Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons And Wolverines Play Home-and-Home This Weekend
January 18, 2006 | Ice Hockey
Jan. 18, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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GAME #26-27
BGSU vs. #6 Michigan
Jan. 20 (Yost Ice Arena, 7:35 p.m., FSN Detroit) Jan. 21 (BGSU Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m.
RECORDS: BGSU 11-13-1, 7-10-1 CCHA // Michigan 13-8-1, 8-5-1 CCHA
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Andy Evans
SERIES: Michigan leads, 67-30-3
LAST MEETING: Michigan W, 5-4 (Mar. 5, 2005)
The Series With Michigan
Friday's game will be the 101st meeting for these two teams, with Michigan owning a 67-30-3 all-time series advantage over the Falcons. Last season the Wolverines won both contests with scores of 8-3 and 5-4. BGSU's last win over Michigan came back on Jan. 25, 2002 in a 4-2 win. The Falcons last win at home over UofM was back on Dec. 3, 1999, also a 4-2 win.
Take Me To Your Leader
Sophomore Alex Foster is currently first in the country with 32 assists, but with his lone assist versus Ferris State on Monday, he is tops in the country with 40 points as well. He also ranks second with 1.28 helpers per game and fourth with 1.60 points per contest. Foster was named CCHA Offensive Player of the month in November (4g, 14a) and is currently on an 11-game point streak (3-13-16). He has scored a point in every game but three this season and has 13 multiple point games this year.
Falcons Have Won Eight-of-11
• BGSU has currently won eight of their last 11 contests, but have dropped two of their last three. The last time BGSU went at least 8-3-0 in 11 games was during the 1995-96 season when the Falcons went 9-2-0 from Jan. 27 through Feb. 24.
• The Falcons are averaging 4.5 goals per game, while holding the opposition to 2.8 goals per game. They have held their opponents to two goals or less in seven-of-11 games.
• The BGSU power play has converted on 15-of-63 (.238) power-play opportunities, scoring a power play goal in all 11 games.
• Senior Jon Horrell is 6-2-0 with a 2.54 gaa and a .925 save percentage. He has stopped 246-of-266 shots faced in his last eight games.
• Freshman Jimmy Spratt is 2-1-0 with wins over Michigan State and Western Michigan. He has a 3.02 gaa and an .875 save percentage.
• The Falcons have beat four ranked opponents including #14 St. Lawrence, #12 Colgate and a pair of wins over #16 Ohio State.
• Players averaging at least one point a game include: Alex Foster (3-13-16), Jonathan Matsumoto (7-6-13), James Unger (5-7-12) and Brett Pilkington (4-7-11).
• BGSU has outscored their opponent in the first (14-6), second (21-16) and in the third (14-9).
• 14 different Falcons have scored a goal, while 21 Falcons have scored at least one point.
More Notes In the Last 11 Games...
• Jon Horrell at one point went 112:10 without giving up a goal (last 40:46 at UConn, 60 mins. vs. Colgate and 11:24 into the OSU contest).
• Horrell also had a span where he surrendered only two goals in 220:46 (span of four games).
• BGSU posted two shutouts (4-0 vs. Colgate and 2-0 vs. Ohio State) back on Jan. 3 and Jan. 7 for their first pair of shutouts in the same week in almost 30 years (Feb. 8 & 12, 1977).
• The Falcons are a plus-76 as a team the last 11 games. They are led by Mike Nesdill (+10), Derek Whitmore (+7) and John Mazzei (+6).
Foster + Matsumoto = Dynamic Duo
This season the sophomore duo of Alex Foster (8g, 32a) and Jonathan Matsumoto (14g, 20a) have combined to score 22 goals and 52 assists in just 25 games this season. This duo, that is averaging .880 goals per game, 2.08 assists and 2.96 points per game, is the top scoring pair in the country. Foster is currently on an 11 game point streak (3-13-16) while Matsumoto is on an eight game point streak (6-7-13).
1. Alex Foster (40)/Jonathan Matsumoto (34) have 74 points (BGSU)
2. Brett Sterling (38)/Marty Sertich (35) have 73 points (CC)
3. Scott Parse (39)/Bill Thomas (33) have 72 points (Nebraska-Omaha)
4. Jamie Hunt (32)/Dave Borrelli (29) have 61 points (Mercyhurst)
5. Joe Pavelski (31)/Robbie Earl (28) have 59 points (Wisconsin)
Falcon Road Warriors?
After starting the season 0-5-1 on the road the Falcons have won their last three contests away from the BGSU Ice Arena. They claimed a 9-2 win at UConn, a 3-2 thriller at Ohio State, and just recently captured a 5-2 win at Kalamazoo versus Western Michigan. In their last three road contests the Falcons are averaging 5.7 goals per game, while allowing just 2.0 goals. The BGSU power play is 5-for-16 (.312) the last three contests, while the penalty kill has been stellar, going 15-of-16 (.938).
The Incredible Falk
Mike Falk entered the 2005-06 season with a career 24 goals in 89 games. This season alone he has already amassed 12 goals (a career-high), which places him second on the team, two behind Matsumoto. The senior recorded eight goals in 27 games last season and 11 goals in 35 games his freshman year. Falk ranks 37th in the country with .50 goals/game. He also is T-37th in the nation with five power-play goals. On the year the senior forward has 12 goals and eight assists in 25 games, two points shy of his career-high, set his freshman campaign.
