The Falcon hockey team will travel to Marquette, Michigan this weekend to face the Northern Michigan Wildcats.
This will be the final regular season road series for BG and four games remain for them to clinch a spot in the WCHA playoffs and host a playoff game.
BG is in a three-way tie for fifth in the WCHA with 24 points. The top eight teams in the league will make the playoffs and the top four teams will host a playoff series.
“We need to play better,” BG head coach Chris Bergeron said. “None of that stuff matters until we start playing better.”
Last Friday, BG lost 6-1 to the United States National Development Team Program in an exhibition game at the BGSU Ice Arena. Senior forward Bryce Williamson scored the only goal for the Falcons, while Tomas Sholl and Tommy Burke split time in the net in the losing effort.
The Falcons have a record of 5-7-4 on the road and are averaging 3.0 goals-per-game. On the season, BG has outscored their opponents on the road in the first two periods 31-19, but has been outscored 28-17 in the final period.
Since Jan. 4, the Falcons have a 2-4-2 record in conference play. BG has held a lead entering the third period in five of those games.
The Falcons currently have 12 skaters with at least 10 points on the year. Forward Dan DeSalvo is currently leading the Falcons with 27 points, including six goals and 21 assists.
The last time BG had at least 13 skaters with at least 10 points in the same year was the 2005-2006 season, when the Falcons had 14 players reach at least 10 points.
BG has received at least one point from 24 of their 25 skaters so far this season.
Defenseman Ralfs Freibergs will return to the Falcons this weekend. Freibergs was in Sochi, Russia playing for his home country of Latvia in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
“We thought getting back from Alaska and getting all of that out of our system was difficult,” Bergeron said. “Sochi is a whole another deal, never mind the 14 days that he had, the emotions, the energy and the excitement that he had during those 14 days.”
Friday and Saturday’s games between BG and Northern Michigan will start at 7:07 p.m. on both nights.
