One of Bowling Green’s most difficult weekend series thus far has been the Ohio State Buckeyes in the fourth week of October, a home-and-home against an undefeated team in which they lost both games by two. This followed a maybe even tougher opponent in Western Michigan, currently ranked number seven in the nation, with only two losses in their 12 games played.
Minnesota State is one of the best teams in NCAA hockey, certainly competitive with both WMU and OSU. Ranked number 15 above perennial great programs like North Dakota and Quinnipiac, the Mavericks have ranked wins over Michigan and North Dakota in a split series and a sweep of No. 16 Omaha. Adding to that a 5-1-2 conference record, MSU is quite a scary team.
The Mavericks are on a seven-game unbeaten streak, the lone loss to Bemidji State in the first game of the conference season. Their only losses this season have come against either ranked opponents or in one-score games (or both), and they have a CCHA-leading win margin of one goal and a differential of 40-24.
While not the most potent offense in the CCHA, they are certainly one of the most top-to-bottom well-rounded teams. They have five players tied for first in goals (5) and eight players with 3+ assists on the season, with four players leading in scoring with 10+ points.
Similar to the offense, they aren’t the most stifling defense. However, they do have the most blocks in the CCHA (212) and the best goals-against average in the NCAA, with only 1.5 goals allowed per game, tied with No. 1 Michigan State. Much of that is directly attributed to the wall that has been Alex Tracy.
A junior goaltender, Tracy has the highest save percentage of any goaltender in the NCAA while saving the sixth most shots in college hockey. He also has the best goals-against average in the NCAA while being 11th in total goals allowed of any goaltender over 500 minutes played. His 10-4-2 record is currently 19th in college hockey, one of only three netminders to have 10+ wins in the season.
If for no other reason, Tracy will be a tough beat for the Falcons, much less one of the better skating defenses and offenses in the CCHA.
Dennis Williams and Bowling Green are on a four-game regulation winless streak, taking two losses, two shootout victories, and only four CCHA points against both St. Thomas and Michigan Tech. Offensive struggles have plagued BG, scoring only seven goals in four games (for reference, they scored seven goals in the Ferris State and Mercyhurst series and one game against Robert Morris).
The main bright spot has been both the power play and the defensemen. BG’s man advantage is third in the CCHA, converting on 22% of opportunities. They have scored three power-play goals in the last four games in 18 man-advantage attempts.
BG Blueliners have stepped up in CCHA play, a Falcon winning the Defenseman of the Week award every week of games in their conference schedule. They have scored three goals and 10 total points in the last six games (CCHA) with both Breck McKinley and Jack Blake stepping up into large offensive and defensive roles in the absence of Gustav Stjernberg in the last two series.
Bowling Green and Minnesota State face off in the first game of the two-game series on Dec. 6 in Mankato, Minnesota, and the second game on Dec. 7 in the same Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Falcon Media Sports Network will have both calls with the voice of Falcon Hockey, Ben Corak, on WBGU 88.1 FM (on bgfalconmedia.com) for the first game and Falcon Radio for the second.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Junior – Goaltender Alex Tracy
What else needs to be said? He is the best goaltender in the NCAA and has been a wall against both CCHA and non-conference opponents. The most goals he’s given up in a game is four in the second game of the season against Michigan. He has added three shutouts against ranked North Dakota Omaha and Northern Michigan in the CCHA.
If the averages are accurate to how he will play this series, Tracy will complete 24 saves per game and hold the Falcons to around three goals TOTAL.
Sophomore – Forward Luigi Benincasa
While not one of the leaders in scoring, Benincasa has one of the best offensive upsides of any player on the ice. With Ferris State in 2023-24, the freshman had only six goals but 16 assists, the second-highest-scoring player on the team with 22 total points.
This season he has already reached the three-goal mark with two helpers. He is behind schedule in his assist total and, with so many goal-scoring options, is due for a big point series.
Senior – Forward Ryan O’Hara
O’Hara is playing the due game and has been for a while. He was the leading goal scorer for Bowling Green in 2023-24, scoring ten goals along with eight assists. He is already almost matching his assist total with seven but is all ten goals away from last season’s total.
The senior is a staple on the power play this season, mainly playing the blue line on the man advantage as the fourth forward. This means his points, not his goals, will be quite consistent with his great passing and hockey I.Q.
Junior – Forward Brett Pfoh
The junior is the second-highest goal scorer on Bowling Green (3/3/6) and was the third-highest scoring player last season (9/6/15) behind O’Hara and Spencer Kersten.
His linemate Brody Waters leads BG in goal scoring as a clean-up man over the blue paint. Pfoh consistently plays farther out and gets many breakaway chances, an area BG will have to capitalize on in the MSU series if they want the best chance at beating Tracy. He also plays on a line with two other great forwards, Waters and Ben Doran, meaning his production will be bumped by great offenders around him.
