Eight Falcon hockey players will be honored this weekend at the BGSU Ice Arena for senior night as BG faces Bemidji State in the final regular season series.
The list of Falcon seniors include defenseman Jake Sloat, forwards Bryce Williamson, Camden Wojtala, Chad Sumsion, Ryan Viselli, Brett Mohler, Andrew Wallace and goaltender Scott Zacharias. As a group, the senior class went 53-87-20 in their time at BG, including a trip to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association semifinals at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit in the 2011-12 season. This was the first time since the 2000-01 season that BG reached the semifinals in the CCHA.
The Falcons defeated top ranked Ferris State in the second round of the CCHA playoffs before losing in the semifinals to Michigan.
BG enters this weekend with a 14-14-6 overall record. With two games remaining on the schedule, the Falcons have a chance to reach the program’s best record since the 1996-97 season when they finished 17-16-5. This was the last time the Falcons finished above .500 in the regular season.
Although the Falcons have a chance to reach the program’s best record they still need to earn two points in order to clinch a playoff spot. The games will start at 7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the BGSU Ice Arena.
“What we can control is our games,” head coach Chris Bergeron said. “We want to play better. We want to play well, knowing if we play well, regardless of where it is, we give ourselves a pretty good chance against anybody in the league.”
Bemidji State comes into the series with a 10-17-7 overall record and a 10-12-4 conference record in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Goaltender Tommy Burke led the Falcons to victory against Northern Michigan last Saturday night. The sophomore goaltender made 37 saves and held the Wildcats scoreless for two periods. On the season, Burke is 10-6-6 with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
This series will end the Falcons season at home where they have an 8-5-2 record. The Falcons have outscored their opponents this season at home by a 50-33 margin. They also average 3.3 goals per game and their opponents average 2.2 GPG at the BGSU Ice Arena.
On the power play, the Falcons have outscored their opponents by a 14-10 margin, including two shorthanded goals at home. BG will enter the final weekend with a chance to have its best season at home since the 2008-09 season.
“We’re reminding our guys, that if we do things the right way and invest in our game plan from an individual standpoint and a collective standpoint, we’re pretty good, regardless of where we play,” Bergeron said.
