The last time BGSU hockey (16-13-4, 12-10-4) won a playoff series was 2020 when they swept Alaska in the first round of the WCHA playoffs before the rest of the season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s been even longer since they were able to win a playoff series at the Slater Family Ice Arena as they were last able to complete said task in 2019 after defeating Michigan Tech in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
Since then, BGSU left the WCHA (which is currently a women’s only conference), joined the CCHA, and played four seasons in their new conference without securing a single playoff series victory.
However, another change to BGSU hockey looks to stop this negative trend as head coach Dennis Williams leads the team toward their first playoff campaign under his leadership.
The Falcons will face a common face and a noted conference rival in the Michigan Tech Huskies (16-15-3, 12-11-3). For the Falcons, the series will be a rematch of last year’s opening playoff series where Bowling Green lost 5-0 and 6-5 in route to being swept.
This season, the Falcons and Huskies have played once before with the Huskies claiming a 3-0 shutout victory before Bowling Green responded and claimed a win in the shootout after drawing 2-2 after regulation at the Slater Family Ice Arena during the teams’ series in back in November.
“So much has changed for us, it’s been three months,” said Williams.
While a lot has changed since the two teams’ last matchup, many things remain the same as both teams have players that will be circled in the game plan of their opponent.
“They have some dangerous players on their team,” said Williams. “We’re gonna have to be on our very best, and be very familiar when certain guys are on the ice for them.”
For the Huskies, those dangerous players include freshman forwards Logan Morrell and Elias Jansson, and junior forward Stiven Sardarian.
Morell has scored 20 points throughout his freshman campaign and is currently tied for 12th in the CCHA for goals scored with 11.
Jansson leads Michigan Tech in goals with 12 which is tied for 10th best in the CCHA. Jansson is one of only six players in the CCHA to record a hat trick (fellow Husky Alex Nordstrom and BG’s Brody Waters are also amongst the six)
Sardarian is MTU’s most dangerous weapon and his 34 points leads the team while being fourth in the CCHA. He is also tied for first in the CCHA for assists (24) and tied for 15th in the CCHA for goal scoring (10). His assists per game average of .73 also ranks him highly in the entire NCAA as he is currently tied for 15th best.
BG has a group of their own dangerous players including sophomore forward Brody Waters, senior forward Ryan O’Hara and senior goaltender Christian Stoever.
Waters’ 16 goals lead the Falcons and is tied for first in the CCHA. Waters stands alone as the leader in both the CCHA and NCAA for power-play goals scored with 10.
Co-captain O’Hara leads the team in points (32) and sits fifth in the CCHA for the stat. O’Hara also leads the team in assists with 21 which is good enough for fourth best in the CCHA. The co-captain is also one of only five players in the CCHA to have recorded more than 100 shots on goal throughout the season with O’Hara recording 130 (Michigan Tech’s Isaac Gordon (110) is also amongst the five).
Stoever has battled injuries throughout the season, but when the “Hot Stoeve” is in the net he is amongst the best in all of college hockey. The senior goaltender’s .939 save percentage ranks as fourth best in the NCAA, his 1.95 goals against average is eighth best in the NCAA, and he currently ranks as fifth in the NCAA for goalie winning percentage with a .767.
Penalties will almost certainly play a critical factor in the contest as Bowling Green has the NCAA’s leader in powerplay goals with Waters while Michigan Tech has the NCAA’s sixth best power play and score a goal on more than 26% of their power play opportunities.
Both teams will need to keep emotions in check despite the high stakes of Playoff hockey in order to avoid gifting their opponent crucial power play opportunities.
It has been five seasons since BG last won a playoff series and six seasons since they last won a playoff series in front of their home crowd at the Slater Family Ice Arena. Coach Williams was brought on as head coach largely due to his winning reputation in playoff atmospheres both in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournaments.
This weekend, Coach Williams and the Falcons will have the opportunity to translate that winning reputation to the college level while also avenging their loss to Michigan Tech in last year’s playoffs and correcting their five-season trend of playoff struggles.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Junior forward – Stiven Sardarian, Michigan Tech
The Buffalo Sabres’ 2021 draft pick has had an exceptional year with 10 goals and 24 assists for a total of 34 points on the campaign. Sardarian has scored against BG in the seasons previous series and often displays his high talent level throughout the game. However, the Saint Petersburg, Russia native finished the season with three straight games without recording a point and will look to correct this as the playoffs kick-off.
Freshman forward – Logan Morrell, Michigan Tech
Morell’s 20 points are especially impressive due to his status as a freshman. Morell finished his season with two straight games with a point a goal and an assist in Michigan Tech’s series against St. Thomas. This will be Morell’s first taste of college hockey playoffs.
Senior goaltender – Christian Stoever, Bowling Green
The stats speak for themselves, Stoever is amongst the best goaltenders in the entire NCAA and has singlehandedly carried BG to wins multiple times throughout the season. If BG wants to break their playoff losing streak, Stoever will need to be on his game and might even need to steal a game for the Falcons.
Sophomore defenseman – Gustav Stjernberg, Bowling Green
Stjernberg is exactly the type of player that a team needs to win in the playoffs. Stjernberg is an all-around player for the Falcons and will be crucial throughout the series. Stjernberg is one of the most physical players in the CCHA and constantly lays massive body checks while also being tied with Ben Wozney for the team’s leader in blocked shots. Stjernberg also contributed offensively and scored four goals and 15 points throughout the regular season.
