Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Clarkson and St. Lawrence In Non-Conference Action
December 05, 2005 | Ice Hockey
Dec. 5, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - After downing Michigan State 4-2 on Saturday, the Bowling Green State University hockey team will look to keep the momentum going as they host a pair of non-conference opponents in Clarkson (Dec. 9) and St. Lawrence (Dec. 10). Both contests will begin at 7:05 p.m.
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The Series With Clarkson
Clarkson owns the all-time series by the slim margin of 11-10-1. The last time these two teams met was back on October 13, 2001, with the two teams tying 1-1 at the Iceberg Tournament in Orono, ME. Clarkson is coached by George Roll, who is a 1986 graduate of Bowling Green. He played for the Falcons from 1981-85, including the year they won it all back in 1984. In his four years with the Falcons Roll recorded 62-90--152 in a 161 games, which ranks T-25th all-time in BGSU scoring.
The Series With St. Lawrence
The Falcons own a 6-4-2 all-time series advantage over the Saints. The last time these two teams squared off was all the way back on December 29, 1990. The Saints won that contest 6-3.
Recap Of The Weekend
BGSU 0, Michigan State 3
Michigan State 2, BGSU 4
The two teams split last weekend's series with MSU winning on Friday (3-0), while the Falcons rebounded with a 4-2 win the following night. On Friday senior Jon Horrell was outstanding, turning-away 36-of-39 shots, and helping the Falcons to hold the MSU power play scoreless on the night. MSU's Bryan Lerg recorded his second career hat trick, two at even-strength and one coming on a penalty shot. The following night the Falcons got four goals from four different people and freshman Jimmy Spratt stopped 22-of-24 shots en route to the 4-2 win.
Deja Vu For Falcons Versus Michigan State
Last Friday, the Falcons faced their first penalty shot in almost a year after Bryan Lerg (MSU) slipped the puck past Jon Horrell. Jim Slater, a former Spartan, was the last to attempt a penalty shot back on Dec. 3, 2004. He was denied by former Falcon Jordan Sigalet. The span between penalty shots faced was one day short of a full year. Prior to the Lerg goal, Jason Basile from Ferris State was the last opponent to score with the help of a penalty shot against the Falcons. (Feb. 9, 2002).
Foster "Helps" The Falcon Cause
Sophomore Alex Foster is currently 2nd in the country with 20 assists. He also ranks 2nd with 1.33 helpers per game. Combined with his five goals his 25 points (5g, 20a) ranks fourth in the country with 1.67 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 10 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 8th in the country with .77 goals/game. On the year the senior forward has 10 goals and two assists.
Falcons Have Top Defensive Effort Vs. MSU
BGSU is coming off their best defensive effort of the year this past weekend 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 Reaches 50 Career Points
After leading the team with 32 points (18g, 14a) last season as a freshman, now sophomore Jonathan Matsumoto has picked up right where he left off. This year, in only 15 games the forward has recorded 21 points (7g, 14a). Matsumoto ranked 21st in the country with 1.40 points/game and 18th with .93 assists/game. 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 25 goals and 28 assists in 51 career games.
Shoot The Puck
BGSU has out shot their opponent in 10-of-15 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) on Saturday. For the year they are averaging 30.9 shots/game, while surrendering 30.0.
Break On The Horizon
This weekend will conclude a home stand which saw the Falcons play eight of 12 games at home. The Falcons are currently 4-2 inside the BGSU Ice Arena during this home stand. Following this weekend's contests the Falcons will have 19 days off until they travel to Storrs, Conn., when they will square-off with UMass in game one of the UConn Classic on Dec. 29.
Unger Has The Magic Touch
Junior James Unger is third on the team with six goals and fourth on the team with 11 points. In games where Unger has scored a goal the Falcons are 4-2 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 last Saturday. He currently has five points in his last five games.
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 20th in the country and fourth in the CCHA with 3.27 goals/game. Already this season they have put up six goals versus Boston College, seven goals against Nebraska-Omaha and eight tallies versus Northern Michigan. St. Lawrence is 6th in the country with 3.81 goals/game and Clarkson is 7th with 3.79 goals/game.
Svendsen Finding His Stride
Brandon Svendsen has three points in his last five games including goals versus Northern Michigan and Miami. The freshman had scored only two points in his first 10 games.
Matsumoto, Foster and Falk Carry The Load
The combination of Alex Foster (5-20-25), Jonathan Matsumoto (7-14-21) and Mike Falk (10-2-12) have combined for 45% (22-49) of the Falcons goals this season. They also own 35% of the team's assists (36-84) and 44% of the team's total points (58-133). As a group they average 1.47 goals, 2.40 assists and 3.87 points per game.
Falcon Experience
Senior Mike Falk played in his 100th game last back on Nov. 19 versus Northern Michigan and has now played in 103 games. He is joined by Brett Pilkington (108), Don Morrison (120) and Jon Sitko (111) to surpass the 100 game plateau in their Falcon career.
Falcon Power Play
BGSU has scored 18 power-play goals this season. The team is led by Matsumoto (6), Mike Falk (4) and James Unger (4). Kevin Schmidt, Don Morrison, Derek Whitmore and Alex Foster have also score PP goals this season. Matsumoto ranks fifth in the country and first in the CCHA with those six power-play goals. The Falcons rank 39th nationally on the power play (15.9%). After getting off to a fast start the Falcon power play has struggled as of late, going 5-50 (.100) in their last seven games.
Falcon Penalty Kill
The Falcons penalty kill has turned-away 89-of 108 (.824) opposing power plays on the year. They are currently 36th in the country and eighth in the CCHA at killing power plays. Here are some of the highlights:
• Held #2/3 Ohio State 3-for-14 (2 games) with the man advantage.
• Merrimack went 0-for-6 to open the season.
• Ferris State was held scoreless on the PP (0-for-4) in their home opener.
• They held UNO 1-for-16 in a two game series sweep.
