Four senior forwards have announced their plans to return to the Bowling Green State University hockey program for another season.

Alex Barber, Nathan Burke, Evan Dougherty and Taylor Schneider will each utilize their fifth year of eligibility to remain in Bowling Green and compete for the Falcons in 2022-23.

Alex Barber, from Dublin, Ohio, the captain of the 2021-22 squad, finished the season with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. He was third on the team in total points and second on the team in power-play points (12). Barber led the team in game-winning goals (3) and tied for the lead in shorthanded goals (1). He was one of two players that scored multiple goals in multiple games.

Barber leads all active players in several career categories, including goals (35), points (85), power-play goals (18), game-winning goals (9), multi-point efforts (18), and multi-goal performances (7). Barber is tied with Taylor Schneider for the active leader in career assists (50) and career multi-assist games (7).

“Coming back for a fifth year at BGSU was an easy decision for me. The opportunity to have another year of learning and maturing on the ice coupled with the chance to get my master’s degree was hard to pass up. BGSU has been my home for the last four years and I am so blessed with the opportunity to make it five,” Barber said.

Burke, from Scottsdale, Arizona, and a transfer from Minnesota, scored a team-best 16 goals. He also tallied seven assists for a total of 23 points, ranking fourth on the team. Burke was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, one of 11 players from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. He was one of five players to skate in all 37 games for BG.

Burke netted a team-best six power-play goals and scored the game-winning goal in overtime against RPI for BGSU’s first win of the year. It was his second goal of the game, marking the first of five multi-point performances for the forward. In games where Burke scored two points, the Falcons were 5-0-0. In the first shootout of the CCHA season, he netted a goal against Northern Michigan.

Evan Dougherty, an assistant captain on the 2021-22 team, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, notched three goals and two assists for five points in 15 games. The forward missed three months due to injury, then returned to the lineup and finished +2 with an assist in his second game back. The following weekend, Dougherty helped the Falcons defeat Ferris State with the game-winning goal, his lone power-play score of the season.

Dougherty tallied a goal and assist against Michigan Tech, guiding the Falcons to a win over the No. 14 Huskies. In-Game 3 of the CCHA Mason Cup Quarterfinals, he scored Bowling Green’s only goal. He won 51.9% of the faceoffs he took, the best percentage among the Falcons who took over 150 faceoffs. He also blocked six shots.

“Bowling Green State University has provided me so many unbelievable opportunities over the past four years. I have formed many relationships on and off the ice that I am thankful for. After a disappointing end to our season, I feel there is still a lot more hockey to be played moving forward,” Dougherty said.

Taylor Schneider, the active leader in career games played (146), from Lakeville, Minnesota, scored eight goals and registered team-highs in assists (22) and points (30). He also led the Falcons in power-play assists (11) and power-play points (16). Schneider also led the team in faceoff wins (425) and multi-point games (10) and tied for the lead in multi-assist games (4). He led all forwards with 18 blocked shots.

Schneider scored one game-winning goal last season and has three in his career. The forward has 11 career power-play goals. He has 33 goals and 50 assists for 83 points in his career, tying Alex Barber for the active lead in assists. He has also tied with Barber in career multi-assist games (7). In 2021, he earned a hat trick against Northern Michigan in the WCHA Semifinals.