Men's Ice Hockey | December 27, 2017
THIS WEEK
Western Michigan briefly returns to action to wrap up its non-conference schedule for a game at Bowling Green on Thursday night at 7:37 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
WMU was last in action against Miami on Dec. 8-9. The Broncos split the series in Kalamazoo, falling in the Friday game, 5-2, and the rebounding with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win.
In the series' opener Miami took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Gordie Green midway through the first period.
Hugh McGing tied it up at 1-1 early in the second period but the lead lasted just 41 seconds as Karch Bachman netted a power-play goal to take a 2-1 lead. Josh Melnick and Phil Knies added goals to give the RedHawks a 4-1 lead before
Corey Schueneman netted a power play goal to cut the lead to 4-2 with 14:50 left in regulation. Miami held the Broncos at bay and Green added an empty-net goal to push the final score to 5-2.
On Saturday the RedHawks jumped out to a 3-1 lead, scoring three-straight goals after
Dawson DiPietro gave WMU a 1-0 lead just 38 seconds into the game. Facing a two-goal deficit,
Wade Allison took over the game. He netted his first goal of the game at 11:32 in the second period to cut the lead to 3-2. He tallied his second with just 4:02 left in regulation to tie it up at 3-3 and then completed the natural hat trick to win the game in overtime with just 1:07 left on the clock.
BOWLING GREEN STATE FALCONS || 8-5-6
• PREVIOUSLY: WMU and BGSU met earlier in the season, with the Broncos prevailing 3-1. The game was the season-opener for the Falcons, meeting Western Michigan in Kalamazoo on Oct. 10.
Cam Lee netted two goals in the game, while
Ben Blacker made 31 saves as WMU picked up its second win of the season.
• THE SERIES: Bowling Green leads the all-time series at 74-55-6 but the Broncos are 4-0-1 since the two teams rekindled the rivalry back in 2015.
• SCOUTING THE FALCONS: Bowling Green sits tied for second place in the WCHA, sharing the spot with Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. BGSU is just 1-3-1 this season in non-conference play but are 5-1-4 at home, overall.
The Falcons rank 43rd overall in scoring offense and average 2.63 goals per game. Sophomore defenseman Alec Rauhauser leads the team with 16 points on five goals and a team-best 11 assists. Junior forward Steven Baylis has 15 points on seven goals and eight assists. Baylis is tied with senior forward Mitch McLain for the team-lead in goals scored. Freshman forward Cameron Wright is the top-scoring newcomer with 15 points on five goals and 10 assists.
BGSU is the second-best defensive team int he WCHA and sits 12th in the nation, allowing just 2.42 goals per game. Sophomore goalie Ryan Bednard has played the majority of the games between the pipes for the Falcons. The Florida Panthers' draft pick has 4-2-4 record in 10 starts with a 1.92 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Freshman Eric Dop has made nine starts on the season with a 4-3-2 record, a 2.71 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.
Bowling Green's power play ranks 32nd in the nation at 17.6 percent (16-for-91). Baylis has four of his seven tallies with the man advantage to lead the team. Wright also has three power play goals, while Rauhauser and Max Johnson each have two.
HE'S A NATURAL
• In WMU's 4-3 overtime win over Miami, sophomore forward
Wade Allison scored a natural hat trick that climaxed with the game-winner with 1:07 left in overtime. The natural hat trick was the first by a Bronco since Brent Walton netted three-straight goals against Notre Dame on Dec. 2, 2005. The hat trick was also the second of the season for Allison, becoming the first WMU player to do so since Walton did in the 2005-06 season.
ONE HECK OF A FIRST HALF
• Several Broncos have got off to very strong starts to the season.
Wade Allison is just four points shy of tying his output from last season. The Philadelphia Flyers' draft pick had 29 points on 12 goals and 17 assists in 36 games last season. Allison currently sits with 25 on a career-high 14 goals and 11 assists. Junior forward
Colt Conrad also had 29 points last season on 12 goals and 17 assists. He currently sits at 24 points on nine goals and 15 assists.
Hugh McGing is close to matching his career-best point total of 22 that he produced his freshman season. McGing has 19 on five goals and 14 assists. The clear most improved player so far has been sophomore
Dawson DiPietro. DiPietro appeared in just one game last season and has played in all 19 this season, scoring nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points.
THE LONG ROAD AHEAD
• Thursday's game at Bowling Green will be the first of nine road games during the second half of the season for the Broncos. WMU also travels to St. Cloud State, Omaha, Miami and Colorado College. WMU's six home games are against the Tigers, the Huskies and Minnesota-Duluth.
