2023–24 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season is the 55th season of play for the program and the 45th in the CCHA. The Falcons represent Bowling Green State University and are coached by Ty Eigner in his 5th season.

2023–24 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season
Conference	CCHA
Home ice	Slater Family Ice Arena
Record
Overall	6–11–0
Conference	4–5–0
Home	3–6–0
Road	3–5–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Ty Eigner
Assistant coaches	Curtis Carr Stavros Paskaris Dylan Schoen Buddy Powers
Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey seasons « 2022–23 2024–25 »

Season

Just before the start of the season the team's leading scorer from last season, Austen Swankler, abruptly left school and entered the transfer portal.^[1] Shortly afterwards, head coach Ty Eigner was placed on leave and three players were suspended due hazing allegations.^[2] A little over a month later, an independent investigation discovered that older players had provided alcohol for underaged persons at an off-campus event. At the time there was no evidence that Eigner or any of his staff were aware of the behavior so the coach was reinstated. However, due to the nature of the violation, the school's athletic director, Derek van der Merwe, began to directly oversee the program while requiring the coaching staff to receive additional training to prevent a recurrence.^[3] This incident was particularly galling for Bowling Green as the school was still recovering from the 2021 death of Stone Foltz that led to hazing becoming a felony under Ohio state law.^[4]

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Alex Barber	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise)
Nathan Burke	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Orlando Solar Bears)
Max Coyle	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (signed with Indy Fuel)
Evan Dougherty	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Atlanta Gladiators)
Chase Gresock	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda)
Hunter Lellig	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Anton Malmström	Defenseman	Sweden	Signed professional contract (St. Louis Blues)
Adam Pitters	Forward	United States	Graduate transfer to Long Island
Zack Rose	Goaltender	Canada	Graduate transfer to Augustana
Taylor Schneider	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Austen Swankler	Forward	United States	Transferred to Michigan Tech
Zach Vinnell	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (signed with Indy Fuel)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Michael Bevilacqua	Defenseman	United States	20	Hamburg, NY
Ben Doran	Forward	United States	20	Chesterfield, MO
Spencer Kersten	Forward	Canada	23	Waterloo, ON; graduate transfer from Princeton
Breck McKinley	Defenseman	Canada	19	St. Albert, AB
Cole Moore	Goaltender	Canada	20	Toronto, ON
Josh Nodler	Forward	United States	22	Oak Park, MI; graduate transfer from Massachusetts; selected 150th overall in 2019
Nicholas O'Hanisain	Defenseman	United States	21	Detroit, MI
Owen Ozar	Forward	Canada	23	Prince Albert, SK; transfer from Denver
Tommy Pasanen	Defenseman	Finland	22	Schweinfurt, GER; transfer from Clarkson
Brandon Santa Juana	Forward	Canada	21	Langley, BC
Gustav Stjernberg	Defenseman	Sweden	20	Enebyberg, SWE
Brody Waters	Forward	Canada	21	Heidelberg, ON

Roster

As of September 18, 2023.^[5]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2		Ben Wozney	Junior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2001-06-15	Richmond, British Columbia	Penticton (BCHL)	—
4		Nick O'Hanisain	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2002-02-09	Detroit, Michigan	Minot (NAHL)	—
5		Gustav Stjernberg	Freshman	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	2002-10-12	Enebyberg, Sweden	Des Moines (USHL)	—
6		Michael Bevilacqua	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2003-01-26	Hamburg, New York	Des Moines (USHL)	—
7		Spencer Schneider	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	159 lb (72 kg)	2000-09-11	Lakeville, Minnesota	Aberdeen (NAHL)	—
8		Brandon Santa Juana	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	2002-08-05	Langley, British Columbia	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
10		Josh Nodler	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-04-27	Oak Park, Michigan	Massachusetts (HEA)	CGY, 150th overall 2019
11		Taylor Schneider	Graduate	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-02-18	Lakeville, Minnesota	Dubuque (USHL)	—
13		Brett Pfoh	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	2002-01-22	Port Moody, British Columbia	Spruce Grove (AJHL)	—
14		Dalton Norris	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2001-09-28	Oxford, Michigan	Lincoln (USHL)	—
15		Spencer Kersten	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-05-16	Waterloo, Ontario	Princeton (ECAC)	—
16		Brayden Krieger	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2001-02-09	Elora, Ontario	Brooks (AJHL)	—
17		Ethan Scardina	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2000-11-02	South Surrey, British Columbia	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
18		Quinn Emerson	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-03-12	Manhattan Beach, California	Wenatchee (BCHL)	—
20		Ryan O'Hara	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-07-18	Oakville, Ontario	Waterloo (USHL)	—
21		Seth Fyten	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2000-11-23	Didsbury, Alberta	Spruce Grove (AJHL)	—
22		Owen Ozar	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	156 lb (71 kg)	2000-04-05	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan	Denver (NCHC)	—
23		Ben Doran	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	2003-02-27	Chesterfield, Missouri	Sioux City (USHL)	—
24		Eric Parker	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-01-15	Calgary, Alberta	Okotoks (AJHL)	—
25		Tommy Pasanen	Senior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	2001-07-30	Schweinfurt, Germany	Clarkson (ECAC)	—
26		Jack Blake	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-09-21	Manhattan Beach, California	Oakville (OJHL)	—
27		Breck McKinley	Freshman	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-10-08	St. Albert, Alberta	Spruce Grove (AJHL)	—
28		Jaden Grant	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2002-09-02	White Lake, Michigan	Youngstown (USHL)	—
29		Brody Waters	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	2002-04-09	Heidelberg, Ontario	Nanaimo (BCHL)	—
30		Christian Stoever	Junior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-04-16	Northville, Michigan	New Jersey (NAHL)	—
31		Peter Eigner	Junior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-05-04	Bowling Green, Ohio	Tri-State (Midget AAA)	—
34		Cole More	Freshman	G	6' 6" (1.98 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	2003-06-04	Toronto, Ontario	Aberdeen (NAHL)	—
35		Salvatore Evola	Sophomore	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-04-24	Rochester, Michigan	Johnstown (NAHL)	—

