Hockey Heads To Ferris State For Key Early Season CCHA Series

Nov. 7, 2007

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - After picking up their first series sweep in two seasons, the Bowling Green State University hockey team prepares for what may be their most important two games of the young season, as they'll do battle with CCHA clustermate Ferris State this weekend in Big Rapids, Mich. The Falcons, who are above .500 in the CCHA for the first time since March of 2005, currently sit alone in sixth-place in the conference standings, while the Bulldogs sit just above them in the fifth-position. Face-off for Friday night's game one tilt is set for 7:05 p.m., before the series will conclude on Saturday evening with an early 5:05 p.m. start.

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Games #6-7
Bowling Green at Ferris State

Nov. 9-10, 2007  Ewigleben Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m./5:05 p.m.

RECORDS: BGSU 3-2-0, 2-1-0 CCHA // Ferris State 4-3-0, 3-1-0 CCHA
TELEVISION (Internet only):B2 Networks
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Danny Nieves (Play-by-Play

Radio Broadcast
Friday and Saturday night's action between the Falcons and Bulldogs can be heard on WBGU 88.1 FM. Danny Nieves will be providing all the play-by-play of the action with a pregame show airing 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The broadcast can be heard locally on WBGU 88.1 FM and globally on both www.bgsufalcons.com and www.bgrso.org.
Live Stats
Live stats for Friday and Saturday's game will be available at www.bgsufalcons.com via gametracker, which can be found on the team's schedule page.
Falcon Quick Hits
 In the last 10 games against Ferris State, nine have been decided by two goals or less. However, BG is just 1-6-2 in those tilts.
 A pair of wins against the Bulldogs would give the Falcons their fastest league start since the 1994-95 season when they started CCHA play 4-1.
 With their series sweep of Western Michigan, the Falcons moved above .500 in the CCHA for the first time since March of 2005 when they stood 13-12-3 in the final regular season standings for the 2004-05 season.
 BG 3-2 on the season despite being out-scored, 7-2, in the third period.
 BG's two-consecutive overtime wins were a first since the Falcons swept Miami in two-consecutive overtime tilts during October of the 1987-88 season. It was also just the third time in school history that the feat has occurred. Current head coach Scott Paluch has been part of two of them now, as he was the captain of that 1987-88 team.
 The overtime wins gave BG a 3-1-6 record in their last 10 overtime games and improved their all-time mark to 61-78-85 in extra-frame contests.
 Interestingly enough, BG will now face the squad that they've met in more overtime games than any other team in school history. The Falcons and Bulldogs have met in 22 total overtime tilts with FSU holding a 6-5-11 advantage.
 The last time BG played in four-straight overtime games came during the 2003-04 season, also the last time they had three-straight overtime tilts.
 Friday and Saturday's back-to-back overtime games marked the 37th-time in BG history they've played in two-straight overtime contests.
 Freshman David Solway's two points against the Broncos in Friday's 3-2 overtime win made him the fifth BG freshman to record a point in the first five games.
 BG's defensive core has already tallied 14 points this season after only recording 45 total points a season ago.
 In his last 12 regular season games going back to last season, Whitmore has scored 14 points (10-4--14), which includes goals in both games of the CCHA playoffs at Nebraska-Omaha and an assist this past weekend.
 BG goaltenders Nick Eno (2.46) and Jimmy Spratt (3.04) are currently ranked fifth and 11th in the CCHA respectively in goals-against average, while Eno ranks ninth (.896) and Spratt ranks 13th (.861) in save percentage.
 The Falcons rank third as a team in CCHA in penalty minutes per game at 21.4, while Ferris State ranks fourth at 20.1.
Last Week Recap
BGSU 3, Western Michigan 2 (OT)
BGSU 5, Western Michigan 4 (OT)
BG freshman forward David Solway and junior defenseman Kevin Schmidt both tallied overtime game-winners this past weekend as the Falcon hockey team earned their first series sweep since sweeping Ohio State in January of 2006. The two overtime wins also marked the first time the Falcons have earned back-to-back wins in an extra frame since a 1987 sweep of Miami that came in two-straight overtime contests.
BG had 11 different players produce points in the two games, while freshman goaltender Nick Eno and junior Jimmy Spratt both picked up wins in net.
