2025–26 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season
| 2025–26 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | 5th CCHA |
| Home ice | Slater Family Ice Arena |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO | NR |
| USA Hockey | NR |
| Record | |
| Overall | 18–11–7 |
| Conference | 15–7–4 |
| Home | 8–5–3 |
| Road | 10–6–4 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Dennis Williams |
| Assistant coaches | Curtis Carr Matt Nicholson Jacob Pritchard Buddy Powers |
| Captain | Dalton Norris |
| Alternate captain(s) | Jaden Grant Gustav Stjernberg |
| Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey seasons « 2024–25 2026–27 » | |
The 2025–26 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 57th season of play for the program and the 47th in the CCHA. The Falcons represented Bowling Green State University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at the Slater Family Ice Arena and were coached by Dennis Williams in his 3rd season.
Season
[edit]While Bowling Green had a sizable amount of roster turnover from last season, that had become a feature for most teams in the transfer portal era. However, this year the Falcons took advantage of a new NCAA policy, the newfound eligibility of Canadian Hockey League players, to fill out its lineup. Ten of eleven incoming freshmen arrived from major junior hockey while another (transfer Tyler Palmer) had previously played in the WHL. The heavy reliance on Canadian players did not look like it would pay off early when the Falcons were swept by Niagara to open the campaign. The first month of the season did not produce many positives for the Falcons as the team was unable to find any consistency. Bowling Green had three separate starters in the first four weeks but it was the hot-and-cold scoring that was their biggest problem.
By mid-November, the Falcons seemed to find their stride and the team managed to put together a good stretch of games. The team had a rather odd goaltending situation as three separate netminders (Palmer, Cole Moore and Jacob Steinman) all proved to be capable in goal. However, because only one goaltender can be on the ice at a time, the team had some difficulty in getting game time to all three. That strange situation was unfortunately resolved when Steinman was felled by a season-ending injury on February 14.[1] On the offensive side of the puck, while the team was rife with new players, the scoring was led by two old hands in Quinn Emerson and Ben Doran. Though there wasn't a frontrunner in terms of goals, the Falcons received contributions from up and down the lineup, averaging just shy of 3 goals per game.
The second half of the season was roughly equal to the first with Bowling Green winning a majority of its games and only once losing consecutive matches. The Falcons ended the regular season running through a gauntlet of ranked opponents and came out with a slightly above-average mark; however, a failure to win several games against inferior opponents held the Falcons' national ranking down. By the end of the regular season, even though the team was 9 games above .500, Bowling Green sat below the cut line for the postseason. Additionally, because their final game had been won in overtime, they finished just behind Michigan Tech in the standings and would be forced to hit the road for the conference quarterfinals.
With their season hanging in the balance, Bowling Green dominated the shot total in the first game against the Huskies but were let down by their goaltending. Palmer allowed 4 goals on just 17 shots and was replaced by Moore for the rematch. Once again, the Falcons ran up a large shot advantage but this time it was the offense that left them down. Bowling Green scored just 2 goals on 42 shots, the final coming after Tech had scored into an empty net that proved to be the game-winner.[2]
This season saw the program record its 1,000th win in the regular season.[3]
Departures
[edit]| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Bevilacqua | Defenseman |  United States | Transferred to Lindenwood |
| Pete Eigner | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Salvatore Evola | Goaltender | United States | Transferred to Mercyhurst |
| Seth Fyten | Forward |  Canada | Graduation (signed with Savannah Ghost Pirates) |
| Ville Immonen | Forward |  Finland | Graduation (signed with Vaasan Sport) |
| Matvei Kabanov | Forward |  Russia | Signed professional contract (HC Lada Togliatti) |
| Brayden Krieger | Forward | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Johannes Løkkeberg | Forward |  Norway | Signed professional contract (Stavanger Oilers) |
| Nicholas O'Hanisain | Defenseman | United States | Left program (retired) |
| Ryan O'Hara | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Greenville Swamp Rabbits) |
| Owen Ozar | Forward | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Eric Parker | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (signed with Norfolk Admirals) |
| Tommy Pasanen | Defenseman |  Germany | Graduation (signed with Löwen Frankfurt) |
| Brandon Santa Juana | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Toronto |
| Ethan Scardina | Forward | Canada | Graduation (signed with Atlanta Gladiators) |
| Adam Schankula | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Adrian |
| Christian Stoever | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (signed with Cardiff Devils) |
| Ben Wozney | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (signed with Corsaires de Nantes) |
Recruiting
[edit]| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brayden Crampton | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Chilliwack, BC |
| Ty Higgins | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Stratford, ON |
