Falcons Host Northern Michigan For Final Home Series Of Regular Season

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons hockey team (14-13-3, 11-10-1-2) will play their final home series of the regular season, hosting the Northern Michigan Wildcats (15-13-1, 9-12-1-3) on Friday, Feb. 18, and Saturday, Feb. 19. Both games are scheduled for a 7:07 p.m. puck drop in Slater Family Ice Arena.

How to Follow
Both games will be streamed live on FloHockey, broadcast HERE. The games will also be broadcast by BGRSO on 88.1 FM, found online HERE. Live stats for both games are available HERE.

The games will also have live updates on Bowling Green Hockey's official Twitter page, @BGFalconHockey.

Tickets, Parking, and Attendance Information
Tickets for Friday's game are available HERE. Tickets for Saturday's game are available HERE. Fans who purchase a pre-sale ticket to Friday's game will receive a promo code for an $8 ticket to Saturday's game. Saturday will be Senior Night, as well as the SICSIC reveal.

Because of the BGSU Presidents Day Open House, a tented portion of Alumni Drive will be closed to thru-traffic from Thursday, Feb. 17, to Monday, Feb. 21. Road closure barricades will be in place in the affected area during this time.

Regardless of vaccination status, all guests, staff, and vendors will be required to wear a face covering while in the Slater Family Ice Arena. Fans are not required to show proof of vaccination to enter the Slater Family Ice Arena, but face coverings – covering the nose and mouth – are required for all fans as they watch the game from their assigned seat and enter, exit, and move around. Children 2 and younger will not be required to wear a face covering. If spectators are unable to wear face coverings, they are encouraged not to attend games in-person for the sake of their health and the health of others.

Falcon Facts

Bowling Green freshman Ryan O'Hara was named CCHA Rookie of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal against No. 14 Michigan Tech. O'Hara's score was the first game-winning goal of the year and pushed his point total to seven. The Falcons have had someone recognized as Player of the Week seven times: Austen Swankler (Rookie of the Week three times), O'Hara (Rookie of the Week), Coale Norris (Forward of the Week), Gabriel Chicoine (Defenseman of the Week), and Christian Stoever (Goaltender of the Week).
In their 4-2 win over No. 14 Michigan Tech, the Falcons' second line forwards each scored two points. Nathan Burke and Evan Dougherty each scored a goal and assisted on the other's, with Adam Pitters assisting on both scores.
Sam Craggs is expected to play his 175^th career game on Friday, which would move him into third place outright in program history.
The Falcons enter the weekend in fourth place in the CCHA standings, trailing Bemidji State by four points.
Saturday is Senior Night, with Bowling Green Hockey recognizing seniors Alex Barber, Nathan Burke, Gabriel Chicoine, Sam Craggs, Evan Dougherty, Coale Norris, Taylor Schneider, and Trevor St-Jean.

Opponent Outlook
Northern Michigan is 15-3-1 overall and 9-12-1-3 in conference play. They have 26 points in the CCHA standings, sitting in sixth place. The Wildcats will visit Slater Family Ice Arena after a weekend off. In their last game (Feb. 8), they were defeated by No. 14 Michigan Tech, 8-1. The Wildcats are tied for second in the CCHA with 99 goals on the season. They are led by AJ Vanderbeck, who is tied for the conference lead at 19 goals. This mark also ties for second nationally. Hank Crone leads NMU in assists and points with 25 and 34. His assist mark is second in the conference and fourth in the NCAA, while his point total is fifth in the CCHA and tenth in the country. The Wildcats have been effective on the power play, ranking 17th in the NCAA with a .222 conversion rate. Their penalty kill unit has struggled, ranking second-to-last nationally with a success rate of just over 70 percent.

Series Info
The Falcons lead the all-time series, 57-54-10. In their first series of the season, Northern Michigan secured five of the six conference points with a regulation win and shootout win. On Friday, NMU skated to a 6-3 victory, with David Keefer and Joseph Nardi each tallying two points. Taylor Schneider paced BGSU with two goals and an assist, while Alex Barber added a pair of assists. The teams battled to a 3-3 tie the following night. Trevor Cosgrove notched two assists for the Wildcats, while Alex Barber tallied two more for the Falcons. Spencer Schneider and T.J. Lloyd each scored their first goal of the season for BGSU, but neither team found twine during the overtime period. In the first shootout of the CCHA season, the Wildcats won, 2-1, after Michael Colella scored in the sudden death round. Nathan Burke netted the lone shootout score for the Orange and Brown. Christian Stoever finished the game with 31 saves, his second consecutive game with 30 or more saves.

Chalk Talk
On Friday, Feb. 18, Falcon Club members and Season Ticket holders are invited to a Chalk Talk with Falcon Hockey Assistant Coach Stavros Paskaris. The talk will begin at 6:15 p.m. in the Slater Family Ice Arena Center Ice Lounge.

Ty's Take
"They're (Northern Michigan) a really talented team. When they get going, they can score. We saw firsthand, the Friday night game earlier in the year was not a great game for us. They're a really skilled team, they want to score off the rush, and if you're not on top of things, they can score a bunch and score in a hurry. We need to be ready for that."

Up Next
Bowling Green will head to Sault Ste. Marie for the regular season finale. The Falcons will face off against Lake Superior State on Friday, Feb. 25, and Saturday, Feb. 26. Friday's game will begin at 7:07 p.m. ET and Saturday's will begin at 6:07 p.m. ET.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons hockey team on social media
Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BGFalconHockey
Instagram - 'bgfalcons' and 'bgfalconhockey'
Facebook - 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube - 'Falcon Athletics'

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