Bowling Green State University Athletics
Hockey Garners National Attention With Recent Success
November 12, 2007 | Ice Hockey
Nov. 12, 2007
(BGSUfalcons.com) - For the first time in two seasons, the Bowling Green State University hockey team is receiving some national recognition in the latest Division I college hockey polls. After earning their first back-to-back Central Collegiate Hockey Association sweeps and their first CCHA road sweep since 2001, the Falcons are currently ranked 20th in the latest InsideCollegeHockey.com "Power Rankings" and are 21st in the latest USCHO/CSTV Division I poll.
Winners of their last four, the Falcons are 5-2-0 on the season and sit at 4-1-0 in the CCHA standings. It is the fastest BG has reached five wins at this point in the season since the 1996-97 campaign, when they started the year 6-0.
The Falcons currently sit in a fourth-place tie in the CCHA standings with defending national champion, Michigan State, with eight league points, as BG is off to its' best league start since starting CCHA play 4-1 during the 1994-95 season. That same season, the Falcons finished second in the final league standings with a 25-11-2 record and an 18-7-2 CCHA mark.
BG is currently ranked fourth in the CCHA and eighth-nationally for goals per game, as they are averaging 3.43 a game. The Falcon power play also ranks in the top-10 nationally, as they sit seventh on the list with a 23.9 power play conversion mark.
Individually, senior forward Derek Whitmore sits tied for third in the CCHA with eight goals and is tied for 10th with a team-leading 10 points (8g, 2a). His 1.14 goals per game average is currently ranked second-nationally and is tops in the league. Junior defenseman Kevin Schmidt, then ranks first-nationally in points per game by a defenseman with a 1.29 average and is tied for eighth-nationally with a 1.00 assists per game average.
In net, freshman goaltender Nick Eno leads all CCHA freshmen net-minders with a 3-0-0 record. He and junior Jimmy Spratt currently make-up the second-best goaltending duo in the league statistical-wise, ranking in the top-15 in both goals-against average and save percentage. Eno owns a 2.64 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage, while Spratt owns a 2.74 goals-against average and .893 save percentage.
BG will look for its' first six-game win streak in two seasons when it hosts Northern Michigan this weekend (Nov. 16-17). Face-off between the Falcons and Wildcats in scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights, as both games can be heard on WBGU 88.1 FM and can be seen on BCSN.
