Every BGSU hockey series since the start of February has been the most important of the season. The final of the season, a road game at Michigan Tech, undoubtedly has the most pressure on it for the Falcons.
BG left points at home with a loss and a shootout loss to Minnesota State. Not only did this hurt the morale of the Falcons, but it also dropped them below the Mavericks in the standings and took them out of a home-playoff berth.
Hosting a quarterfinal matchup is a big advantage for any CCHA team, especially so for the Falcons, who have sported crowds of 3,200+ every game of 2026. Yet the need to delight home crowds again this season depends, most likely, on a sweep of Michigan Tech.
In the CCHA, the top four seeds host the first round of the playoff against their respective opponents. Bowling Green is fifth, two points behind Minnesota State and four behind both Michigan Tech and Minnesota State.
With a lot of ground to make up, head coach Dennis Williams turns his eye to the Huskies. The second-year head coach clinches playoff games in Bowling Green with five or more points in Houghton, Michigan.
Michigan Tech is a tough customer, a regular among the top three teams in the CCHA all season. First-year head coach Bill Muckalt has coached his men to be one of the top offensive and defensive teams in the conference, a feat they show with the second-best margin of victory in the CCHA.
Muckalt inherited an already strong team from the previous bench-boss Joe Shawhan, who won a Mason Cup Championship in 2023. Shawhan’s pieces were bolstered by a couple of power transfers to form a team poised to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Owen Bartoszkiewicz is the most important of the additions, the junior goaltender immediately top-five in the conference in goals against, saves per game, and save percentage. He owns all 21 of MTU’s wins this season.
The other is also a defensive addition, senior blue-liner Jack Anderson, who has a team-leading 52 blocks and conference-leading +17 rating. His influence also comes ahead of the defensive zone, scoring the most goals and third most points by a defenseman in the CCHA this season.
Both transfers are upperclassmen, both following Muckalt from Lindenwood after an 8-22-2 record in 2024-25.
Michigan Tech also has two all-conference level forwards in Stiven Sardarian (11/30/41) and Max Koskipirtti (12/21/33). The program also has a bid for their third straight rookie of the year from the CCHA in Teydon Trembecky, who leads the team in goals and power-play goals.
Despite those five being their best players, MTU has staggering depth on the ice with seven players in the 20+ point range and four in the 10+ goal range.
The most comparable team in the CCHA to Michigan Tech is St. Thomas. Tommies also have good transfer additions, a great youthful core, strong offensive defensemen, and a beyond solid transfer goaltender. Bowling Green, in a series at home, lost in overtime and won in regulation, a four-point weekend against the No. 15 team in the country at the time.
The Falcons have handled business in two of their last three series, taking ranked upset wins against St. Thomas and Augustana, but failing to do so against Minnesota State. Bowling Green needs two heavy upset wins over the Huskies to clinch a much-desired home playoff spot.
Added depth to this series and a forming rivalry are heavy implications in years past.
In 2023-24, MTU visited BG on the second-to-last series of the season, sweeping BG on a total of 10-1 goals for and against. Just two weeks later, the Huskies hosted BG, sweeping them in the Mason Cup quarterfinal and going on to win the tournament.
In 2024-25, BG matched up with MTU in the quarterfinal, this time in the Slater Family Ice Arena. BG won the playoff series for the first time in over five seasons, beating Michigan Tech 2-1 in OT and 4-0 for a sweep.
The final games of the regular season for Falcon Hockey in 2025-26 will be broadcast on WBGU 88.1 FM, 15 minutes before puck drop at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday.
