Hockey Below Zero: Falcons Head Back To Alaska For Weekend Series

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University hockey team will head back to Alaska this weekend, this time opposing Alaska Fairbanks for a Friday and Saturday series with both games beginning at 11:07 p.m. EST.

RV Bowling Green Falcons (15-13-2, 10-10-2-2 WCHA)
vs.
Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks (14-13-3, 12-9-3-1 WCHA)

GAME INFORMATION	Friday/Saturday, Feb. 14-15, 11:07 p.m.
LOCATION	Fairbanks, Alaska / Carlson Center
WATCH	FloHockey.TV
RADIO	Falcon Radio Network
LISTEN ONLINE	BGSUFalcons.com
GAME NOTES	Bowling Green

Ty Time

Knuckling Down Against The Nanooks
Being the second consecutive Alaska opponent for Bowling Green, the Nanooks have hit a rough patch of late, being 1-1-2-1 over their last four games. Most recently, Alaska took five of six points last weekend against Alabama Huntsville, moving their WCHA record to 12-9-3-1 while being 14-13-3 overall on the season. At home this year, Alaska has gone 5-7-2 with their last home win being back on Jan. 10 in a 2-0 final against Lake Superior State. Despite tying Huntsville last Friday (Feb. 7) the Nanooks set multiple season-highs as a team, scoring six goals on 43 shots with 11 assists and 17 total points, all being season-highs for the team, including seeing Max Newton register a team-high four points alone.

The Series At A Glance
The meeting with Alaska Fairbanks will be the first of the season between the two teams with the last series being played almost a year ago to the day, taking place on Feb. 15-16, 2019. In that series the Falcons were 1-0-1 against the Nanooks at Slater Family Ice Arena, scoring a total of 11 goals over the two games. Splits have become a norm in the series with the last sweep being during the 2014-15 season when the Falcons traveled to Fairbanks and came away with two 3-2 victories. Despite the few sweeps of late, Bowling Green holds the series lead all-time, being 32-29-10 over Alaska during the duration of the two teams meeting.

Last Time Out
The Orange and Brown are coming off a sweep against the other Alaska team, being Anchorage. The Falcons won a tough battle on Friday (Feb. 7) that went to overtime, topping the Seawolves 5-4. As for Saturday (Feb. 8), Bowling Green scored four unanswered goals to close out the series with a 4-1 victory, marking the first sweep for BGSU since taking two from Notre Dame earlier this season. The two wins continues a streak of near dominance for Bowling Green over Alaska Anchorage, now being 13-0-2-2 over the last 15 meetings.

Around The WCHA
As the season nears its close, the race in the WCHA is becoming tighter. Minnesota State tops the conference with 62 points followed by Bemidji State with 51. From there, the standings are tight. Northern Michigan currently stands in third with 44 points followed closely by Alaska with 40. A slight drop leads to Michigan Tech with 35 points with Bowling Green closing in at 34 points, creating a log jam in the middle of the conference. The Falcons have played two less games than Alaska and Michigan Tech leaving an opportunity for the Orange and Brown to make an eventual jump in the conference.

Hauser For Hobey
Senior captain Alec Rauhauser continued to improve his resume for college hockey's top recognition. On Friday, Rauhauser scored his ninth goal of the season, tying his career-high. The goal served as the game-winner for the Falcons, being the second time this year that Rauhauser has netted the deciding score. Now with 28 points, Rauhauser extended his team lead in the category while maintaining his hold on assists as well with 19.

Wright On Track
Cameron Wright continued his career season, scoring his 17th goal of the season, leading the team, which was also his eighth power play goal of the season, tying him with Connor Ford for the team lead in that category and being tied for third in the nation. With at least six games left in the season, Wright has an opportunity to etch his name in the record book. If he can score three more goals this year and reach 20 for the season, it would be the first time since 2007-08 that a Falcon reached the milestone. In that season Derek Whitmore led the Orange and Brown, netting 27 goals over the campaign.

Providing On The Power Play
The Falcons have taken the nation by storm on the power play this season, leading the way with 36 goals with the advantage on the ice, creating a three goal advantage to the next most, being 33 by both Sacred Heart and Minnesota State. Bowling Green also has the best power play percentage without allowing a short-handed goal. As for overall power play percentage, sitting at .261, the Orange and Brown rank seventh in that nation, scoring 36 times on 138 attempts. However, the success rolls into individual performance as well. Both Cameron Wright and Connor Ford have scored eight power play goals this season, tying them for third in the nation. With Wright and Ford both having eight goals, the Falcons are the only team in the country to have two players tally eight or more power play goals this season.

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