BG seeks home-ice berth (01-30-13)

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Bowling Green is looking to earn home ice for the first round of the Central Collegiate Hockey
Association playoffs.The Falcons believe a strong finish during the final 10 games of the regular season
will put them in position to do that.Their push starts Friday and Saturday nights when they host Lake
Superior.BG and Michigan are tied for ninth place in the 11-team league with 19points, one behind
seventh-place Northern Michigan. A sweep of LakeSuperior would put BG one point behind the seventh-place
Lakers.MSU is last with 16 points. BG still has remaining series against MSU and NMU.The top five teams
in the league earn a first-round bye with the topfour hosting quarterfinal series. The sixth-, seventh-
and eighth-placeteams host first-round series against the ninth-, 10th- and 11-placeteams in the first
round“We can make some pretty serious noise in our league standings with agood 10-game stretch,” said BG
coach Chris Bergeron, who is in his thirdseason. “It’s a good place for us to be. I want to be in these
weekendsmore often than not in the future. This is positive stuff and it meanswe’re going in the right
direction.”BG hasn’t hosted a first-round series since 2008 when it was seventh. Italso hosted a
first-round series in 2005, its first home series since1995.“These games down the stretch, each one
becomes more important justbecause you’re trying to build momentum heading forward into theplayoffs,” BG
senior Andrew Hammond said. “Knowing there’s standingsimplications, it’s something different for us. It
is exciting that westill have an opportunity to host a playoff game. That’s the goal rightnow.”BG has
finished last or next-to-last in the CCHA four straight seasons and six times in the last eight
seasons.BG is 8-13-5 overall and 5-10-3 -1 in the CCHA. Lake Superior is 13-14-1, 8-11-1-1.“It’s a big
weekend,” Bergeron said. “We haven’t put ourselves in thissituation very much the last couple years. I’m
really anxious to see howour guys respond. If the first two days of practice this week are
anyindication, we’re going to be just fine.“I want our guys to feel a little bit of pressure,” Bergeron
added. “Ayear ago, we weren’t talking about standings. We weren’t talking aboutmust wins because we were
headed to a certain finish in the standings.We knew that. We don’t know that now.”REVIEW: The Falcons
have lost three straight games — twice at No. 4Miami last weekend and once at No. 6 Western Michigan
Jan. 19. BG hadwon four straight and was unbeaten in six games (5-0-1) before thelosing streak.“For most
of us, there’s a certain level of redemption we have to earnback,” Hammond said. “ When you’re
disappointed with the results we had,you’re going to work a little bit harder and we’ve seen that so far
injust two practices.”BG hasn’t played well in its last 21?2 games. And in 2-1, 3-1 losses atMiami, BG
didn’t compete hard and play with any emotion — one of itsstaples the last three seasons.“We can’t let
three poor games or a bad weekend ruin what started off asa pretty good second half or the last 10
games,” Bergeron said. “Theway the guys have reacted the last couple days, they’ve been able to
dothat.”HOT HAND: Hammond’s played well the last two months, posting a 2.15goals-against average and a
.932 save percentage in his last 12 games.PP/PK: Inconsistent special teams are one of BG’s major
concerns.The power play is just 1-of-23 in the last seven games, while thepenalty-killing has allowed
six goals in 20 chances over the last sixgames.The Falcons are a minus-18 in special teams goals this
season, the worst in the CCHA.Lake Superior is third in the league in power-play conversions (17.4
percent,) and eighth in penalty-killing (84.4 percent)In CCHA games only, BG is 5-of-73 on the power
play (6.8 percent) and 59-of-78 penalty-killing (75.6 percent).SERIES: The teams split at Lake Superior
last season, but haven’t played at BG since the 2010-11 season.INJURIES: Defenseman Jake Sloat (leg)
remains out.

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