No. 9 Falcons Set To Take On Alaska Nanooks Far From Home

No. 9 Bowling Green Falcons (15-5-3, 10-4-2-2 WCHA)
vs.
Alaska Nanooks (5-15-4, 5-10-1-1 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday, Jan. 18, 11:07 p.m. ET
GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Jan. 19, 11:07 p.m. ET
LOCATION	Fairbanks, AK (Carlson Center)
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon)
LIVE STATS	alaskananooks.com
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green (PDF)

>>FALCONS ON TAP

The No. 9 ranked Bowling Green State University hockey team will make this season's second venture to the state of Alaska this weekend as they play a two game series at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Falcons will face-off with the Nanooks for game one on Friday, Jan. 18 at 11:07 pm ET, and then again the following night on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 11:07 pm ET.
This is the first of two series scheduled between these two schools during the 2018-19 season as the Nanooks will travel to Bowling Green in mid-February.

>>VERSUS ALASKA

All-time, Bowling Green holds a slight 30-28-9 edge over the Alaska Nanooks.
BGSU most recently faced-off with the Nanooks on home ice during the 2017-18 season. The two game series in early October (Oct. 27-28, 2017) saw Bowling Green collect a 2-1 victory in game one before tying Alaska in the second game 2-2. The Nanooks would grab the extra conference point in a shootout. The Falcons have not traveled to Fairbanks since December of 2016.
Very level in recent years, the pair of conference opponents have posted a record of 10-8-4 in Coach Bergeron's previous eight years with the program, including a record of 4-3-1 over the last three seasons.

>>LAST TIME OUT

Bowling Green enters this series following a two game split of conference rival Michigan Tech on the road in Houghton, MI.
The Falcons fell in game one of the series against the Huskies on Friday (Jan. 11) night by a final score of 2-0. The Falcons had 27 shots on goal.
Bowling Green and Michigan Tech would play two very even periods with equal chances throughout. It was not until late in the third period that the Huskies would tally two. The Falcons would have a power play goal waved off in the first period for a foot in the crease.
Bowling Green then bounced back the following night, winning game two on Saturday (Jan. 12) by a final score of 3-2. The Falcons scored three times on 30 shots on goal.
John Schilling and Alex Barber would score a pair of goals for Bowling Green in the first period of the contest. Both scores would come on redirected shots in front of the net taken from the top of the circle. The Falcons would carry their two to nothing lead into the third period before the Huskies would strike for back-to-back goals.
Alex Barber would score his second goal of the night on a redirected shot during a power play to retake the lead for BGSU. This ended up the game-winner as the Falcons would hang on for the victory.
Saturday's win was Coach Bergeron's 161st at the helm of the Orange and Brown. He now has the second most wins of any head coach in Bowling Green hockey program history.

>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Holding a conference record of 10-4-2, Bowling Green sits in third place with 34 points in the WCHA standings going into this weekend. The Falcons are 15-5-3 overall in the 2018-19 season.
BGSU continues to bolster one of college hockey's strongest team defenses sitting No. 1, entering this series with the lowest goals-against-per-game average in the country (1.78). The Falcons' penalty kill unit also remains among the country's best sitting alone in fifth place with a percentage of .880.
Freshman Alex Barber recorded the first multi-goal game of his career with Bowling Green. He lit the lamp twice in Saturday's (Jan. 12) game at Michigan Tech, scoring in the first period to put the Falcons up by two, and in the third on a power play to win the contest for Bowling Green. He now has four goals and three assists for seven points on the year. Barber is currently the only player of the freshman class with more than one goal in a game this season.
The Falcon freshmen have continued to make their presence known. Alex Barber was assisted on his game-winner by two more first year players in Tim Theocharidis and Will Cullen. This was Cullen's second assist of the night as he wrapped up the third multi-point game of his career thus far. His last multi-point was against Ferris State on Dec. 8. This was yet another game that ended with a game-winning goal from Alex Barber, as the Falcons took it 4-3 in OT.
Sophomore goaltender Eric Dop recorded his third victory of the season in game two versus Michigan Tech, now posting a record of 3-1-1. Dop made 34 saves against the Huskies (Jan. 12) which is his season high thus far for 2018-19.
Head Coach Chris Bergeron recorded win number 161 behind the bench for the Orange and Brown on Saturday (Jan 12). With this victory he now has the second most wins of any head coach in Bowling Green hockey program history. Coach Bergeron moves just ahead of former head coach Ron Mason (160 total wins), while now sitting second behind former head coach Jerry York (342 total wins).

>>NATIONALLY RANKED

Bowling Green has been ranked No. 9 in this week's official USCHO poll. This is the highest Bowling Green hockey has been ranked since Oct. 29, 2018 when the Falcons were ranked No. 9. The last time BGSU was ranked higher then No. 9 was February 16, 2015, when the team was No. 8.
BGSU is one of three WCHA teams in the poll, joining No. 6 Minnesota State and No. 18 Lake Superior State.

>>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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Players Mentioned

Alex Barber

Ryan Bednard

Will Cullen

Eric Dop

Brandon Kruse

Chris Pohlkamp

Alec Rauhauser

John Schilling

Tim Theocharidis