Falcons to Finish Regular Season With Home Series Against Wildcats

Friday, February 24

Bowling Green, OH

7:07 PM

Bowling Green State University

Northern Michigan

Tickets

Photo by: Morgan Holscher, BGSU Athletics

Falcons to Finish Regular Season With Home Series Against Wildcats

February 23, 2023 | Ice Hockey

Bowling Green Game Notes (PDF)Ty Eigner Press Conference (Feb. 21)Buy Tickets!Buy Parking!Watch (FloHockey)Listen (88.1 FM, WBGU Listen Now Link)Live Stats Register for Postgame Skate With Scott Hamilton Vote Swankler for Hobey

Bowling Green hosts Northern Michigan for Senior Night, Scott Hamilton Night, and SICSIC Reveal

By: by David Dietrich, BGSU Strategic Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons (15-15-2, 12-10-2 CCHA) close the 2022-23 regular season the same way it began, with a series against the Northern Michigan Wildcats (16-16-0, 12-12-0 CCHA). BGSU hosts NMU on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, with both games starting at 7:07 p.m. ET in Slater Family Ice Arena. The Falcons, who are in third with 41 conference points, have secured home ice in the first round of the CCHA Playoffs and will either finish third or fourth in the league. The Wildcats, who are tied for fifth with 33 conference points, can finish as high as fourth and as low as sixth, with a fourth-place finish securing the league's final home ice advantage in the first round.

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 will be Senior Night, with the Falcon Hockey program recognizing Alex Barber, Nathan Burke, Max Coyle, Evan Dougherty, Chase Gresock, Hunter Lellig, Adam Pitters, Zack Rose, Taylor Schneider, and Zach Vinnell. The senior class will be recognized before the game, so fans are encouraged to arrive prior to the ceremony (approx. 6:45 p.m. start). Tickets can be purchased HERE and parking can be purchased HERE. The first 200 students to the game will receive Diamond Cutter shirts, which display the famed series sweep celebration of Equipment Manager Scott Jess.

BGSU is hosting the MAC Track and Field Championships on Friday (Feb. 24) and Saturday (Feb. 25) at the Perry Field House. Please follow BGSU Police and Parking Staff for guidance to the best available overflow lot.

Saturday is Scott Hamilton Bobblehead Night and the SICSIC Reveal. Fans can pick up a Scott Hamilton Bobblehead in the southeast corner of the arena. There are a limited amount and the bobbleheads will be first come, first serve. There will also be a postgame skate with Scott Hamilton, fans can register for the event HERE. Walkup registration after the game will be available. The cost is $10 and this includes skate rental. A portion will be donated to the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation. At the game's second intermission, two members of the BGSU Spirit Group SICSIC will be revealed. Tickets can be purchased HERE and parking can be purchased 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

