The Bowling Green hockey team is getting set for a home WCHA playoff series this weekend. The Falcons,
the No. 3 seed will take on the No. 6 seed Northern Michigan on Friday, Saturday and, if needed, Sunday.
The Falcons never knew whether they would get this far into the season without it getting shut down, but
now that they are here, they are grateful to have another opportunity to play at home, said BGSU head
coach Ty Eigner.
“When we got started and not knowing what this year would look like, one of the goals for our group was
to host a playoff series at home. We’ve been able to do that which is something that means a lot to our
players for sure to have another opportunity to play here is something they are very excited about,”
Eigner said.
This will be the third series between the two teams this season. Playing a team that much is actually
something that Eigner and the veteran players are used to from previous seasons.
“In a normal year there is a decent chance you could play somebody six times in our league,” Eigner said.
“There is definitely some familiarity there and they are gonna be able to know a lot about us and be
comfortable with who we are and the same goes for us.”
The first two games were on Jan. 15 and 16. The Falcons won 5-1 in the first game and 6-2 in the second.
The second series came on Feb. 20 and 21. The Falcons tied for the only time this season in the first
game 0-0 and took the second game 6-2.
Combined, that is a 17-5 deficit in favor of the Falcons over four games. It is something that Eigner
knows will help his team heading into the third meeting between the two squads.
“Our hope is that our guys feel confident going into the weekend because from an offensive perspective
we’ve had some games where we have been able to create offensive opportunities and capitalize on those
opportunities. So, the goal is to refer back to that and get back to playing and do the things we did in
those games where we were able to score some goals,” Eigner said.
In those four games, junior forward Taylor Schneider and defenseman Will Cullen were the main
beneficiaries as each netted three goals. Two coming from Schneider in their most recent meeting.
For the regular season, the Falcons were led by seniors Brandon Kruse and Connor Ford. Kruse led the team
in points and assists netting 11 goals and notching 22 assists for 33 points. Ford led the team in goals
with six.
It’s that powerful offense which has led them to be ranked No. 13 in the USCHO poll going into the
postseason and has allowed them to be tied for the highest scoring team in college hockey.
Despite all the success the Falcons have had this season, going 19-8-1 overall and 8-5-1 in conference,
the Falcons aren’t solidly in the NCAA Tournament yet. This gives them some added motivation headed into
the postseason.
“We understand that we are a team that is under consideration right now, but we’re certainly not a team
that can afford to rest and think we are automatically in it. So we’ve got to play and put ourselves in
a position where we build the best resume possible,” Eigner said.
The puck is set to drop from Slater Family Ice Arena at 7:07 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 4:07 p.m.
on Sunday if necessary.