| Tyler Hotson | Defenseman | Canada | 22 | Stratford, ON; transfer from Rensselaer |
| Connor Levis | Forward | Canada | 20 | Vancouver, BC; selected 210th overall in 2023 |
| Brian Lonergan | Defenseman | United States | 19 | Montvale, NJ |
| Jérémie Minville | Forward | United States | 21 | Drummondville, QC |
| Noah Morneau | Forward | Canada | 21 | Riverside, ON |
| Tyler Palmer | Goaltender | Canada | 22 | Fernie, BC; transfer from Alberta |
| Dominik Rymon | Forward |  Czech Republic | 21 | Karlovy Vary, CZE |
| Tanner Scott | Forward | Canada | 21 | Sherwood Park, AB |
| Rihards Simanovičs | Defenseman |  Latvia | 21 | Riga, LAT; transfer from Miami |
| Jake Sloan | Forward | Canada | 21 | Leduc County, AB |
| Jacob Steinman | Goaltender | Canada | 21 | Cambridge, ON |
| Brandon Whynott | Forward | Canada | 21 | Langley, BC |
Roster
[edit]As of February 28, 2026.[4]
| No. | Nat. | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Jacob Steinman | Freshman | G | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2004-05-23 | Cambridge, Ontario | Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) | — |
| 3 | |
Ty Higgins | Freshman | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | 2004-09-26 | Stratford, Ontario | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) | — |
| 4 |  |
Brian Lonergan | Freshman | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 173 lb (78 kg) | 2005-12-28 | Montvale, New Jersey | Omaha Lancers (USHL) | — |
| 5 |  |
Gustav Stjernberg (A) | Junior | D | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 213 lb (97 kg) | 2002-10-12 | Enebyberg, Sweden | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) | — |
| 7 | |
Rihards Simanovičs | Junior | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2003-10-07 | Riga, Latvia | Miami (NCHC) | — |
| 8 | |
Jérémie Minville | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2004-04-08 | Drummondville, Quebec | Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) | — |
| 10 |  |
Adam Žlnka | Sophomore | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | 2004-02-28 | Detva, Slovakia | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) | UTA, 204th overall 2022 |
| 11 | |
Noah Morneau | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | 2004-05-07 | Riverside, Ontario | Windsor Spitfires (OHL) | — |
| 12 | |
Jackson Niedermayer | Senior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2001-03-11 | Newport Beach, California | Arizona State (NCAA) | — |
| 13 | |
Brett Pfoh | Senior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | 2002-01-22 | Port Moody, British Columbia | Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) | — |
| 14 | |
Dalton Norris (C) | Senior | D | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | 2001-09-28 | Oxford, Michigan | Lincoln Stars (USHL) | — |
| 15 | |
Max Martin | Sophomore | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2003-10-02 | Tawas City, Michigan | Wisconsin Windigo (NAHL) | — |
| 16 | |
Jake Sloan | Freshman | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 223 lb (101 kg) | 2004-02-13 | Leduc County, Alberta | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | — |
| 17 | |
Breck McKinley | Junior | D | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2003-10-08 | St. Albert, Alberta | Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) | — |
| 18 | |
Quinn Emerson | Senior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | 2001-03-12 | Manhattan Beach, California | Wenatchee Wild (BCHL) | — |
| 20 | |
Connor Levis | Freshman | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | 2004-10-05 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Vancouver Giants (WHL) | WPG, 210th overall 2023 |
| 21 |  |
Ivan Korodiuk | Sophomore | D | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2004-01-05 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Madison Capitols (USHL) | — |
| 22 | |
Tanner Scott | Freshman | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 167 lb (76 kg) | 2004-05-31 | Sherwood Park, Alberta | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) | — |
| 23 | |
Ben Doran | Junior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | 2003-02-27 | Chesterfield, Missouri | Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) | — |
| 24 | |
Tyler Hotson | Junior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | 2003-03-17 | Stratford, Ontario | Rensselaer (ECAC) | — |
| 25 | |
Brayden Crampton | Freshman | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 177 lb (80 kg) | 2004-05-02 | Chilliwack, British Columbia | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) | — |
| 26 | |
Jack Blake | Senior | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | 2001-09-21 | Manhattan Beach, California | Oakville Blades (OJHL) | — |
| 27 | |
Brandon Whynott | Freshman | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 198 lb (90 kg) | 2004-04-16 | Langley, British Columbia | Tri-City Americans (WHL) | — |
| 28 | |
Jaden Grant (A) | Senior | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 2002-09-02 | White Lake, Michigan | Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) | — |
| 29 | |
Brody Waters | Junior | F | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 207 lb (94 kg) | 2002-04-09 | Heidelberg, Ontario | Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) | — |
| 31 | |
Tyler Palmer | Sophomore | G | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 194 lb (88 kg) | 2003-06-27 | Fernie, British Columbia | Alberta (CWUAA) | — |
| 34 | |
Cole Moore | Junior | G | 6' 6" (1.98 m) | 214 lb (97 kg) | 2003-06-04 | Toronto, Ontario | Aberdeen Wings (NAHL) | — |
| 77 | |
Dominik Rymon | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 2004-05-29 | Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic | Everett Silvertips (WHL) | — |
