Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Hockey Hosts Season-Opener on Saturday (Oct. 18)
October 16, 2003 | Ice Hockey
Oct. 16, 2003
Bowling Green, Ohio -
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Bowling Green Plays Notre Dame in Home-and-Home Series
Bowling Green will travel to South Bend, Ind., this Friday, Oct. 17, for one game against Notre Dame at Joyce Center (7:35 p.m. CST) then host the Irish in the Falcons' home opener on Saturday, Oct. 18 (7:05 p.m. EST). The two teams will play another home-and-home series Jan. 9-10, 2004.
BGSU vs. Notre Dame
BGSU has lost six in a row to Notre Dame and are 2-12-1 in the last 15 meetings between the two schools. The Falcons trail the all-time series 29-30-4 (.492 pct.) since the first meeting on Dec. 13, 1969 (9-3 ND win). However, in 63 meetings the Falcons have never been shutout by the Irish.
Career Numbers vs. Notre Dame...
SR D'Arcy McConvey has 5-6--11 in 10 career games
SR Brian Escobedo has 2-3--5 in eight career games
SO Ryan Barnett has 1-2--3 in four career games
SR Kevin Bieksa has 1-2--3 in eight career games
JR Steve Brudzewski has 2-1--3 in six career games
SO Brett Pilkington has 1-1--2 in four career games
JR Alex Rogosheske has 0-2--2 in four career games
SR Mark Wires has 0-2--2 in 10 career games
JR Jordan Sigalet has 4.05 gaa., .889 save pct. in three games
Recent Bowling Green Games...
Oct. 11 - NMU 6, BGSU 3
Bowling Green's attempt to come back from a 4-0 deficit fell short Saturday night against Northern Michigan, as the Falcons dropped a 6-3 decision. NMU jumped out early, scoring four goals in just over the first 10 minutes of the game. NMU netted goals on its first three shots of the game to take a 3-0 lead on the Falcons. After trailing 4-0, BGSU finally cut into its big deficit at 12:39 when SR Kevin Bieksa knocked in his own rebound from the top of the crease. SO Ryan Barnett and JR Ryan Minnabarriet each got assists. SO Don Morrison scored just :54 seconds into the second period while FR Rich Meloche added his first collegiate goal at 7:46 of the second period to bring BGSU to within one, 4-3. BGSU was 0-for-3 on the power play while NMU was 2-for-4. Sigalet had 15 saves and allowed five goals.
Oct. 10 - NMU 2, BGSU 1
The Bowling Green offense didn't get things going until the second half of Friday's game at Northern Michigan. However, the Falcons still dropped the 2003-04 season opener in Marquette, Mich., by the score of 2-1 to the Wildcats. NMU got the shots early in the game and mustered a goal midway through the first and late in the second periods. Then it was BGSU that got the shots in the second half of the game, but netted its only goal of the game late in the first period. NMU held a 14-5 advantage in shots-on-goal in the first period and goalie Jordan Sigalet kept the Falcons close. Sigalet ended with 30 saves, including 13 in the first period. JR Steve Brudzewski scored for BGSU at 17:09 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1 with assists from Alex Rogosheske and Ryan Minnabarriet. BGSU was 0-for-5 on the power play with just two minors called on them.
Oct. 3 - BGSU 9, Windsor 2
Bowling Green used 47 shot attempts and three players with two goals to roll over visiting University of Windsor in an exhibition game Oct. 3, 9-2, at the BGSU Ice Arena. Ryan Barnett, Bryan Dobek, and Mark Wires each netted two goals for the Falcons. SO Bryan Dobek put the Falcons on the scoreboard at just 3:17 of the first period with assists from D'Arcy McConvey and Dana Hanson. After Windsor's Alex White answered just over one minute later (4:43) to knot the game at 1-1, BGSU scored five unanswered goals to build its lead to 6-1. Starting goalie Jordan Sigalet played 34:52 with two goals allowed and 10 saves. SO Bob Frazee (13:13, one save) and FR Bobby Pruchnik (11:55, two saves) finished between the pipes for BGSU. Six different Falcons netted goals, including Steve Brudzewski, James Unger, and Ryan Minnabarriet. Besides two goals, SO Ryan Barnett ended with two assists, as well. McConvey and Kevin Bieksa also had two helpers.