Falcons In The CCHA
Entering the weekend with Ohio State the Falcons were tied for last-place in the CCHA with nine points. Following the sweep of OSU and a split with WMU, the Brown and Orange climbed all the way into seventh-place in the CCHA with 15 points. The Falcons are only four points out of second, but also only three points ahead of last-place Western Michigan.
Horrell Tops Among CCHA Goalies of the Week
Senior Jon Horrell has been named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's Goalie of the Week three times this season, more then any other goalie in the conference. He is just one week removed from being named CCHA Goalie of the Week on back-to-back weeks on Jan. 2 and Jan. 9 as well as the award back on Oct. 24. He earned his first recognition in a 2-2 tie with Ohio State where he stopped 41-of-43 OSU shots, a career-high. His second award came after stopping 70-of-73 shots at the UConn Tournament in a pair of wins, en route to being named to the all-tournament team. His third nomination was awarded to the senior after he backstopped the Falcons to a sweep of Ohio State, allowing only two goals in 120:00 minutes of action as well as a 4-0 shutout of Colgate, recording 22 saves.
Falcons Sweep Ohio State For First Time In Nearly Seven Years
• The weekend sweep over Ohio State was the first sweep over the Buckeyes since March of 1999.
• The win on Jan. 6 was the first win for any Falcon on the current team over OSU and gave BGSU head coach Scott Paluch his first win over the Buckeyes as well.
• The last time BGSU shutout the Buckeyes came back on March 6, 1999.
• Bowling Green had their best defensive effort for a weekend, allowing just two goals in the two games.
• Jon Horrell averaged 1.00 goals per game, stopped 61-63 shots faced and recorded a .968 save percentage.
• The Falcons had their largest home crowd of the season on Saturday night with 3,680 spectators in attendance.
• BGSU was 2-for-14 on the power play, while OSU was 0-for-13 with the man advantage.
• The Falcons finished the regular season with a 2-1-1 record over OSU. The last time BGSU captured five points in the regular season series with the Buckeyes was the 1996-97 season.
Offense, Offense and More Offense
The Falcon offense ranks third in the country with 3.76 goals/game. Already this season they have put up six goals versus Boston College and St. Lawrence, seven goals against Nebraska-Omaha, eight tallies versus Northern Michigan and nine lamp lighters in the win over UConn back on Dec. 30. In terms of goals scored the Falcons are led by Jonathan Matsumoto (14), Mike Falk (12), James Unger (10), Derek Whitmore (9), and Alex Foster (8).
Matsumoto Clicking On All Cylinders
In his last eight games the sophomore forward has posted 13 points (7g, 6a). In those eight games he has scored a goal in six of them, and has recorded at least one point in all eight of those games. He also has five multiple point games in that same span. For the year Matsumoto can be found throughout the nation's leaders in points (34, T-5th), points per game (1.48, 5th), goals (14, T-12th), and power-play goals (8, 7th). 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 32 goals and 34 assists in 59 career games (1.12 per game).
Paluch Pushes The Offensive Limit
In head coach Scott Paluch's first season the Falcons recorded only 94 goals (2.6 per game) in 36 contests. This season the Falcons have scored exactly 94 goals (3.76 per game) in just 25 games. That is an improvement of 69% in three-plus seasons under Paluch.
• Paluch's first season (2002-03) at BGSU his leading scorer was D'Arcy McConvey with 29 points in 36 games. This season the Falcons have five players that are on pace to score more then 29 points.
Unger Has The Magic Touch
Junior James Unger is third on the team with 22 points (10g, 12a). He scored goals in back-to-back games in the sweep over UNO, a goal in the 8-4 win over NMU, one goal in the 4-2 victory over MSU and picked up one tally in the 9-2 win over UConn. He currently has 16 points (7g, 9a) in his last 14 games. Unger ranks 15th in the country with six power-play goals.
Falcons Have Played A Tough Schedule
Ten of the 22 games the Falcons have played this season have been against team's ranked in the top-20 of the USCHO.com poll at the time they faced them. BGSU has already faced #4 Boston College, two games with #2 Ohio State, two games with #11 Miami (now #3), and two more games with #16 Ohio State. They also have one game apiece with #14 Clarkson, #12 St. Lawrence and #12 Colgate. This week the Falcons square-off with #6 Michigan.
Barnett Records A Career-Best
Ryan Barnett has already amassed 11 points (4g, 7a) in 23 games this season, two better then his nine points (4g, 5a) he set his freshman season, his previous career-best. His first goal of the season was the game-winner back on Nov. 5 in a 4-3 win over UNO. He also recorded the Falcons second goal of a 3-2 win over Ohio State. In his first three seasons with the Falcons Barnett had recorded seven goals and seven assists in 71 career games.
The Power Play Makes It 11 Straight
With one power-play goal versus Ferris State on Monday, the BGSU power play has scored in 11 straight contests. In that span they are 15-of-63 (.238) after scoring only 17 times in their first 111 opportunities (.153). On the year Jonathan Matsumoto leads the bunch with eight power-play goals, but he is joined by James Unger (6), Mike Falk (5), Derek Whitmore (4) and Alex Foster (3).
