Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Travel To Storrs, Conn. For UConn Classic
December 19, 2005 | Ice Hockey
Dec. 19, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - After a 19-day layoff the Falcons will travel to Storrs, Conn., for the Toyota UConn Holiday Classic on Dec. 29-30. Also participating in the event will be the host school UConn, as well as Army and UMass. In 37 years of Falcon hockey, BGSU has never played Army or UConn, with their only contest versus UMass coming back on Dec. 28, 1996.
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UConn Holiday Classic Opponents
In round one of the holiday tournament the Falcons will face-off with the University of Massachusetts out of the Hockey East. The Minutemen are coached by Don "Toot" Cahoon and enter the Christmas tournament with a 5-10-0 overall and 3-7-0 conference record. Offensively UMass is led by senior forward Stephen Werner who has 14 points (5g, 9a) in 14 games this season. In net Jon Quick (3-5-0, 2.65, .927) and Gabe Winer (2-5-0, 3.17, .910) have been sharing the duties, starting eight and seven games respectively. The last time these two teams squared off was back on Dec. 28, 1996 with UMass walking away with a 5-4 win.
Following the showdown with UMass the Falcons will face either the University of Connecticut or Army. The Huskies are led by Cole Koidahl (5-9--14) and Chris Myhro (8-6--14), while three different goaltenders have seen action this year for UConn. Brad Smith (3-1-1, 2.25, .926), Jon Anderson (3-1-0, 2.98, .899) and Scott Tomes (0-3-0, 3.98, .889) have each started at least three games this season. The Huskies enter the holiday tournament with an overall 6-7-1 record and 5-6-0 AHA record. UConn head coach Bruce Marshall recorded his 250th career-win on Dec. 8, 2005 in a 2-1 victory over Sacred Heart.
Army is coached by Brian Riley who is in his second year as the Black Knights head coach. He brings his team into the holiday tournament with a 4-9-3 overall and 2-5-3 AHA record. Riley is only the third head coach in Army's last 55 years of college hockey. The top point-getters for the Black Knights are Luke Flicek (4-8--12) and Bryce Hollweg (5-5-10), while Brad Roberts will control the Army crease. Roberts has started all 16 games for the Black Knights this season and owns a 2.73 gaa and .904 save percentage this year.
The Last Time Out...
Clarkson 6, BGSU 4
St. Lawrence 4, BGSU 6
The weekend match-up with #18 Clarkson and #14 St. Lawrence saw a bit of everything. On Friday, Dec. 9, the Falcons scored the opening three goals of the game midway through the second period before Clarkson stormed back with five unanswered goals to claim a 6-4 victory. With only 22 seconds remaining BGSU freshman Brandon Svendsen crashed headfirst into the BGSU net and boards and had to be carried off on a stretcher. The following night BGSU once again got out to an early lead, this time 2-0 after goals by senior Mike Falk and sophomore Derek Whitmore. After two SLU goals, Svendsen (yes, the same guy that left on a stretcher not 24 hours earlier) scored a goal to give the Falcons a 3-2 advantage, a game they would go on to win 6-4. The 20 combined goals scored over the weekend were the second most this season after BGSU and Northern Michigan combined for 21 goals back on Nov. 18-19.
Foster "Helps" The Falcon Cause
Sophomore Alex Foster is currently tied for first in the country with 23 assists. He also ranks second with 1.35 helpers per game. Combined with his five goals his 28 points (5g, 23a) ranks third in the country with 1.65 points per game. Foster is coming off an 18-point (4g, 14a) month of November where he was named CCHA Offensive Player of the Month.
The Incredible Falk
Mike Falk entered the 2005-06 season with a career 24 goals in 89 career games. This season alone he has already amassed 11 goals, which places him in a tie for first in the CCHA. The senior recorded eight goals in 27 games last season and had his career-best 11 goals in 35 games his freshman year. Falk ranks 19th in the country with .65 goals/game and 12th with those 11 total goals. He also is T-20th in the nation with five power-play goals. On the year the senior forward has 11 goals and three assists in 17 games.
Falcons Have Top Defensive Effort Vs. MSU
BGSU is coming off their best defensive effort of the year two weekends ago after holding Michigan State to only five goals in the two games (L, 3-0 and W, 4-2). Of the five goals allowed, only two came at even strength. Michigan State also had two power-play goals and one goal which came from a penalty shot. For the weekend the Falcons turned-aside 58-of-63 shots (.921). BGSU's previous-best defensive effort came back on Nov. 4-5 after they held UNO to six goals in the two game series.
Matsumoto Snaps Scoreless Streak
A two game slide may not seem like much to most, but back on Dec. 2-3 sophomore Jonathan Matsumoto was held without a point for the entire weekend. Well, that did not last long. The forward picked up four points (2g, 2a) back on Dec. 9-10, versus two ranked opponents. In the previous 13 games before MSU Matsumoto had at least one point in 11-of-13 contests, and has multiple point efforts seven different times this year. In 53 career games he has been held without a point only 15 times (32%). This year, in only 17 games the forward has recorded 25 points (9g, 16a). Matsumoto ranks 13th in the country with 1.47 points/game and 11th with .94 assists/game. He also ranks seventh in the nation with six power-play goals. He had his first career hat trick versus Boston College and had a four-point night (1-3--4) in an 8-4 win over Nebraska-Omaha. For his career he has 27 goals and 30 assists in 53 career games (1.08 per game).
