Three points to clinch, two or less and BGSU hockey will need some help from either Michigan Tech or St. Thomas to hold onto their home playoff spot. The Falcons take on eighth place Lake Superior State, MTU and UST play each other.
For the second weekend in a row, Bowling Green will play the last seed in the Mason Cup playoffs; last week Bemidji State, and this week LSSU. The Lakers are one win better than BSU was last weekend but come off a rough Minnesota State series in which they were swept handily by the best team in the CCHA.
Similar to the 2023-24 season, the Lakers started hot, with six wins and two-weekend sweeps before Christmas break. Yet since their home BGSU series the first weekend of the season, they have won only three games, including a five-game winless streak.
That series between LSSU and BGSU served as a turning point for both squads. Bowling Green stomped the Lakers, 3-0 in the first game and 3-1 in the second game, goaltender Christian Stoever earning a Goaltender of the Week award and forward Ryan O’Hara scoring three points and the first two CCHA goals of his season. Lake Superior’s Sasha Teleguine scored the only goal for the Lakers and goalie Rorke Applebee saved 52 shots and allowed five goals.
Just as Lake Superior has gone 3-9-1 since the rough series, Bowling Green has gone 6-5-2 since their great series, playing some of the best hockey of their last three seasons after that time.
Both squads are in must-win scenarios, BG far less than LSSU but still in need. Coming into the series, #8 Lake Superior looks to be paired with #1 Minnesota State whom they have lost four times this season, outscored 13-4. They cannot get home playoff but can climb out of the cellar and improve their matchup in the first round.
BG, however, simply looks to lock up the home playoff and possibly the third seed. They need three points to clinch a home playoff and must hope Michigan Tech takes fewer points than them against UST to acquire the third seed (MTU holds the tiebreaker over BG).
With two points, BG will have the most points in a single season since CCHA reformat. With two wins they will have the most wins in a BG conference season since 2019-20’ and most wins overall since 2020-21’.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Junior forward –Sasha Teleguine, Bemidji State
The forward out of Massachusetts is the only Laker to score against Bowling Green earlier in the series. He is also their leading goal scorer, tied with Brody Waters for second in the CCHA.
LSSU has a winning record when Teleguine scores a goal as well as being undefeated when he nets multiple. He is also a consistent threat, taking a steady stream of shots with the seventh-highest shot percentage in the conference.
Freshman goaltender – Rorke Applebee, Lake Superior State
He has fallen back down recently, but the rookie Applebee has been a leader in the CCHA in save percentage for quite some time. His recent stats are somewhat tainted by poor defense ahead of him.
Applebee sits on a seven-game losing streak, working with backup Easton Hesse through the last four series. Neither goaltender has played great, but Applebee has been better and more reliable. Hesse has found more success in the win column, 2-1-1 in the last four series.
Head coach Damon Whitten will have a difficult decision as to ride with a better goaltender or the winning goaltender.
Sophomore defenseman – Gustav Stjernberg, Bowling Green
Stjernberg had a hot three-game point streak, 1 goal and four assists in the first weeks of January. In the nine games since January 17, he has scored only two assists and rides a two-game pointless streak.
Dennis Williams’ Falcons have operated well when the blueliners play at a high level. Stjernberg, being the best of the defensemen, did not play well against Bemidji State, and coincidentally, BG lost both. Getting the sophomore back on track offensively and defensively will behoove the team in the final regular season series and the Mason Cup.
Senior left winger – Ryan O’Hara, Bowling Green
There isn’t much to say about O’Hara at this point. When he doesn’t score a goal, he sets them up and even when he isn’t on the score sheet he contributes positively to the game.
It is almost a given that he will score in a series, just how much. BG has lost only one game he scores a goal and only four when he scores a point. He is the heartbeat of the first line with Ben Doran and Brody Waters, the top three scorers for BG who receive many of their goals on passes from O’Hara.