In Friday night's contest, the Falcons trailed 2-1 late in the game, before senior defenseman Mike Nesdill was able to tie the game with just 2:15 remaining to send it to the extra-frame. That is where Solway picked up his first collegiate goal, as he tallied the game-winner on the power play just 1:57 in to give the Falcons a 3-2 come-from-behind win. Eno picked up his second-straight road win to begin his career 2-0, making 14 stops on 16 shots.
The following night, BG would take a 4-0 lead into the third period at the BGSU Ice Arena, as the Falcons tallied three power play goals in the first two periods. However, that lead would soon change as the Broncos put up two quick power play goals to start the third to get within two at 4-2. Jonathan Lupa then scored on a blast from the point to make it 4-3, before Jeff LoVecchio was able to tie the game with just 10 seconds remaining, as he got the puck past Spratt in a scramble in front of the net.
Things looked like they were going to go the Broncos way, as BG out-shot WMU 39-20 heading into the overtime, but just couldn't catch a break and get that one or two goals to put the game away.
The Falcons wouldn't let that stop them though from earning their first sweep of the season, as they came out battling in the extra period, holding a 5-2 edge in shots on goal. Finally with just 1:15 remaining before the game ended in a 4-4 tie, Tomas Petruska and Todd McIlrath got a BG rush going towards the Bronco net where Schmidt was tailing and was able to find the back of the net after McIlrath hit him with a nice pass to record the first game-winner of his career.
Scouting The BullDOGS
Ferris State enters this weekend's tilts with a 4-3-1 overall record and a 3-1-0 mark in the CCHA where they currently sit alone in fifth place. This past weekend the Bulldogs recorded a road sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes, winning 4-0 Friday and 4-2 on Saturday.
Leading the way up front for the Bulldogs is junior forward Brendan Connolly (2g, 3a) and sophomore forward Aaron Lewicki (1g, 4a), who have each tallied five points. Freshman Justin Menke (3g, 1a), junior Corey Couturier (2g, 2a) and sophomore Cody Chupp (2g, 2a) then each have four points, as the Bulldogs rank third in the CCHA for shots on goal averaging 31.2 a game. Chupp leads all returning FSU scorers, as he tallied 23 points last season (8g, 15a) as a freshman. As an offense, FSU has scored 22 goals in eight games for a 2.75 goals a game average.
On the defensive side, one could argue that FSU features a defensive core and goaltending duo that could rival any teams' in the league or the country. So far thru their first eight games, the Bulldogs have given up just 15 goals, as they rank second in the CCHA with a team 1.88 goals-against average. Helping to lead the way has been sophomore Matt Case (1g, 5a), who leads the Bulldogs with a team-high six points, along with brother Evan Case (0g, 3a), freshman Zach Redmond (2g, 1a), freshman Scott Wietecha (0g, 2a), senior Jim Jorgensen (1g, 0a), senior Alex Spezia (0g, 1a) and senior Adam Welch (0g, 0a).
The blueliners help protect a net that is guarded by freshman Pat Nagle and junior Mitch O'Keefe, who have both been splitting time in net with Nagle playing in four contests and O'Keefe in three.The two rank first and third in the league in goals-against average with O'Keefe leading the way with a 1.30 GAA, while Nagle has a 1.77 GAA. The two both earned their first collegiate points this weekend against the Buckeyes , as Nagle assisted on Justin Lewandowski's game-winning goal in Friday's 4-0 win, while O'Keefe garnered a helper on Menke's second period power play tally. In two career appearances against the Falcons, O'Keefe is 2-0-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
FERRIS STATE SERIES
This weekend's meetings between the Falcons and Bulldogs will mark the 101st and 102nd times the two schools have met since their first meeting back on Dec. 15, 1978. BG owns a 48-41-11 lead in the all-time series, but trail in games played in Big Rapids, Mich., as they're 18-23-6 in 47 all-time games.
Despite their long-term success against FSU, the Falcons are just 2-11-2 in the last 15 meetings with the Bulldogs and 1-9-2 the last five seasons.
Last season Ferris continued their dominance in the series as they swept the Falcons in two-straight games (Feb. 16-17) at Ewigleben Ice Arena, winning 2-1 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday.
Tidbits related to the FERRIS STATE Series
 One memorable moment in Falcon history occurred against Ferris State back in 1995 when former Falcon player, Mike Hall, broke Nelson Emerson's school record for consecutive games with a goal. Hall tallied a goal for the 11th-consecutive game, breaking Emerson's mark of 10 as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
 In the 2002-03 season finale for the Falcons and Bulldogs, FSU clinched their first-ever CCHA regular season title with a 4-2 win at the BGSU Ice Arena.