Standings

2023–24 Central Collegiate Hockey Association Standings v t e
	Conference record											Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	SW	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Augustana ^	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Bemidji State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Bowling Green	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Ferris State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Lake Superior State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Michigan Tech	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Minnesota State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Northern Michigan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
St. Thomas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
Championship: March 23, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) ^ Augustana is playing a transition schedule of 16 conference games Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 7	7:05 pm	at Robert Morris*		Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania	FloHockey	Stoever	W 3–0	1,225	1–0–0
October 8	5:07 pm	Robert Morris*		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Stoever	L 0–3	1,345	1–1–0
October 14	7:07 pm	at Augustana		Denny Sanford Premier Center • Sioux Falls, South Dakota	FloHockey	Stoever	L 2–3	3,664	1–2–0
October 15	6:07 pm	at Augustana		Denny Sanford Premier Center • Sioux Falls, South Dakota	FloHockey	Moore	L 1–4	2,891	1–3–0
October 20	7:07 pm	#9 Western Michigan*		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Moore	L 2–5	4,862	1–4–0
October 21	6:00 pm	at #9 Western Michigan*		Lawson Arena • Kalamazoo, Michigan		Moore	L 2–5	2,760	1–5–0
November 3	7:07 pm	Mercyhurst*		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Stoever	L 3–4 ^OT	2,814	1–6–0
November 3	7:07 pm	Mercyhurst*		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Moore	W 4–2	3,065	2–6–0
November 10	7:07 pm	St. Thomas		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Stoever	L 1–4	2,172	2–7–0 (0–1–0)
November 11	7:07 pm	St. Thomas		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Stoever	L 3–4	2,180	2–8–0 (0–2–0)
November 17	7:07 pm	at Lake Superior State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Moore	W 5–3	831	3–8–0 (1–2–0)
November 18	7:07 pm	at Lake Superior State		Taffy Abel Arena • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	FloHockey	Moore	L 3–4 ^OT	1,059	3–9–0 (1–3–0)
November 24	7:07 pm	Northern Michigan		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Moore	W 6–2	2,610	4–9–0 (2–3–0)
November 25	7:07 pm	Northern Michigan		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Moore	L 0–2	1,340	4–10–0 (2–4–0)
December 1	7:07 pm	at Michigan Tech		MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan	FloHockey	Moore	W 2–1 ^OT	2,974	5–10–0 (3–4–0)
December 2	6:07 pm	at Michigan Tech		MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan	FloHockey	Moore	L 2–3	2,759	5–11–0 (3–5–0)
December 8	7:07 pm	Ferris State		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Moore	W 1–0	1,836	6–11–0 (4–5–0)
December 9	7:07 pm	Ferris State		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey	Moore	W 4–3	1,816	7–11–0 (5–5–0)
December 14	8:07 pm	at Bemidji State		Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	FloHockey	Moore	L 1–3	1,019	7–12–0 (5–6–0)
December 15	8:07 pm	at Bemidji State		Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	FloHockey	Moore	L 2–5	1,539	7–13–0 (5–7–0)
December 30	6:00 pm	Windsor*		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio (Exhibition)
January 5	TBA	at Ohio State*		Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio
January 6	7:07 pm	Ohio State*		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey
January 19	7:07 pm	Minnesota State		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey
January 20	7:07 pm	Minnesota State		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey
February 2	7:07 pm	at Ferris State		Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	FloHockey
February 3	6:07 pm	at Ferris State		Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	FloHockey
February 9	7:07 pm	Lake Superior State		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey
February 10	7:07 pm	Lake Superior State		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey
February 16	8:07 pm	at St. Thomas		St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota	FloHockey
February 17	7:07 pm	at St. Thomas		St. Thomas Ice Arena • Mendota Heights, Minnesota	FloHockey
February 23	7:07 pm	Michigan Tech		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey
February 24	7:07 pm	Michigan Tech		Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio	FloHockey
March 1	7:07 pm	at Northern Michigan		Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan	FloHockey
March 2	7:07 pm	at Northern Michigan		Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan	FloHockey
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source:^[6]

Scoring statistics

Rankings

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings

Poll	Week
	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27 (Final)
USCHO.com	NR
USA Today

References

1. "Forward Austen Swankler announces intent to transfer to Michigan Tech". The Rink Live. September 25, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
2. "Bowling Green hockey coach Eigner placed on leave, three players suspended over alleged off-campus hazing incident". USCHO. September 18, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
3. "Bowling Green reinstates hockey coach Eigner, notes student conduct code process ongoing with alleged hazing violations". USCHO. October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
4. "'Collin's Law' signed into law, stiffening penalties for hazing incidents at Ohio colleges". MSN. 5WLWT.
5. "2023-24 Ice Hockey Roster". Bowling Green Falcons. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
6. "2023-24 Ice Hockey Schedule". Bowling Green Falcons. Retrieved August 21, 2022.