The Bowling Green State University hockey program has announced its full schedule for the 2022-23 season.
The Falcons are slated to play 34 games, with 26 being CCHA contests. Bowling Green will play 19 games in Slater Family Ice Arena, the most in a season since 2008-09.
The 2022-23 season opener will also serve as the conference opener, as BGSU travels to Northern Michigan for a series on Oct. 1-2. The following weekend, the Falcons face Michigan State in a home-and-home series. The first game will be played in East Lansing on Oct. 7, then Bowling Green will welcome the Spartans to Slater Family Ice Arena for the home opener on Oct. 8. Non-conference competition continues with another home-and-home series on Oct. 14-15. The Falcons will host Western Michigan for the first matchup, then travel to Kalamazoo for the second game. The Broncos were NCHC Frozen Faceoff Runners-Up and advanced to the NCAA Tournament East Regional Final. In the season’s final USCHO poll, they ranked No. 6.
After a weekend off, CCHA play resumes as the Falcons travel to Mankato for two games against Minnesota State (Oct. 28-29). This will serve as the conference opener for the Mavericks, who won the CCHA regular season and playoff titles last season and finished as the NCAA Runner-Up. Bowling Green returns home for the first four games of November, hosting conference foes Michigan Tech (Nov. 4-5) and St. Thomas (Nov. 11-12). MTU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last season and ranked No. 14 in the final USCHO poll.
The next four contests will be road CCHA showdowns with a bye week between the two series. The Falcons travel to Ferris State (Nov. 18-19), have a weekend off, then head to Lake Superior State (Dec. 2-3). On Dec. 9-10, BGSU meets Minnesota State for the second series of the season, this time in Bowling Green. Bowling Green plays a home-and-home with Ohio State for the second straight year, with the Falcons hosting on Dec. 16 and Buckeyes hosting on Dec. 17. The Falcons remain at home to close the 2022 portion of the schedule, hosting RPI on Dec. 29-30.
The Falcons kick off 2023 with four home conference games, welcoming Lake Superior State (Jan. 6-7) and Bemidji State (Jan. 13-14). On Jan. 19-20, they travel to St. Thomas for another CCHA series. BGSU returns home for a Jan. 27 exhibition with the U.S National Developmental Team (USNDT), then remains at home for a series against Ferris State (Feb. 3-4). They follow that with a road series against Michigan Tech (Feb. 10-11), which will mark the second consecutive year the Falcons travel to Houghton during the Winter Carnival. The Falcons have a week off before closing the regular season at home against Northern Michigan (Feb. 24-25). The CCHA Mason Cup Quarterfinals are scheduled for March 3-4, with a third game played on March 5, if necessary. The Mason Cup Semifinals will be played on March 11 and the CCHA Mason Cup Championship will be played on March 18.
“Like last year, our CCHA Schedule will be really competitive. Then you add non-conference series with Michigan State, Western Michigan, Ohio State and RPI, and you have a very strong schedule,” said head coach Ty Eigner.
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