Two games, two wins, the third sweep of the season for BGSU hockey (10-7-2, 6-4-2) in one of the most crucial series. The Falcons took a 3-0 and 3-1 win against Lake Superior State in the first weekend of January amongst fantastic performances by goaltender Christian Stoever, which advanced them to a tie for third place in the CCHA and dropped LSSU down to fifth.
It marked the first time since Feb. 16 and 17 against St. Thomas that BG has beaten a team twice in which expectations were low. In both that series and the Laker series BG went on the road expecting to come away with a couple of points and took five and six.
Not only did the win feel good, but it also had natural propulsion for the rest of the season and the year, winning the first CCHA series in three weeks, the first of the calendar year, against a pretty darn good team and in their home barn.
Head coach Dennis Williams and Bowling Green’s focus now shifts to another very good team, the Bemidji State Beavers (8-9-3, 5-5-2). The sixth place does not do justice to what a strong team BSU is, this season coming off a Mason Cup appearance and finishing the season in first place.
Like the other Minnesota teams, their schedule is quite difficult, with two games each against #18 Minnesota-Duluth, #15/16 St. Cloud State, #3 Minnesota, and 15/14 North Dakota. This is along with splitting the top two teams in the CCHA, Minnesota State and Augustana, a split against LSSU, a five-point weekend against St. Thomas and now playing Bowling Green in Ohio.
They do not have a single game all season that isn’t a ranked or CCHA opponent, yet through all of this they have fought to an (8-9-3) overall record, (5-5-2) in conference for a .500 points percentage.
Because of this outstandingly hard schedule, all stats you may normally consider need to be taken with a grain of salt. They are top four in the conference in nearly all offensive categories while riding at second in blocked shots (14 per game) and the lowest number of penalties in the CCHA, under three per game.
While they had an impressive nearly first-place offense in 2023-24, they won games because of their defensive ability and discipline with one of the best defensive cores in the conference and the best-performing netminder. In 2024-25 their offense and defense have taken steps back, but they are still quite formidable.
The 2023-24 regular season Goaltender of the Year, Mattias Sholl, is a staple for the Beavers, standing on his head throughout the last Mason Cup playoffs. The now senior California native has a .900+ save percentage this season with 2.73 goals against average, comparable to BG’s Cole Moore in performance.
He alone has tended the Beavers to 10 two-or-less goal-against games, certainly winning scenarios in which BSU has converted well (7-1-2 in those 10), but only 1-8-1 when he gives up three or more.
Scoring hasn’t been a problem for Bemidji State, with five players with double-digit points and four with 5+ goals. Junior Kirkland Irey is the premier Beaver forward, with eight goals and assists through 20 games, three first and game-winning goals, a .250 shooting percentage, a +4 rating, 12 blocks, and only four penalties on the season.
If anything like the forwards of Lake Superior State, Bowling Green will have no problem shutting down the offensive front. While they scored six goals on the weekend the more impressive feat was giving up only one, a full team effort led by Stoever between the pipes.
The last time BG allowed one goal in a two-game series was Nov. 15 and 16 of 2019 against Alaska Anchorage, the goaltender of record was Eric Dop who transferred to and played a full season at Boston College in 2021-22 and currently plays for the Peoria Rivermen. I guess that means Stoever is on track for BC.
BG’s Ryan O’Hara scored his first goal of the season against RIT before the turn of the year and now leads the team in points with 15, only three behind his total last season before his injury. He is the only Falcon of the top five scorers to have a negative rating, along with Brody Waters having a true race to the top of the scoring list.
Gustav Stjernberg did not play either game of the series at defense for BG. Instead of Jack Blake stepping into his role as he did during the Michigan Tech and St. Thomas series Stjernberg missed, it was Ivan Korodiuk, the midseason signee defenseman for BG who started both matches.
In the three games played (RIT, LSSU x2) he recorded six total shots and a block, playing with a promising amount of intensity and some high-quality shots. He did not look out-of-place on the blue line and added great energy to the back line of players. The outlook on Stjernberg is not known, Korodiuk or Blake can be expected to take his place assuming he is out of rotation.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Junior right winger – Kirklan Irey, Bemidji State
Irey has a point in four of the last five games, his 16 points meaning he is essentially guaranteed to score a point each weekend. He has the most goals and the most assists on the team with one of the better ratings and the best shot percentage.
Irey is in his third season with BSU and has the most points of his career in 17 fewer games played than last season when he scored 15 in twice as many shots. He is a fantastic offensive player and solid on the defensive end as well, with one of the highest number of blocks among Beaver forwards and only eight minutes of penalty.
Junior goaltender – Mattias Sholl, Bemidji State
He, and by extension defense, is going to be the reason Bemidji State wins or loses games this season. In games he holds opponents to two goals or less BSU is 7-1-2 while being 1-8-1 with more goals scored. He doesn’t get the most goal support and will need to play well against a Falcon team that has been hot in the O-zone.
He has been peppered this season, the fourth most shots against in the CCHA with the worst save percentage of any goalie with eight games played or more. Although they are the second-best blocking team in the conference it will be massive to continue aiding Sholl and giving him the best chance of stopping pucks.
Senior goaltender – Christian Stoever, Bowling Green
There is no hotter player in the CCHA than Christian Stoever. A monthly award followed by a weekly award at the first of the new year is inarguable, especially when he didn’t play until later in November.
His one goal allowed and 71 saves against Lake Superior State are even more impressive given LSSU was the number-one scoring team in the CCAH and one of the highest scorings in the nation.
The only goal he gave up came on a powerplay for the Lakers, a tip in front of the net that bounced over his head, frankly more luck than a full attempt.
He sits at a .963 save percentage and 1.21 goals against average, still undefeated at 5-0-1 with two shutouts. Right now, he is first in the conference in save percentage, goals-against average, second in saves per game, and shutouts. If he qualified for national statistics, he would be first in goals against average, save percentage, and winning percentage in the NCAA.
Junior left winger – Brett Pfoh, Bowling Green
There is so much positive about Pfoh, especially offensively. He is a great skater with good hands and is a massive breakaway threat. He does not have a set line like some other forwards but is a consistent second/third-line left winger who gets pretty consistent points and shots.
He’s only scored a point in two of the last nine games and three of the six games in which he has scored have been two-point trips. He is the next best pure scorer on the team behind Waters and getting Pfoh present offensively in more of BG’s games will behoove them going forward through the second part of the season.
