No team this season has played a more polarized two weekends than BGSU Hockey will after Dec. 14. After an away regulation and overtime loss to No. 12 Minnesota State on the first weekend of December, Bowling Green will have Northern Michigan, the last-place team in the CCHA.
Not only are the Wildcats the worst in the CCHA but they could also be regarded as the worst in the NCAA. According to RPI (rating percentage index), they are the second worst (#63) team in D1 hockey and are the only team with one or fewer wins. That one win came against Alaska-Anchorage, who have only four wins and a ranking of 57.
Their most goals scored in a conference series was three, all in one game against Michigan Tech. NMU has scored nine goals in ten games while being shut out three times and held to one score six times, earning only two CCHA points all season.
Amazingly, that one point came to the best team in the conference, Minnesota State. They took the Mavericks to a shootout and won in three rounds, goaltender Ryan Ouellette stopping all three MSU tries.
Ouellette has been the bright spot of the season for NMU. The senior transfer from Niagara stepped into the starting role, allowing less than three goals per game, saving 91.6 percent of shots (4th in CCHA), and leading the conference in saves per game (29.67).
While their netminder has been pretty good, skaters have been a sore spot. Sophomore Matthew Romer leads in goals for NMU with three, and Grayden Slipec leads in points with six. The forwards are two in 23 Wildcats that are in their first season with the team, while the three that have returned to the team have scored only seven of 51 total points this season.
For a team that is desperate for an outright win, the NMU series is perfectly timed for Bowling Green. The Falcons haven’t won outright in six games, with over a month between puck drop and the final buzzer of a last-regulation victory. The last culprit of a BG win was Ferris State in the first series of the CCHA campaign.
Special teams have seen a rough patch for BG, with a penalty kill that is second to last in the conference and a power play that, without a three-power-play-goal game for Brody Waters, would be seventh in the CCHA.
Goal scoring in general has been in immense drought, with only 5 goals in the last four games from Bowling Green. A representation of that drought is Ryan O’Hara, who has scored 10 assists but has yet to find his first goal of the season. He has taken the most shots on the team and the seventh most in the CCHA but has not been able to break the plane through 14 games played.
Bowling Green and Northern Michigan play two games at 7:07 p.m. in the Slater Family Ice Arena on Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14. Nathan Burkett from the Falcon Media Sports Network will have the call both nights on WBGU 88.1 FM.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Freshman Center – Jakub Altrichter, Northern Michigan
Altrichter has many aspects of his game that are both developing and already quite solid. The centerman has the fifth-best faceoff-winning percentage in the CCHA (.550) while also being tied for second in points with five.
All five of his points are assists, but the rookie is a multi-goal game waiting to happen. He has the most shots on the team with 37, putting up a consistent number every game that just hasn’t been able to fall this season.
Senior Goalie – Ryan Ouellette, Northern Michigan
If you asked a CCHA head coach which Wildcat he would want to add to his team, Ouellette would be a solid choice. Even with a suspect defense, he has put up the second most saves in the conference with the most saves per game.
Simply put, he hasn’t received defensive or offensive support. He has seven games with two goals allowed or less (a situation you would expect to win) and has won only one of those. Even still, he’s started to allow a few more scores, 12 goals over the last four games.
Sophomore Defenseman – Gustav Stjernberg, Bowling Green
There isn’t much statistical backing for how great Stjernberg is for BG, but he certainly has been one of the most crucial players to Bowling Green’s success. He is the second-highest-scoring blueliner with one of the better D-man ratings (-2).
His defense is his greatest asset, a mainstay on the penalty kill and lockdown on breakaways, and he has blocked 19 shots this campaign. His main issue: the penalty box, a team-leading 11 penalties for the Enebyberg, Sweden, native.
Graduate Student Center Ethan Scardina, Bowling Green
If you didn’t think Scardina was a valuable player to BG before the Minnesota State series, you should now. The fifth-year senior served a suspension during the 4-1 loss to MSU in which the Falcons were punked in the circles, winning only 14 to 23 for the opponent. His addition in the second match brought BG back to the lead in the wheels, 32-25 while contributing greatly to the penalty kill.
He has only one goal and one assist on the season, but Scardina plays well without the puck, meaning his shifts are still successful even without offensive production.