Shoot The Puck
BGSU has out shot their opponent in 11-of-17 contests this season. Since entering conference action Bowling Green has out shot their CCHA opponent in eight of 13 games this year. They recorded more shots then FSU (28-19), UNO (32-28 and 35-30), NMU (38-35), Miami (31-28) and Michigan State (28-24). For the year they are averaging 31.3 shots/game, while surrendering 30.5. The Falcons are 4-7 this year in games where they out shoot their opponent.
Unger Has The Magic Touch
Junior James Unger is third on the team with seven goals and fourth on the team with 13 points. In games where Unger has scored a goal the Falcons are 4-3 overall. He scored goals in back-to-back games in the sweep over UNO, a goal in the 8-4 win over NMU and one goal in the 4-2 victory over MSU. He currently has seven points (4g, 3a) in his last six games. Unger ranks 20th in the country with five power-play goals.
Barnett Closing In On Career-Best
Ryan Barnett has already amassed six points (1g, 5a) in 14 game this season. His lone goal was the game-winner back on Nov. 5 in a 4-3 win over UNO. His freshman year he recorded a career-high four goals and five assists. In his first three seasons with the Falcons Barnett had recorded seven goals and seven assists in 71 career games.
Offense, Offense and More Offense
The Falcon offense ranks 13th in the country and fourth in the CCHA with 3.47 goals/game. Already this season they have put up six goals versus Boston College and St. Lawrence, seven goals against Nebraska-Omaha and eight tallies versus Northern Michigan. In terms of goals scored the Falcons are led by Mike Falk (11), Jonathan Matsumoto (9), James Unger (7), Alex Foster (5) and Derek Whitmore (5).
Svendsen Makes A Brief Stop At The Hospital
Back on Dec. 9 freshman Brandon Svendsen dove headfirst into the BGSU goal post in an attempt to stop an empty net goal by Clarkson. While deflecting the puck into the corner his momentum also carried him headfirst into the boards behind the net. The impact was extreme enough that Svendsen had to leave the ice surface on a stretcher. The following night versus St. Lawrence the freshman was back out there and scored a goal to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead, a game they would eventually win 6-4 and extend his point streak to three games. In his last seven games he has recorded six points (3g, 3a), after scoring only two points (1g, 1a) in his first 10 games of his Falcon career.
The PP Gets Back On Track
BGSU recorded four power-play goals over the past weekend in 15 attempts (.267), a large improvement over the previous seven games that saw the Falcons pour in only five power-play goals in their last 50 attempts (.100). On the year Jonathan Matsumoto leads the team with six power-play goals (which places him seventh in the country). He is joined by Mike Falk (5), James Unger (5) and Derek Whitmore (3). Those four account for 86% of the teams power-play goals.
Morrison Has Big Weekend
On Dec. 9-10 senior Don Morrison recorded back-to-back multiple point games versus Clarkson and St. Lawrence, two ranked opponents. On Friday the senior captain scored to give the Falcons a 3-0 advantage and assisting on the opening goal of the game as well. The following night Morrison picked up the game-winner with a slap-shot through traffic at the 14:24 mark of the third. For the weekend the defensemen picked up four points (2g, 2a) and finished with a plus-1 rating. The Morrison highlights do not stop there. He was named captain of the Falcon squad at the start of the season, and followed that up by scoring the Falcons first goal of the year back on Oct. 14 versus Merrimack. Morrison is the lone captain this season. The last time BGSU had a lone captain was back during the 1987-88 season when now head coach Scott Paluch wore the "C". Morrison will join Paluch (1987-88), George Roll (1984-85), Mike Bartley (1973-74), Chuck Gyles (1972-73), and Glen Shirton (1971-72) as lone season captains.
Whitmore Finding The Scoring Touch
Sophomore Derek Whitmore recorded three goals over the past weekend, including two versus St. Lawrence, tying his career-high for goals in a game. He has seven points (4g, 3a) in his last six games, after posting only one point in his first seven games this year.
Horrell's Game Coming Along Nicely
Senior Jon Horrell may only carry a 3.74 gaa and .882 save percentage, but that is no reflection on his play as of late. In his last two starts he turned-aside 36-of-39 shots versus MSU in a 3-0 loss and 35-of-39 shots in a 6-4 win over St. Lawrence. In his last two games he has a 3.50 gaa and a .910 save percentage.
Sophomore Class Having A Strong Campaign
The eight-man second year class comprised of Jon Erickson (1-1--2), Alex Foster (5-23--28), Ben Geelan (3-0--3), Michael Hodgson (0-5--5), Jonathan Matsumoto (9-16--25), John Mazzei (3-4--7), Mike Nesdill (0-3--3) and Derek Whitmore (5-3--8) have combined for 26 goals, 55 assists and 81 points in just 17 games this year. This sophomore class has combined for 44% of the team's goals, 55% of the assists and 51% of the team's total points this year.
Mazzei Earning His Wings
With a goal versus Michigan State on Dec. 3, sophomore John Mazzei matched his season goal total from all of last season with three. In his last three game the sophomore forward has recorded three points (1g, 2a).
