Bowling Green State University Athletics
#21 Falcon Hockey Gets Ready For Home-And-Home Showdown With #9 Notre Dame
January 22, 2008 | Ice Hockey
Jan. 22, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University hockey team, fresh off a pair of victories to complete a season sweep of Western Michigan, will return to cluster play once again this weekend when they take on cluster partner #9 Notre Dame in a two-game home-and-home set. The Falcons, who swept their first four-game regular-season series since a four-game sweep of Ohio State in the 1994-95 campaign, currently sit in second-place in the cluster standings with a 6-2 record, behind only the Fighting Irish who have a record of 5-1 in cluster play. BG's only two losses in the cluster came to the Irish back in October and November as they'll be looking for their first win over the Irish since the 2004-05 season when the two kick-off their series with a 7:35 p.m. faceoff on Friday at the Joyce Center on the ND campus. The two will then conclude the series with a 7:05 p.m. start on Saturday at the BGSU Ice Arena.
Complete Release in PDF Format (41 Pages)
Game #23
#21 Bowling Green at #9 Notre Dame
Jan. 25, 2008 • Joyce Center, 7:35 p.m.
Television: Comcast Local: Ben Holden (play-by-play), Lyle Phair (color commentary)RECORDS: BGSU 12-10-0, 9-7-0 CCHA // ND 18-9-1, 11-6-1 CCHA
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Danny Nieves (Play-by-Play), Brian Fisher (color commentary)
Game #24
#9 Notre Dame at #21 Bowling Green
Jan. 26, 2008 • BGSU Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m.
Television: BCSN: Greg Franke (play-by-play), Buddy Powers (color commentary)RECORDS: BGSU 12-10-0, 9-7-0 CCHA // ND 18-9-1, 11-6-1 CCHA
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Danny Nieves (Play-by-Play), Brian Fisher (color commentary)
Radio Broadcast
Friday and Saturday night's action between the #21 Falcons and #9 Fighting Irish can be heard by tuning into WBGU 88.1 FM. Danny Nieves will be providing all the play-by-play of the action. A pregame show will air 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.
Television Broadcast
Friday's series-opener between Bowling Green and Notre Dame from the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. will air on Comcast Local as Ben Holden and Lyle Phair will be on the call to bring you all the action. Comcast Local is a 24-hour regional sports network that provides exclusive sports programming to 1.6 million cable subscribers in Michigan and Indiana. In southeast Michigan, Comcast Local can be seen for the most part b tuning into channel 8. For a complete channel listing you can visit www.comcastlocal.com.
Satellite coordinates for Friday's highlights:
18:30 - 22:00 x30
Galaxy 16, Transponder 19K slot D, KU Digital 9MHz, FEC=3/4,
Symbol Rate =7.0313, UL Freq= 14393.5 V, DL Freq= 12093.5 H
Saturday's action at the BGSU Ice Arena between the Falcons and Irish can then be seen by tuning into BCSN. Greg Franke will be providing the play-by-play of the action with former Falcon hockey coach Buddy Powers doing the color commentary.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for Friday and Saturday's games will be available at www.bgsufalcons.com via gametracker, which can be found on the team's schedule page.
THE OPENING FACEOFF (STORYLINES)
Another Hat Trick For Whitmore
• This past weekend saw senior tri-captain Derek Whitmore tally his third hat trick of the season and the third of his career when he scored in each period of the Falcons' 4-1 win this past Friday against Western Michigan. For Whitmore, the hat trick was the third he has had in the last 15 games as he now has 26 goals in his last 29 games going back to last season. The three hat tricks are two shy of the all-time single-season school record of five set by Bob Dobek back in the 1973-74 season. The school record for most hat tricks in a career is eight, which was set by Mike Bartley between 1970-74. Prior to this season, the Falcons had only had four hat tricks since the 2000-01 season. BG's last player to have three hat tricks in a season was Brian Holzinger back in the 1994-95 campaign when he won the Hobey Baker Award.
Two Falcons Take Home Weekly CCHA Honors
• Two Falcon forwards earned weekly CCHA honors this past weekend for leading BG to their sweep of the season series with Western Michigan. Senior forward Derek Whitmore earned his second Offensive Player of the Week award and the third of his career for his four goals on the weekend, while freshman forward Dan Sexton earned Rookie of the Week honors with a pair of assists in each game, including two on both game-winners. Whitmore finished his weekend with a +6 rating as he was on the ice for all six Falcon goals on the weekend, while Sexton finished a +4. Whitmore leads the team with 24 points, while Sexton is tied for fifth with 15.
