The BG ice hockey team will look to continue its success at home this weekend against the Lake Superior State Lakers.
The Falcons will return to the BGSU Ice Arena Friday and Saturday night at 7:07 p.m. after a week off.
BG has a record of 7-2-2 at home this season. In 11 home games, the Falcons have averaged 3.18 goals per game, while allowing 1.45 goals per game.
The Falcons own a five-game unbeaten streak at 4-0-1, while Lake Superior State is within a game of the .500 mark on the road this season at 5-6-1 overall.
“We feel good about where we are right now,” BG head coach Chris Bergeron said. “We feel good about where we are in the standings. We feel good about how we’re playing today.”
The last time the Falcons played the Lakers was Nov. 28 and 29 on the road and BG lost both games by a score of 4-3.
“We felt they were two hard-fought games and we found a way to be on the losing side of both. That’s a compliment to Lake Superior,” Bergeron said. “They took care of their home ice and we need to take care of our home ice against them. That’s where it starts for us.”
The Falcons currently have three players near the top of the WCHA in scoring. Junior Dan DeSalvo leads the entire league with 18 assists, while sophomore defenseman Ralfs Freibergs has 16 assists. Junior forward Adam Berkle also leads the WCHA in short-handed goals, with three on the season.
Goaltender Tommy Burke started in net in both games against Alaska-Anchorage on Jan. 10-11, stopping 47-of-48 shots on goal for a .979 series save percentage, and saving all three shots faced in the sudden death overtime on Saturday.
Burke, who ranks second in the WCHA with a 2.07 goals-against average, is unbeaten at home with a 5-0-2 record at the BGSU Ice Arena. Overall, Burke is 9-2-4 in 15 appearances and has earned three shutouts. He is also third in the WCHA with a .924 save percentage.
In the series against Alaska-Anchorage, junior captain Ryan Carpenter made his season debut. Carpenter, who led the Falcons with 33 points last season, scored his first goal of the 2013-14 season in the Friday night’s 3-0 win over the Nanooks. Carpenter played both games at right wing over the weekend series, after playing center for the majority of the 2012-13 season.
This weekend will be the last time the two teams meet in the regular season.
