Spartan faceoff: MSU vs. Bowling Green

• Times and sites: Michigan State vs. Bowling Green, 7 tonight at the 5,000-seat BGSU Ice Arena in Bowling Green, Ohio; 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena.

• Senior Night: Five Spartans - forwards Chris Lawrence, Tyler Howells and Brandon Warner, and defensemen Ethan Graham and Chris Snavely - will be honored starting at 6:15 p.m. Saturday.

• Ticket update: A limited amount of $20 reserved seats remain for Saturday's game. They'll be on sale from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today at the MSU Ticket Office at Jenison Field House and starting at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Munn. Call 355-1610 for information.

• TV/radio: Comcast Cable Ch. 18 in East Lansing, Haslett, Okemos and Meridian Township on Saturday/WJIM 1240-AM will carry tonight's game while Saturday's will be on WVFN 730-AM.

• Records: MSU 18-11-3, 14-9-3 CCHA (fourth) ranked No. 13. Bowling Green 6-26-2, 4-21-1 CCHA (12th).

• Rivalry: The Spartans hold a 60-27-8 lead in the series that started with a 7-1 victory on Jan. 2, 1971. MSU is 19-6-3 against the Falcons over the last 10 seasons, but the teams have split in each of the last four years.

• Falcons to watch: Junior center Jonathan Matsumoto (10-18-28), junior left wing Derek Whitmore (14-9-23), freshman right wing Tomas Petruska (8-7-15) and sophomore goaltender Jimmy Spratt (5-19-1, 3.59 goals-against average, .887 save percentage).

• Falcon update: Matsumoto, the team's leading scorer, has only one goal in his last 13 games. When BGSU upset Michigan 3-2 on Feb. 9, Whitmore tied the game 2-2 with 6:35 left in the third period and Petruska won it with a power-play goal with 35 seconds left. Former Spartan Danton Cole, a Waverly graduate, is in his first season as assistant on coach Scott Paluch's staff.

• Spartan update: With four assists in three games last week, sophomore left wing Tim Kennedy has taken over the team scoring lead from junior center Bryan Lerg. Kennedy has 13 goals and 32 points while Lerg has a team-high 20 goals and 31 points. After going 3-for-9 on the power play at WMU on Friday, MSU was scoreless in seven chances in Saturday's 2-0 loss. The Spartans have scored six power-play goals in their last 39 opportunities.

• Sizing it up: The Spartans don't want to back into a home playoff berth so there is a sense of urgency to win tonight, and then build confidence and momentum by winning again Saturday. A split clinches fourth place but doesn't do much for MSU's confidence entering the playoffs, or its standing in the PairWise Rankings.

- Compiled by Neil Koepke