Although A One Isn't Bad, A Two, Three, Four Or Nine would be nice
• Although the Falcons have already added a win over, then, #1 Miami, BG would like to add a few more victories over ranked opponents to their resume before the season is all said and done. Heading into this weekend's match-ups, BG is 1-7-0 on the season against ranked opponents, but have only lost one game in those eight contests by more than two goals and none by more than three. A big reason for the lack of success this season against ranked foes has come in large part to the Falcons play in the third period as ranked teams have out-scored the Falcons, 10-1, in the game's final 20 minutes, while only out-scoring the Falcons, 19-18, in the game's first two periods. BG is also just 5-for-43 (11.6%) with the man-advantage against top-20 teams and have only averaged 2.4 goals per game and 25.6 shots per game.
A Falcon Victory OR Loss Would ...
VICTORY
• Would give the Falcons their first victory over the Irish in 11 games going back to the 2004-05 season as they are 0-9-1 in the last 10 meetings.
• Would give the Falcons their eighth-road win of the season and would tie their record of two seasons ago with 13 wins.
• Would put them two wins short of their season-best five-game win streak.
• Would give them 10 CCHA wins for just the third-time in the last 10 years.
• Would give BG its' first win over the Fighting Irish since Jeff Jackson took the helm.
LOSS
• Would be the seventh-straight defeat at the hands of the Fighting Irish.
• Would be their sixth-straight loss in games played at the Joyce Center.
• Would drop BG to 1-8 on the year against ranked opponents.
WHERE WHITMORE GOES ... SO DO THE FALCONS
The 2007-08 campaign has been one to remember for senior forward and tri-captain Derek Whitmore. The Rochester, N.Y. native has tallied a national-leading three hat tricks and has already tied his career single-season high of 19 goals, which he set last season, while also being well within reach of two prominent BGSU career lists. With just six more goals this season he will enter the top-20 list for career goals in a Falcon uniform and with just 10 more points, he'll become the 69th player in school history to eclipse the 100-point barrier. Here are some tidbits related to the reigning CCHA Offensive Player of the Week.
• Leads the team with 24 points (19-5-24), which is just five points shy of his career single-season point total of 29, set last season.
• Been named the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week twice this season (Nov. 12, Jan. 21).
• His three hat tricks put him just two shy of the single-season school record of five set by Bob Dobek in the 1973-74 season.
• Tied for fifth-nationally with four game-winning goals.
• Second in the country and CCHA in goals per game with a 0.90 average, while ranking third in power-play goals with nine.
• Scored 16 of his 19 goals this season in Falcon wins where he has picked up 18 of his 24 points.
• When he tallies a multiple-point effort in his Falcon career, BG is 14-6-1, while they are 29-25-4 when he tallies a single point.
• Tallied 14 of his 19 goals this season in the first and third periods and 12 lamp lighters in road contests.
RIDING THE "ROAD" TO SUCCESS
Being able to win on the road is a big key to having success and the road has been a friendly place this season to the BGSU hockey team. The Falcons are 7-5-0 this season away from the BGSU Ice Arena, which currently ranks tied for the fourth-best road win total in the CCHA and is tied for the fourtb-best road win total in the nation with six other squads. Only 15 teams in Division I hockey have a winning home record and a winning record on the road and BG is one of those teams as they are also 5-4-0 at home. The seven road wins are the second most the Falcons have had in a regular-season under sixth-year head coach Scott Paluch as the 2004-05 squad won eight road tilts. That total is also tied for the third-most the program has had since the 1995-96 season when they had nine. The team mark of 13 regular-season road wins was set in 1986-87 when Paluch was a junior defenseman. BG could tie that mark only if they win the remainder of their six road games this season.
