dec. 7) game to record a three point series. His 20 total points on the season are second most on the Falcons' roster. He is fourth in scoring in the WCHA, and tied for 12th nationally. His six power play goals lead the Falcons and have Max sitting tied for second nationally in power play scoring.
Lukas Craggs had a goal and two assists in Saturday (Dec. 8) night's game for three points. He continues to lead the team in goals at 10. His 14 points are third most among Falcons. Craggs also leads the team in the plus/minus column at +14.
The Falcon freshmen continue to make their early presence known. Since returning from injury Will Cullen has five points with three scored this past weekend on assists. Alex Barber now has two goals in his career with Bowling Green scoring the overtime winner against Ferris State on Saturday (Dec. 8) night. He now has two goals and two assists for four points.

>>NATIONALLY RANKED

The Bowling Green Falcons have spent a month locked in at No. 12 in the USCHO.com poll. They enter this matchup once again ranked No. 12 in the most recent poll (Dec. 10).
Both the Falcons and Mavericks come into this series ranked in the top 20 with Minnesota State sitting at number 3. This series will mark the fifth and sixth games Bowling Green will play against top 20 competition this season, taking into account their bouts with Western Michigan and Ohio State. The Falcons went 3-0-1 in those games.

>>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