Bowling Green Prepares For Battle With Bemidji State

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons (12-12-0, 9-7-0 CCHA) close their six-game homestand with a series against the RV Bemidji State Beavers (9-6-5, 7-2-3 CCHA). Both CCHA tilts start at 7:07 p.m. ET at Slater Family Ice Arena. This will be the only series of the regular season between the teams, who played each other seven times in 2021-22. The Falcons, who enter the weekend on a four-game winning streak, are currently second in the CCHA, accumulating 29 points in 16 games. They trail No. 17 Minnesota State, who has 30 points in 16 games. The Beavers are tied with No. 13 Michigan Tech for third in the league, with each team tallying 25 points. BSU has played 12 games, while MTU has played 14.

How to Follow
Both games will be streamed on FloHockey, found HERE. The games will also be broadcast on 88.1 FM by BGRSO, which can be found online HERE. Use the WBGU Listen Now link, which is found on the right side of the desktop site and the bottom of the mobile site. Live stats for the games can be found HERE. The games will also have live updates on Bowling Green Hockey's official Twitter page, @BGFalconHockey.

Tickets, Parking, and Attendance Information
Friday is Jurassic Puck Night, celebrating 30 years of Jurassic Park. The first 1,000 fans will receive Jurassic Park/Bowling Green Falcons bucket hats at the entrances. Tickets are available HERE and parking can be purchased HERE. Saturday is Hockey is For Everyone, with groups from all backgrounds invited to join us for a Falcon Hockey game. Tickets can be purchased HERE and parking can be found HERE. Credit cards are now being accepted for parking. Cash will continue to be accepted as well. Fans are encouraged to purchase parking passes in advance

Falcon Facts

Austen Swankler is riding a 14-game scoring streak, the longest active streak in the country. He has 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in this stretch. He currently leads or is tied for the lead in the CCHA in goals (15), assists (19), and points (34). Nationally, he ranks second in points, third in goals, and fourth in assists. He is the only player in the NCAA with over 15 goals and over 15 assists. He was recently named CCHA Forward of the Week after a series that included a career-best four-point night. This marked the 11th time a Falcon earned a weekly or monthly award this season, eclipsing last season's total of 10.
Christian Stoever was named to the HCA Mike Richter Award Watch List, an award that is given to the top goaltender in NCAA Division I Men's Hockey. He leads the league and is sixth in the country with 575 saves. He has 10 games with 30 or more saves, including a 39-save shutout against Ferris State.
Ryan O'Hara has a point in the last six games, totaling two goals and five assists in this span. This includes a career-best three-point effort on Friday, all of which were assists. He is second on the team in points with 23, a total that ranks fifth in the CCHA and 19th in the NCAA. He also leads the Orange and Brown in plus/minus at +8.
Nathan Burke has scored a goal in the last three games and is tied with Ethan Scardina for the team lead in power play goals (6). This total is second in the CCHA and sixth in the NCAA. The Falcons are the only team having multiple players with six or more power play goals. As a team, they rank second nationally in power play goals (26) and fourth nationally in power play percentage (26.8).
Burke has 40 career goals, tying Alex Barber and Taylor Schneider for second on the team. Chase Gresock leads the way with 41, in addition to 52 assists that give him 93 points. Gresock is third on the team with 20 points this season. Schneider has 98 career points and will look to join Barber in the 100-point club, which would give BGSU 76 total 100-point scorers. Schneider also leads all active NCAA players with 170 games played, a number that is tied for sixth in Falcon Hockey history.
Ben Wozney had a career-best three points on Saturday, one night after scoring his first collegiate goal. He holds or is tied for the lead among BGSU defensemen in goals (2), assists (10), and points (12).
Friday's win over Lake Superior State featured several firsts, including Salvatore Evola's first start and win, Quinn Emerson's first game-winning goal, and Zach Vinnell's first goal as a Falcon.

Opponent Outlook
One of the top defensive teams in the league, the Beavers are led by one of the CCHA's top goaltenders, Mattias Sholl. Sholl leads the league in save percentage (.926) and goals against average (1.88), while tying for the conference lead in weekly/monthly awards (4). His monthly award came in December, with teammate Will Zmolek joining him as Defenseman of the Month. Mitchell Martan, Lleyton Roed, and Elias Rosen share the team lead in points at 14, with all three earning a weekly CCHA award at least once. The Beavers have a .708 winning percentage in conference games, the best in the league. They rank third in the standings with 25 points but have played four fewer games than leader Minnesota State and the second-place Falcons. BSU has played nine overtime games, holding a 3-1-5 record in those contests. Six have come in conference play, with their record standing at 2-1-3 in those games. Last weekend, they tied and lost to Minnesota-Duluth.

Series Info
Bowling Green and Bemidji State face off for the only series this season, one season after meeting seven times. The Beavers won four of the seven games last year, including the decisive third game of the CCHA Mason Cup Quarterfinals. In those seven games, Taylor Schneider tallied six assists. Brayden Krieger scored his first game-winning goal, while Anton Malmstrom blocked 16 shots. The all-time series favors the Falcons, 18-17-3.

Chalk Talk
On Friday, Jan. 13, 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
"The key for us is to put ourselves in positions where we're getting quality shots and we're having second and third efforts on plays in the offensive zone. It's difficult against them (Bemidji State), because not only is Mattias (Sholl) a good goalie, but they defend really well. They've always defended really well. They, as much as anybody in college hockey, value defending, value their identity, and are comfortable being in low-scoring, close games. We're going to have to earn everything we get."

Coach Eigner's full press conference from Jan. 10 can be found HERE.

Up Next
The Falcons hit the road for the first time in 2023 with a conference series at St. Thomas. Bowling Green faces off against the Tommies for a Thursday-Friday series, playing on Jan. 19-20. Both games start at 8:07 p.m. ET in St. Thomas Ice Arena, located in Mendota Heights, Minn.

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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Alex Barber

Nathan Burke

Quinn Emerson

Salvatore Evola

Chase Gresock

Brayden Krieger

Anton Malmstrom

Ryan O'Hara

Ethan Scardina

Taylor Schneider

Christian Stoever

Austen Swankler

Zach Vinnell

Ben Wozney

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