The BG hockey team enters this weekend’s series ranked 7th in the nation as it takes on 11th ranked Michigan Tech on the road.
“They’re a great team,” BG head coach Christopher Bergeron said. “I wasn’t sure there was a team as good as they were that we played last year.”
The Huskies started the season 10-0-0 and were ranked number one in the country; however, they are 5-6-1 since then.
“We’re going to have to be ready to go. They’ll expose you if you’re not,” Bergeron said.
Michigan Tech holds a 9-7-2 all-time series lead in the head-to-head matchup against BG. The Falcons are 2-5-1 all-time on the road against the Huskies.
However, BG swept Michigan Tech at home last March in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs to advance to the WCHA Final Five.
The Falcons enter the series with a nine-game unbeaten streak, going 6-0-3 during that span. Both WCHA teams have been ranked for more than a month.
BG’s overall record of 13-3-4 is the program’s best start since the 1995-1996 season. Its last loss came against Ohio State at home on Nov. 14, 3-2.
Last weekend at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Falcons earned three out of a possible four points against the Alaska Nanooks.
BG defeated Alaska 3-0 on Friday night. The Falcons were trailing 4-1 in the third period of Saturday’s game, but rallied back to end the game in a 4-4 tie. In the closing minutes of regulation in Saturday’s game, Ben Murphy scored two goals for the Falcons.
“We were able to settle in and actually play a pretty good game. I thought that we defended hard all game long,” Bergeron said. “Ultimately, what we were able to do in the third period that we weren’t able to do in the first two [periods] was create a bunch of offense.”
Freshman goalie Chris Nell improved his starting record to 6-0-1 after Friday’s 3-0 shutout victory against the Nanooks. Nell has tied a school record with three shutouts in a
single season.
Additionally, he leads the nation in winning percentage at .929, and is third nationally in both save percentage [.950] and
goals-against-average [1.41].
The team currently has the best penalty kill percentage in the nation at 93.7 percent including 22-for-22 on the penalty kill since Dec. 5.
BG will look to add to their 9-1-2 conference record this weekend on the road against Michigan Tech. Both Friday’s and Saturday’s games will start at 7:07 p.m.