Five players recorded a multi-point game in the Michigan Tech series, with each marking a milestone for the player. Chase Gresock notched two assists in the series finale, with the first marking his 100th career point. On Friday, Seth Fyten scored two goals, the first multi-goal game of his career. This included the game-winning goal, which was also the first of his career. Ethan Scardina and Hunter Lellig each had a two-assist game on Friday, marking each skater's first multi-assist game of the season. Finally, Alex Barber logged his 27th career multi-point game on Friday, which is the most on the team.
Gresock joined Alex Barber and Taylor Schneider as members of the 100-point club, making the Falcons the only team in the country with three 100-point scorers. Gresock, who has a season line of 10G-18A--28P and a career line of 45G-56A--101P, is tied for 10th among active skaters in career goals. He is riding a five-game scoring streak, totaling three goals and four assists for seven points in this stretch. Barber and Schneider each added to their total over the weekend, with Barber now standing at 107 points (42G-65A) and Schneider at 106 (43G-63P). Schneider has accumulated this total in 178 games, the most career games among active players and second-most in Falcon Hockey history. Barber, who has played 173 games, ranks third among active skaters and sixth in program history.
Austen Swankler scored his 17th goal of the season against Michigan Tech, pushing his season point total to 40. He leads the conference in assists and points, while ranking second in goals. Nationally, he ranks seventh in points, 16th in goals, and 18th in assists. He leads the Falcons in all three categories, as well as plus-minus (+10), power play points (16), and penalty minutes (39). He ranks third in the Hobey Baker Memorial Award fan vote, with Phase I of voting open until March 5. Fans can vote daily HERE. He is the first Falcon to reach 40 points in one season since Max Johnson registered 43 in 2018-19, a total he reached in 41 games. Swankler has reached his current total in 31 games and has a career line of 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points in 67 games.
The Falcons enter the final week of the regular season with 106 goals, the most in the CCHA. They also lead the conference in shot percentage (.114). Nationally, BGSU is 12^th in goals scored and 10^th in shot percentage.
This weekend will feature two of the conference's most impressive programs in terms of special teams. Bowling Green is fourth in power play percentage and third in penalty kill percentage, while Northern Michigan ranks second in each category. Both teams have seven shorthanded goals, tied for the league lead and third in the nation. BGSU's Quinn Emerson and Taylor Schneider and NMU's AJ Vanderbeck represent three of only five CCHA players with multiple shorthanded tallies. The Wildcats are tied for the league lead in power play goals (33), with the Falcons ranking third at 31. Nationally, Northern Michigan is fourth in power play goals and ninth in percentage. The Falcons are seventh in power play goals and 14th in percentage. On the penalty kill, the Wildcats rank 10th and Bowling Green is 14th.
This marks the fourth time in program history the Falcons begin and end the regular season with the same opponent, with the previous three being against Michigan (1986-87, 1987-88, 2010-11).

Opponent Outlook
After splitting the Oct. 1-2 series to start the season, both teams enter the final weekend with a .500 overall record and hopes of securing the highest possible CCHA finish. The Falcons have locked up home-ice in the first round of the CCHA Playoffs and can finish as high as third. The Wildcats, who scored 17 goals in a series sweep of Ferris State, can finish as high as fourth, which would give them home ice in the first round. Andre Ghantous (Forward of the Week), Simon Kjellberg (Defenseman of the Week), and Joey Larson (Rookie of the Week) each earned CCHA honors after their dominant weekend. Ghantous and AJ Vanderbeck each have over 100 career points, joining the Falcons as the only teams in the league with multiple 100-point scorers. The Wildcats rank second in the conference in power play and penalty kill percentage.

Series Info
Bowling Green has the slight advantage in the all-time series, leading 58-57-10. In the October series, BGSU won 6-4 on Friday before NMU took a 4-3 overtime victory in the finale. Both teams had a player earn a CCHA weekly award, with Austen Swankler earning Forward of the Week and Aiden Gallacher earning Defenseman of the Week. The last 10 total matchups favor NMU, 6-3-1. The last 10 regular season contests have been split, 4-4-2, with the Wildcats winning both shootouts.

Chalk Talk
On Friday, Feb. 24, Falcon Club members and season ticket holders are invited to a Chalk Talk with Falcon Hockey Head Coach Ty Eigner. Due to the Senior Night ceremony, the talk will begin at 6:05 p.m. and end at 6:15 p.m. in the Slater Family Ice Arena Center Ice Lounge.

Ty's Take
"They're (Northern Michigan) a very talented team, they can score. Last weekend certainly proves that they can score. They had 17 goals on the weekend. They've got a lot of talent offensively. They have to be feeling good about themselves. It should be a really entertaining series with a lot of offensive talent, two of the top three scoring teams in the league. We'll have our work cut out for us."

Coach Eigner's full press conference from Feb. 21 can be found HERE.

Up Next
The Falcons host the best-of-three CCHA Mason Cup Quarterfinals, with the opponent to be determined by the final conference standings. Game 1 will be played at 7:07 p.m. ET on Friday, March 3, then Game 2 will be played at 7:07 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 4. If necessary, Game 3 will be played at 5:07 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 5. Tickets will be on sale soon!

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