Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Take A Break From Conference Action By Hosting RIT
January 31, 2006 | Ice Hockey
Jan. 31, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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GAME #30
BGSU vs. RIT
Feb. 4, 2006 (BGSU Ice Arena, 5:05 p.m.)
RECORDS: BGSU 12-16-1, 8-13-1 CCHA // RIT 6-17-2
RADIO: WBGU-FM (88.1) - Andy Evans
SERIES: Second-ever meeting, BGSU leads 1-0-0
The Bowling Green State University hockey team will play only a single game this weekend by hosting RIT in a non-conference contest this Saturday inside the BGSU Ice Arena. Opening face-off is set for 5:05 p.m. with the Tigers
The Series With RIT
Saturday night's meeting between BGSU and RIT will be the second-ever meeting between these two squads, with their first-ever meeting caming back on Dec. 28, 1986. Current hockey coach Scott Paluch and RIT head coach Wayne Wilson are both former Falcons and can be found throughout the BGSU record books. Both coaches rank seventh all-time with 165 career games played and these former defensemen both scored over 100 points in their careers (Paluch, 169 and Wilson, 101). Wilson was also a member of the 1984 national championship team.
Take Me To Your Leader
Sophomore Alex Foster is currently first in the country with 33 assists and is second in the nation with 41 points. He also ranks third with 1.14 helpers per game and ninth with 1.41 points per contest. Foster was named CCHA Offensive Player of the month in November (4g, 14a) and has scored a point in every game but six this season.
Foster + Matsumoto = Dynamic Duo
Entering this weekend the sophomore duo of Alex Foster (8g, 33a) and Jonathan Matsumoto (14g, 23a) have combined to score 22 goals and 56 assists in just 29 games this season. This duo, that is averaging .756 goals per game, 1.93 assists and 2.69 points per game, is the second-best pair in the country with 78 points.
1. Scott Parse (46)/Bill Thomas (38) have 84 points (Nebraska-Omaha)
2. Alex Foster (41)/Jonathan Matsumoto (37) have 78 points (BGSU)
3. Brett Sterling (40)/Marty Sertich (36) have 76 points (CC)
4. Matt Carle (40)/Paul Stastny (34) have 74 points (Denver)
5. Jamie Hunt (38)/Dave Borrelli (34) have 72 points (Mercyhurst)
The pair of sophomores are both having career years and been recognized for their accomplishments, making them legit Hobey Baker Candidates. For more information on these two please click here.
Recap of Last Weekend
BGSU 1, LSSU 6
BGSU 2, LSSU 4
Bowling Green had their worst offensive showing this past weekend, scoring only three goals in the two games with Lake Superior. On Friday, despite only being out-shot 30-28, the Falcons fell to the Lakers 6-1. The following night both teams fired 34 shots, but the Lakers once again came away with the win, this time with a 4-2 final score. For the weekend the Falcons power-play was 1-for-12, while the Lakers were 2-for-7. Freshman Brandon Svendsen scored two of the three Falcon goals, including his first career short-handed tally. Sophomore Derek Whitmore was the only other Falcon to light the lamp, scoring the Falcons lone power-play goal for the weekend.
Falcons Snap 12-Game Winless Streak Versus Michigan
It was a long time coming, but back on Jan. 21 the Falcons ended a 12-game losing streak to Michigan with a 5-2 victory over the Wolverines. The win was the first for any current Falcon, including head coach Scott Paluch. The last time the Falcons had recorded a win over UM was back on Jan. 25, 2002. In the win sophomore Derek recorded three points (2g, 1a), while senior Brett Pilkington matched his career-high with four assists. Also of note, the Falcons fired 49 shots on net, the most since November 24, 2001, at Lake Superior when BGSU fired 51 shots in a 3-2 loss.
Power Playing
The Falcons power play, which ranks 25th in the country and fifth in the CCHA, has scored 36 goals on 201 attempts (.179). BGSU is led by Jonathan Matsumoto (8), who ranks eighth in the country, while sophomore Derek Whitmore ranks 15th in the country with his seven power-play goals. James Unger (6), Mike Falk (5) and Alex Foster (3) round out the top five Falcons with the man-advantage.
Falcons Are A Second Day Team
In CCHA action this season the Orange and Brown are a combined 6-3-1 on day two of a weekend conference series, but are only 2-8-0 in the opening contest. In fact the total goals scored/allowed on day two of the series is 37-28, while on day one they have scored only 26 goals and have allowed 53. Note: The Ferris State series was ignored in these numbers due to the large delay between games.
