Top College Player Joins Division Rival After Hazing Scandal
The Bowling Green State University Falcons hockey team has been surrounded by controversy this week due to allegations of hazing within the team.
These allegations came from one of their star players who decided to transfer. He has now picked his new home and it could be a direct shot at his former school.
Top College Leaves Due To A Major Scandal
Austen Swankler left Bowling Green State University after an alleged hazing incident that happened in recent weeks. He was honest and open on X after putting his name in the transfer portal about the reasons he was leaving after facing backlash for leaving.
As Swankler mentions this is not the first time the BGSU is dealing with a hazing incident. Back in 2021, Bowling Green made national headlines after student Stone Foltz, unfortunately, passed away due to a fraternity hazing incident. The University had made a commitment to cracking down on hazing of all kinds at the school when this happened.
Unfortunately for Swankler, the BGSU Men's Hockey team seems to have slipped through the cracks in this scenario which led to him being a victim. Since the alleged incident, multiple players have been put on leave. Head coach Ty Eigner has also been put on administrative leave due to the incident.
Swankler Joins A Division Rival
After entering his name into the transfer portal it did not take long for Austen Swankler to find a new home. The 2022-23 Hobey Baker Award Nominee announced his commitment today. He will be attending Michigan Tech University.
Swankler will stay in the CCHA conference with the Huskies for the upcoming season. As of the end-of-the-year poll, the Huskies were ranked 13 in the nation and just got a massive boost to their offense. In 35 games last season Swankler had 44 points.
Due to the nature of the situation, it is unclear when Austen Swankler will be eligible to play for Michigan Tech. Generally, he would not be eligible for the first half of the season because the semester has already begun. With the extenuating circumstances, this could change though.
Bowling Green and Michigan Tech are slated to match up both in December and February. Swankler will get an opportunity to play his former university sooner or later this upcoming season.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 25 | 32 ANSWERS Top College Player Joins Division Rival After Hazing Scandal Will Austen Swankler give Michigan Tech a chance to win a National Championship? | ||
| Yes | 14 | 43.8 % |
| No | 18 | 56.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Macklin Celebrini | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mikael Granlund | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 18 | 14 | 4 | - | 28 | |
Capitals | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 | |
Wild | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 27 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Devils | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
Stars | 18 | 12 | 6 | - | 24 | |
Golden Knights | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||