 Senior forward Derek Whitmore leads all Falcon scorers against the Bulldogs with three points (2g, 1a) in six tilts against FSU.
POST SWEEP BLUES
Though their confidence may be riding high following their first series sweep in two seasons, the Falcons will have to try to overcome a losing trend they've had in games following sweeps. Since 1990, the Falcons are just 13-22-2 in games following a sweep and are just 3-11-1 in their last 15. The past five seasons BG is 1-6-1 in games following a sweep as they've been swept on two occasions following their own sweep of an opponent.
MORE HISTORY ON THE FALCONS AND SWEEPS
 The Falcons have only recorded a sweep following a sweep four times since the 1990-91 season and have been swept eight times since then following a sweep.
 All-time the Falcons have recorded 198 total two or three-game series sweeps with 196 coming against varsity competition.
 21 of those 198 total sweeps have come against Western Michigan.
 BG has averaged at least five sweeps a season in their 38-year history and have recorded 10 or more in a season on eight occasions.
 The most sweeps the Falcons have had in a season came during the 1978-79 season where they recorded 13, as they finished the season with a school record 37 wins and just six total defeats.
 The most Falcon sweeps under current head coach Scott Paluch came during the 2004-05 season when they recorded five en route to hosting their first home playoff series in over a decade.
THERE IS NO BEATING ENO
Picking up two wins in net, none the less two road wins in net is never easy for a freshman to do. However, with his win on Friday at Western Michigan, BG freshman goaltender Nick Eno picked up his second-consecutive road win to start his Falcon career and moved himself into exclusive company. His 2-0-0 record to start the season makes him the first BG freshman net-minder to start his collegiate career 2-0 since Bob Petrie did it during the 1993-94 season. Eno currently ranks fifth in the CCHA in goals-against average (2.46), while his .896 save percentage ranks ninth.
STARTING TO SHINE WITH THE EXTRA-MAN
After going just 1-18 on the power play in their first three games of the season, the Falcons have saw much improvement this past weekend. In Friday's contest at Western Michigan, the Falcons finished the night 1-7 with the man-advantage, but made sure their one extra-man tally would count in a big way. When the Broncos were called for a slashing penalty just a minute into overtime, BG's power play setup the game-winning goal from freshman forward David Solway to give the Falcons a 3-2 win. The following night, the Falcons would go 3-9 with the man-advantage, as the unit helped BG to another overtime victory. With the four power play tallies on the weekend, the Falcons improved their conversation percentage to 14.7, which ranks ninth overall in the CCHA and 30th-nationally.
GUNS A BLAZIN'
Entering this weekend, the Falcons are leading the CCHA with an average of 32.6 shots on goal per game, as second-place Miami is whole shot behind at 31.6. BG has recorded 30 or more shots on net in four of their first five games, including a season-high 44 shot attempts this past Saturday against Western Michigan.
JOINING THE RUSH
Part of the reason for the Falcons early season success has been the increased production from the defensive core after only getting 45 points out of the unit last season. BG's defensemen have taken it upon themselves to get more involved offensively, as they've started to join the rush and have seen big results from it. Junior defenseman Kevin Schmidt currently leads the team with six points (2g, 4a), which ranks tied for third in the league among defensemen and has the Markham, Ont. native ranked tied for fifth-nationally in points per game by a defenseman at 1.20. He has been joined by junior Tim Maxwell, who has tallied four points of his own in the first five games to sit tied for 10th in the CCHA amongst defensemen in total points (0g, 4a). Senior Mike Nesdill then has tallied three points (1g, 2a), including a game-tying goal at Western Michigan and an assist on the overtime game-winner.
YOUNG STUDS PROVIDING STABLE SUPPORT
Adapting to the speed and the style of college hockey from the juniors can be difficult. However, for the seven BG freshmen this season, there has been very little sign of these struggles. After just five games this season, six of the seven Falcon newcomers have seen action with five already producing points and one producing wins in front of the BG cage. The group is a combined +8 on the year, having already tallied 10 total points and two wins in goal. Leading the way is freshman forward Jacob Cepis, who has tallied two goals and two helpers, while goaltender Nick Eno is the first freshman net-minder for the Brown and Orange the past 14 years to start his college career 2-0 in just two starts.