Offense, Offense and More Offense
The Falcon offense ranks fourth in the country and second in the CCHA with 3.55 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. They have also scored five goals three other times this season. In terms of goals scored the Falcons are led by Jonathan Matsumoto (14), Mike Falk (12), Derek Whitmore (12), James Unger (11), Brandon Svendsen (9) and Alex Foster (8).
Falcons Have Played A Tough Schedule
Sixteen of the 27 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 #9 Miami, two with #20 Northern Michigan, two more games with #16 Ohio State, #6 Michigan and #19 Lake Superior. They also have one game apiece with #14 Clarkson, #12 St. Lawrence and #12 Colgate. In those 16 games the Falcons are 6-9-1.
Whit-More Goals The Falcons Win
Since December 10, sophomore Derek Whitmore has recorded nine goals in the past 13 games, most among the team. Matsumoto (6) and Unger (4) rank the top three. Since the St. Lawrence contest the Falcons are 6-1 in games where Whitmore has scored. He has 12 points (9g, 3a) in that span including multiple goal games versus St. Lawrence and Michigan. He has 17 points (11g, 6a) in his last 18 games, after posting only one point in his first seven games this year.
Falcons And The First Five Minutes
Twenty-three goals have been scored in the opening five minutes of Falcon hockey games this season, 11 by BGSU and 12 by the opposition. In games where the Falcons score in the first five minutes they are 6-2-1, but are only 2-7-1 when their opponent scores in the opening five minutes. BGSU is also 2-2-0 when both teams score in the first five minutes.
Goodbye January
The Falcons finished the first month of the new year with a 5-5-0 overall and a 4-5-0 CCHA record. Leading the way offensively was senior Brett Pilkington (3-8-11), Derek Whitmore (6-3-9), Alex Foster (3-6-9), Jonathan Matsumoto (2-7-9) and Don Morrison (1-7-8). Highlights of the month included a series sweep of Ohio State, including a 2-0 shutout of the Buckeyes. They also pitched a 4-0 blanking of Colgate, and split a weekend series with #6 Michigan.
Fast Starts = Falcon Wins
That first goal of the game has been a major factor this season for the BGSU hockey team. In games where the Falcons score first they are 9-4-0, but when they surrender the opening goal they are only 3-12-1. In fact, they are 5-3 in the CCHA when they score first, but only 3-10-1 when a fellow CCHA opponent scores first.
Paluch Knows How To Play With A Lead
Continuing with the fast start theme, when the Falcons claim a 2-0 advantage this season they are 8-1 on the year. Their wins include UNO (7-3), Northern Michigan (8-4), St. Lawrence (6-4), UMass (3-2), UConn (9-2), Clarkson (4-0), Ohio State (2-0) and Michigan (5-2). Their lone loss came versus Clarkson (6-4) a game they at one point led 3-0. In games where the Falcons claim that 2-0 advantage they have scored a total of 48 goals (5.33 per game), while surrendering only 23 goals (2.56 per game).
The Captain Is Leading The Way
Captain Don Morrison had his second huge week in the past month, recording five points versus FSU and Michigan. On Monday (Jan. 16) he picked up one helper versus Ferris State. Then on Friday he recorded the Falcons lone goal at Michigan. The following night he recorded a career-high three assists in the Falcons 5-2 win over the Wolverines. Back 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.
Morrison is tops among the Falcon defensemen with 18 points (5g, 13a) and ranks 33rd in the nation with .61 points per game among d-men.
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.
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 103 goals (3.55 per game) in just 29 games.
• The Falcons are averaging 9.66 points per game, the highest since BGSU recorded 10.92 a game back in the 1996-97 campaign.
• BGSU's 103 goals is the highest output since the 2001-02 team also scored 103 goals.
• The 3.55 goals per game is the highest since the 1998-99 team averaged 3.32 per game.
• 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.
Svendsen Having Strong Freshman Campaign
Freshman Brandon Svendsen recorded goals in back-to-back games this past weekend versus Lake Superior giving him 16 points (9g, 7a) for the season. He ranks fifth on the team with those nine goals and eighth overall with the 16 points. Since recording only two points (1g, 1a) in his first 10 games, the freshman forward has 14 points (8g, 6a) in his last 19 contests.