Falcons to Debut New Jerseys
BGSU will debut its new home (dark) sweaters this Saturday, Oct. 18, in the home-opener vs. Notre Dame. The Falcons will be donning new pants, sweaters, gloves and helmets this season. BGSU debuted its new road (light) sweaters last week at NMU. The predominant color in both the home and away jerseys will be orange.
Falcon Connection With Notre Dame
BGSU second-year assistant coach Kevin Patrick (Notre Dame '92) was a defenseman for the Irish from 1988-92 and served as the team's captain during both his junior and senior seasons. He was also a member of the Notre Dame lacrosse team that competed in the 1990 NCAA Tournament.
McConvey Has Irish Eyes vs. Notre Dame
SR captain D'Arcy McConvey has had success against Notre Dame in his career. In 10 games against Notre Dame, McConvey has five goals and six assists. Four of those goals came his sophomore season, including three goals in the two-game series in South Bend.
Brotherly Love
Two brothers played in the same game for the Falcons for the first time since Brad and Brian Holzinger skated together in the 1994-95 season. JR Jordan Sigalet and FR Jonathan Sigalet took to the ice together for the first time in their hockey careers on Friday, Oct. 10, at NMU. Previous brothers to skate for the Falcons have been Bill, Bruce, and Tom Newton; Dan and Scott Bylsma; and Brad and Brian Holzinger. All three Newton brothers played together during the 1978-79 season. The Bylsma's were never teammates.
Minnabarriet Kicks Off Season Right
JR Ryan Minnabarriet assisted on two of BGSU's four goals last weekend at Northern Michigan. It marked the most assists for the British Columbia native in a two-game series. Minnabarriet also finished plus-one in the two games. He improved his career stats vs. NMU to 2-4--6 in eight games and was the only Falcon with two points in the series.
Sigalet Stops 45 Shots at NMU
JR Jordan Sigalet stopped 45 of 52 shots faced last weekend at Northern Michigan, including a game-high 30 in the season opener. He finished the weekend with a .865 save pct. Sigalet made 30-plus saves in 13 games last season
Returning Firepower for the Falcons
BGSU returns its top three scorers from a year ago, including forwards D'Arcy McConvey, Mark Wires, and defenseman Kevin Bieksa. A year ago at this time, only one of the top-five scorers from the 2001-02 season were coming back. Also, JR goalie Jordan Sigalet returns as the man between the posts after playing in 20 out of 36 games last season (3.28 gaa., .910 save pct.). In all, 18 letterwinners are back for second-year coach Scott Paluch.
Falk Looks to Carry Over Freshman Numbers
SO Mike Falk led all Falcon freshmen a year ago in goals (11), assists (11), points (22) and PPGs (four). Two of his 11 goals were game-winners that came in the final seconds of action. On Jan. 21, Falk scored the GWG with 13 seconds remaining in the third period vs. Wayne State (4-3 win), and on March 1 at Lake Superior, Falk scored with just nine seconds remaining in overtime (3-2 win).
Bryan Dobek Becomes First Falcon "Legacy"
SO Bryan Dobek is the first second-generation Falcon to wear the Brown and Orange in the 34-year history of the program. Dobek is the son of former United States Olympian Bob Dobek. Senior Dobek played in Bowling Green from 1972-75 and was a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic hockey team. Dobek was a two-time CCHA First-Team member and is the all-time leader at BGSU with 2.111 ppg. in 108 games played.
Several Close Shaves Last Season
Nearly half of BGSU's 36 games last year were decided by one goal or less (17). The Falcons posted a 5-9-3 record in those games a year ago, an improvement from the 2001-02 season when BGSU was 2-8-6 in games decided by one goal or less.
Falcons Spend Less Time in Penalty Box
BGSU ended the 2002-03 season with an average of 7.6 penalties and 17.22 PIM per game in 36 games played. Those numbers marked the lowest per game totals in 10 years for the Falcons. BGSU averaged 7.3 penalties and 16.1 PIM per game in the 1992-93 season. In the nine years between, the Falcons averaged 9.2 penalties and 21.1 PIM per game (348 games played). BGSU's 17.2 PIM per game ranked it 18th in the nation last year.
