Bowling Green State University Athletics
Title Time: No. 13 Falcons And No. 2 Mavericks To Collide For WCHA Championship
March 20, 2019 | Ice Hockey
No. 13 Bowling Green Falcons (25-9-5, 16-8-4-3 WCHA)
vs.
  No. 2 Minnesota State Mavericks (31-7-2, 22-5-1-1 WCHA)
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vs.
  No. 2 Minnesota State Mavericks (31-7-2, 22-5-1-1 WCHA)
| GAME INFORMATION | Saturday, March 23, 8:07 p.m. ET |
| LOCATION | Mankato, Minn. (Verizon Center) |
| RADIO | Falcon Radio Network (Ryan Vallon) |
| LIVE STATS | msumavericks.com |
| LISTEN ONLINE | BGSUFalcons.com |
| GAME NOTES | Bowling Green (PDF) |
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>>FALCONS ON TAP
- The No. 13 ranked Bowling Green State University hockey team continues post-season play this weekend as they travel to Mankato, Minnesota to take on the Minnesota State Mavericks for the WCHA Championship game. This one game to decide a WCHA title will take place in inside the Verizon Center this Saturday, March 23 at 8:07 PM eastern time. The winner will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
- Bowling Green played a two game series against Minnesota State during the 2018-19 regular season that saw the Falcons sweep the Mavericks at home in Slater Family Ice Arena. This will be the third time that Bowling Green State University and Minnesota State University, Mankato will meet in the WCHA Playoffs since the realignment.
- BGSU Athletics will hold a watch party for the WCHA Championship game in the Center Ice Lounge at Slater Family Ice Arena Saturday evening. Doors will open at 7:00 pm and a concession stand will be open, as well as a cash bar. Rally towels will be handed out as well.
>>VERSUS MINNESOTA STATE
- All-time, Minnesota State holds an 11-8-3 advantage over Bowling Green. Including their series earlier this season, Bowling Green has a 7-5-2 record against the Mavericks over the last five seasons.
- One of the highlights of BGSU's 2018-19 campaign was a two game sweep of Minnesota State back in December. The Falcons bested the Mavericks in two contests both ending in 4-1 final scores in Slater Family Ice Arena. Game one (Dec. 14) would see Mankato get on the board first before the Falcons would roar back to score three unanswered power play goals. Two of these goals were off the stick and side of Connor Ford who led the way for Bowling Green. Brandon Kruse would join Ford scoring on a power play between his two. Stephen Baylis would add an empty net goal to seal it for the Falcons.
- Game two (Dec. 15) saw the Falcons get after them early with Tim Theocharidis and Lukas Craggs finding the back of the net in the first period. Craggs would notch one more on the night. Following a Minnesota State goal, Taylor Schneider would add one more for the Falcons to insure the game for Bowling Green. It is believed to be Bowling Green's first sweep of a top 3 opponent since the weekend of Feb. 7-8, 1992 when the Falcons swept No. 1 Michigan in a home-and-home series.
>>LAST TIME OUT
- Bowling Green comes into this championship game on a five game winning streak sweeping two WCHA playoff series in back-to-back weeks. Most recently, the Falcons swept Northern Michigan in a best-of-three series (March 15-16).
- No. 3 seeded Bowling Green defeated No. 2 seeded Northern Michigan University in game one of the WCHA Semifinals on Friday (March 15) night by a final score of 6-1. The Falcons scored six times on 42 shots on goal. Bowling Green traded power play opportunities with the Wildcats through the first period before getting two past NMU netminder Atte Tolvanen in the second period. The Falcons would proceed to score four more in the third period including two power play goals to start the final 20 minutes. Max Johnson tallied four points for the second straight game as BGSU collected win number 24 of the season, the most since the 1995-96 season.
- BGSU then completed the series sweep defeating NMU on Saturday (March 16) night in double overtime by a final score of 2-1. The Falcons scored twice on 43 shots on goal. Bowling Green would take an early lead in the contest with a goal from Connor Ford in the first period. Northern Michigan would tie the game early in the second period with a power play goal. The Falcons and Wildcats would battle all the way to double overtime where Sam Craggs would score to win the contest for Bowling Green. The victory advances the Bowling Green State University hockey program to its second appearance in the WCHA Championship in three years.
>>STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- The Bowling Green Falcons have advanced to their second WCHA Championship game in three seasons. This will be the second time the Orange and Brown will play in the title game since joining the conference after the 2012-13 season. To do so, BGSU has won five straight games; their longest winning streak of the season. It is also the first time the program has swept two consecutive best-of-three playoff series since the 2016-17 season (7 straight wins on their way to the title game).
- The Falcons' overall record extended to 25-9-5 with their series victory over Northern Michigan. This is the most wins the Bowling Green hockey program has achieved in a single season since the 1995-96 season (26 under former Head Coach Buddy Powers), and the most wins under current Head Coach Chris Bergeron.
- Bowling Green continues to bolster one of the strongest team defenses in all of college hockey. The Falcons enter this championship game with the second lowest goals-against-per-game average of 1.79, and have spent the majority of the season among the top three in team defense. Minnesota State enters this weekend's game with the lowest GAPG average (1.70). BGSU's penalty kill unit also remains one of the best sitting in second place with a percentage of .893. This group had a large hand in slowing down NMU's power play unit last weekend.
>>MAX JOHNSON: MR. MARCH
- Max Johnson continued to have the hot stick in Bowling Green's 6-1 victory over Northern Michigan in game one (March 15) of the WCHA Semifinals last weekend. The sophomore from Lakeville, Minnesota recorded two goals and two assists for the second straight game coming into Friday (March 15). Johnson would open the scoring for Bowling Green in the second period of play, before tallying back-to-back assists on BGSU's two power play goals to begin the third period. He would score one more in the third period to extend the Falcon lead. Max Johnson has heated up along with the rest of the Falcons since the calendar flipped to the month of March. He has recorded 12 points over Bowling Green's five game winning streak, and now leads the squad in both goals (19) and points (41).
- Max Johnson enters this championship game as the two-time reigning WCHA Forward Of The Week. This for his performances against Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech respectively. He also earns the award for the final two weeks it will be given out for the 2018-19 season. This was Johnson's third WCHA weekly award of the 2018-19 season (Oct. 29, March 11), and fourth career honor.
 >>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.Â
- 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
- Coming into this season, the Falcons returned 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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