No. 7 Bowling Green Set To Begin WCHA Play Against Ferris State This Weekend

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University hockey team will begin play within the WCHA this weekend, traveling to take on Ferris State for games on Saturday (Jan. 2) and Sunday (Jan. 3), both set for 3:07 p.m. puck drops. The Falcons will enter with a 9-1 record, including two non-conference wins over Ferris State who enter at 0-4.

No. 7 Bowling Green Falcons (9-1-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA)
vs.
Ferris State (0-4-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Saturday, Jan. 2, 3:07 p.m. // Sunday, Jan. 3, 3:07 p.m.
LOCATION	Big Rapids, Mich. / R.L. Ewigleben Sports Complex
WATCH (FloHockey)	Saturday / Sunday
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network
LIVE STATS	Saturday / Sunday
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green
GAME PROGRAM	Bowling Green

Falcons Begin Conference Play With Ferris State
Bowling Green will open conference play within the WCHA this weekend with a familiar opponent in Ferris State. The two teams met just a few weeks ago in a non-conference series in which the Falcons came away with a series sweep. For the Orange and Brown, they enter WCHA play after going 9-1 in non-conference play, working their way to a No. 7 ranking in the USCHO poll. Bowling Green will have two more non-conference series later in the season, but they will be played against WCHA members in Bemidji State and Northern Michigan on weekends that were originally set for Alaska opponents.

Facing Ferris State
Ferris State was only able to log four non-conference games prior to WCHA play beginning, being two games against Bowling Green and another two against Northern Michigan. In the games against the Falcons, Ferris State scored two goals in each contest with all four goals being scored by different players. In fact, only one player logged multiple points for the Bulldogs over the course of the series, being Lucas Finner with two assists in the first game of the series. Ferris State continued to see close games, losing to Northern Michigan 5-4 in the first meeting before sending the second game to overtime with a goal off the post with less than 30 seconds remaining.

The Games At A Glance
Having just faced earlier this month, the Falcons and Bulldogs should be familiar with each other already. In the last series Bowling Green captured 3-2 and 6-2 wins with both Zack Rose and Eric Dop picking up victories on the weekend. Four players logged two goals on the weekend, being Max Johnson, Alex Barber, Cameron Wright and Seth Fyten. Both of Wright's scores came in the second game while the other three scored in both contests. As for Ferris State, they played two goalies in each game, splitting the time. Roni Salmenkangas gave up four goals with 45 saves on the weekend while Carter McPhail allowed five and saved 26.

Last Time Out
Bowling Green closed out the 2020 calendar with a 2-1 win over Robert Morris at the Slater Family Ice Arena to close out non-conference play with a 9-1 record. After trailing 1-0 entering the third period, Connor Ford netted a power play score to tie it up just 36 seconds into the final period. Less than three minutes later the Orange and Brown captured the lead with a goal from Will Cullen to secure the victory. Zack Rose picked up the win between the pipes with a season-high 30 saves to improve to 4-1-0 on the season. The win also pushed the Falcons to a 17-1-2 standing over their last 20 games dating back to last season as well as a current six-game win streak.

Falcons On Historical Run
Bowling Green has been able to begin the 2020-21 season with a 9-1 record, the fourth best start in program history. Currently, the team is on a six-game win streak, the second longest among active streaks in the country, while also being 17-1-2 over their last 20 games dating back to last season. This marks the first time the Falcons have had just one loss over a 20-game stretch since the 1983-84 season which ended with Bowling Green winning the National Championship.

Ford Nearing 100 Career Points
Scoring the game-tying goal against Robert Morris, Connor Ford moved a step closer to 100 career points, now standing at 97. Ford would become the program's 75th player to reach the mark and second this season after Max Johnson did so earlier in the year. With Brandon Kruse reaching the mark at the end of last season, the three would become the only active trio of teammates in the country to have reached the centennial mark.

Balanced Attack For Bowling Green
So far this season the Falcons have been stellar on both sides of the puck resulting in the second best scoring margin in the country. Currently, the Falcons are +2.4 while averaging four goals per game, sixth best in the nation, and allowing just 1.6 goals, third in the nation. Part of this is because the Orange and Brown are also leading the nation for goals scored with 40. Across their 10 games, the Falcons have scored at least one goal in each contest and at least three in eight of their 10 games. As for their opponents, the Falcons haven't allowed more than three goals in a game, which they only did once. In eight games they've held their opponent to one or two goals and also registered a shutout against Adrian.

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