Standings
[edit]| Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | |||
| #14 Minnesota State †* | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 71 | 53 | 40 | 22 | 11 | 7 | 111 | 81 | ||
| #18 St. Thomas | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 89 | 67 | 38 | 21 | 12 | 5 | 131 | 109 | ||
| #17 Augustana | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 50 | 72 | 49 | 37 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 109 | 74 | ||
| Michigan Tech | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 84 | 59 | 39 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 126 | 106 | ||
| Bowling Green | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 80 | 59 | 36 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 107 | 88 | ||
| Bemidji State | 26 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 36 | 69 | 68 | 36 | 13 | 19 | 4 | 98 | 103 | ||
| Lake Superior State | 26 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 57 | 83 | 36 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 92 | 121 | ||
| Ferris State | 26 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 70 | 100 | 37 | 8 | 27 | 2 | 91 | 138 | ||
| Northern Michigan | 26 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 44 | 98 | 34 | 3 | 29 | 2 | 56 | 132 | ||
| Championship: March 20, 2026 † indicates conference regular-season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Mason Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 22, 2026 Source: CCHA | ||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
[edit]Scoring statistics
[edit]| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinn Emerson | C/RW | 36 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 28 |
| Ben Doran | F | 36 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 40 |
| Tyler Hotson | F | 36 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 39 |
| Breck McKinley | D | 36 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 16 |
| Dominik Rymon | C/LW | 36 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 14 |
| Brayden Crampton | D | 35 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 29 |
| Jackson Niedermayer | D | 32 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 14 |
| Noah Morneau | LW | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 14 |
| Brody Waters | LW | 36 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 10 |
| Dalton Norris | D | 27 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 16 |
| Jaden Grant | F | 35 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 34 |
| Brett Pfoh | F | 24 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 |
| Ty Higgins | D | 21 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 22 |
| Gustav Stjernberg | D | 25 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 98 |
| Jérémie Minville | C | 33 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 23 |
| Max Martin | F | 26 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| Jake Sloan | C/RW | 32 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Connor Levis | C | 31 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Brandon Whynott | F | 28 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Ivan Korodiuk | D | 30 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 25 |
| Adam Žlnka | C/W | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Jack Blake | D | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Rihards Simanovičs | D | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tanner Scott | F | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Lonergan | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tyler Palmer | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole Moore | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Steinman | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 107 | 199 | 306 | 480 |
Goaltending statistics
[edit]| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Steinman | 16 | 843:03 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 352 | 0 | .921 | 2.14 |
| Tyler Palmer | 11 | 560:40 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 195 | 1 | .899 | 2.35 |
| Cole Moore | 14 | 784:09 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 31 | 324 | 1 | .913 | 2.37 |
| Empty Net | - | 18:44 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 36 | 2206:08 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 88 | 871 | 2 | .904 | 2.39 |
Rankings
[edit]| 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 | RV | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | NR | NR | – | NR | RV | RV | NR | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NR | RV | |||
| USA Hockey | RV | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | RV | NR | RV | RV | RV | 20 | RV | RV | RV | NR | |||
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12.[7]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Augustana hockey keeps home-ice hopes alive, topples Bowling Green for CCHA series split". Sioux Falls Live. February 14, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Bowling Green at Michigan Tech Mason Cup Quarterfinal - Game 2 Highlights 3/6/2026". YouTube. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
- ↑ "BOWLING GREEN HOCKEYBOWLING GREEN HOCKEY RECORD BOOK" (PDF). Bowling Green Falcons. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ↑ "2025-26 Ice Hockey Roster". Bowling Green Falcons. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
- ↑ "2025-26 Ice Hockey Schedule". Bowling Green Falcons. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- ↑ "Bowling Green State Univ. 2025-2026 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ↑ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.