BGSU hockey (15-7-6, 12-5-3) takes on the No. 17/18 Augustana Vikings (18-9-3, 12-7-2) in their second-to-last road series of the year this weekend.
The Vikings are one of only two teams in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association that BG has yet to play this season.
The Falcons enter the weekend with a load of momentum, having taken four out of six possible points against CCHA leaders St. Thomas last weekend.
Conversely, Augustana enters the contest looking to bounce back. The Vikings went winless last weekend, losing 3-2 in overtime and then 4-3 in regulation against Michigan Tech.
The marquee matchup between these two teams is the comparison between their elite goaltending rooms.
In the case of the Vikings, one player carries nearly all of the weight. Junior goaltender Josh Kotai has been nothing short of sensational this season, posting a save percentage of 0.933 through 28 games. This mark is the highest in the CCHA.
Meanwhile, for the Falcons, it has been mostly a two-man show this year in the goal. Since the start of the new year, the Falcons’ rotation has typically consisted of junior Cole Moore opening the series on Friday and freshman Jacob Steinman handling goalie duties on Saturday.
Between the two, the average save percentage is 0.910, keeping the Falcons comfortably in the top four of the conference in save percentage.
Amongst both the Falcon and Viking goalies, each player has earned at least one CCHA Goaltender of the Week award during their careers.
The other side of the matchup is the offensive production. Both teams have contributed some of the most eye-popping stats in the entire conference.
For Augustana, the offense is self-explanatory: get on the power-play, and good things happen. The Vikings lead the CCHA in power-play goal percentage, with a 0.233 mark, scoring 20 such goals this season. They are tied for first in the conference in scoring margin, averaging +0.9 per game.
For the Falcons, the biggest strength is arguably the face-off success. The Falcons dominate the individual leaderboard, with Noah Morneau, Jaden Grant, Connor Levis, and Ben Doran ranking 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 10th, respectively, in CCHA face-off win percentage.
Beyond the face-off, the Falcons are most successful in five-on-five hockey, where they held St. Thomas, the CCHA’s top offense, to no even-strength goals in regulation.
The biggest caveat for the Falcons is their propensity for penalties. The Falcons lead the conference substantially in penalty minutes, largely due to the erratic performance of Gustav Stjernberg. Despite being an elite contributor as a defenseman and an alternate captain, Stjernberg will be suspended for Friday’s match against the Vikings due to his recurring game misconduct ejections.
The Falcons will visit the Vikings and drop puck at 8:07 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, and at 7:07 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Lucas Kleimeyer will have the broadcast for you live from Sioux Falls, available on both WBGU 88.1 FM and bgfalconmedia.com.
