The BG hockey team will travel more than 3,000 miles to Fairbanks, Alaska to face their conference opponent, the University of Alaska Nanooks this weekend.
The Falcons are 3-0-2 in their last five games against the Nanooks.
Last weekend, BG split the weekend series against 12th ranked Minnesota State at the BG Ice Arena.
On Friday night, the Falcons lost 5-2, despite receiving two goals in the game from Tyler Spezia. BG goaltender Tomas Sholl made 29 saves in the losing effort.
“We’re not happy with giving up five goals, that’s not necessarily Tomas’s fault, our defensive zone play was not good on Friday night,” said head coach Chris Bergeron.
The Falcons responded on Saturday night with a 3-1 victory over the Mavericks. Brett D’Andrea, Tyler Spezia and Kevin Dufour each scored a goal for the Falcons.
“Our guys were able to rally and bring our level up and get the win on Saturday night. All in all, we are fine with the weekend,” Bergeron said.
This was D’Andrea’s first collegiate goal of his career and Spezia scored three goals on the weekend for BG. Dufour now has nine goals this season and currently leads the NCAA in goals scored.
“It’s nice to see Kevin stay hot,” Bergeron said.
Goalie Tommy Burke made 26 saves in the winning effort.
With the win, the Falcons are now 5-2-1 overall and 3-1-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
BG’s penalty kill over the weekend played an important role against Minnesota State going 7-for-8 on the penalty kill against the Mavericks. The Falcons are currently 26-for-29 on the penalty kill this season.
The senior members of the BG hockey team recorded six assists off the five goals last weekend. Adam Berkle had three assists over the weekend while team captain Dan DeSalvo contributed with two assists.
The freshman members of the BG hockey team have recorded a combined total of 27 points so far this season. Seven different freshmen have also recorded their first collegiate points.
BG has played a total of five games on the road this season, compiling a 3-1-1 record while averaging 3.6 goals per game away from home.
The Alaska Nanooks come into this weekend’s series with an overall record of 5-3 and 0-2 in conference play. The Nanooks are currently on a three game losing streak.
BG looks to improve on its record when the puck drops at 11:07 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night in Alaska.