A LOOK AT THE FALCONS
The Falcons of sixth-year head coach Scott Paluch currently sit at 12-10-0 overall with a 9-7-0 mark in the CCHA, which currently has them in sixth-place, one point behind Nebraska-Omaha in fifth ... they are 7-5-0 on the road this season, 5-4-0 at home and 0-1-0 in neutral site contests ... BG comes into the weekend 4-6 in their last 10 games, but five of those losses came to teams ranked in the top-13 or higher in the national polls, including three losses to the No.1 and No. 2 teams...overall on the season, seven of the Falcons' 10 losses came to ranked opponents as they are 1-7 against ranked opponents and 11-3 against non-ranked foes ... the Falcons however, have only lost two games all season decided by three goals or more ... leading the way for the Falcons in the scoring column is senior forward Derek Whitmore (19-5-24), while freshman forward Jacob Cepis sits just four points back with a line of 10-10-20 ... Whitmore leads the team with 19 goals scored, while Cepis is second on the team with 10 ... on the blue line, the Falcons are led by junior defenseman Kevin Schmidt who has 19 points this season on four goals and 15 assists ... senior defenseman Mike Nesdill has 13, while junior defenseman Tim Maxwell then has 12 ... in net, BG has gotten 11 starts from junior goaltender Jimmy Spratt and from freshman Nick Eno as the two have combined for a 2.67 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage ... against non-ranked opponents though, the duo has combined for a 2.12 GAA and a .911 save percentage ... the Falcons came into the season returning 20 letterwinners, including 11 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies ... they also welcomed in seven newcomers, including five forwards, one defenseman and one goalie .. overall BG returned 73% of their goals from last season and 78% of their points.
A LOOK AT THE FIGHTING IRISH
The Fighting Irish of third-year head coach Jeff Jackson are currently 18-9-1 on the season with an 11-6-1 record in the CCHA ... they currently sit in fourth-place in the league standings, three points back of Michigan State and four ahead of fifth-place Nebraska-Omaha ... ND is coming off a stretch here where they've gone 0-3-1 in their last four games, including two losses to #1 Michigan this past weekend in Ann Arbor and Detroit ... ND lost 3-2 on Friday to the Wolverines and 5-1 on Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills ... ND was held to 0-9 with the man-advantage on the weekend as they are just 1-for-42 in the last nine games with their last power-play goal coming back on Dec. 8th in a 7-0 win at Princeton for a current streak of 41 power plays without a goal ... despite the troubles on the power play though, the Irish were still able to go 3-5-1 in that nine-game stetch as their team defense ranks third-nationally, giving up on average just 2.07 goals per contest ... leading the way up front for ND is junior centerman Erik Condra who has 27 points on the season with a line of 10-17-27 ... sophomore winger Ryan Thang leads the team with 12 goals scored ... on the blueline, sophomore defenseman Kyle Lawson leads the way with three goals and 12 assists ... in net, the Irish have gotten the most starts from junior goaltender Jordan Pearce who has a 14-8-1 record on the season with 2.01 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage ... He and freshman Brad Phillips have combined for three shutouts and 2.07 goals-against average with a combined save percentage of .907.
THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
This weekend's games with the Fighting Irish will mark the 82nd and 83rd times that the Falcons and Irish have face-offed against each other. ND owns an overall 41-34-6 lead in the all-time series and a 23-12-4 mark against the Falcons in South Bend, while BG owns a 22-17-2 mark at the BGSU Ice Arena.
The two teams last met on Nov. 20th at the Joyce Center where the Irish came away with a 2-1 victory as an early second period goal by defenseman Kyle Lawson ended up being the game-winning goal. Derek Whitmore scored the lone tally of the night for BG with a first period marker from Kevin Schmidt and Brandon Svendsen, while freshman goaltender Nick Eno made 22 saves on 24 Irish shots. His counterpart, Jordan Pearce made 27 stops on 28 BG shots. The game featured only 18 combined minutes of penalties as the Falcons were 0-5 on the power play, while the Irish were 0-4.
The two teams also met this season in BG's third game of the season where two-unanswered Irish goals by Evan Rankin and Erik Condra led ND to a 4-2 win. Derek Whitmore tallied a goal and an assist, along with freshman forward Dan Sexton to lead all Falcon scorers.
Last season the Falcons dropped all four games to the Irish, losing 5-2 (Nov. 10) and 4-0 (Nov. 11) in South Bend at the Joyce Center, before playing two tough one-goal games against them at home where they lost 3-2 (Feb. 2) and 2-1 (Feb. 3) when ND entered the weekend as the No. 2 team in the country. BG is 1-8-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Irish and winless in the series since ND coach Jeff Jackson took the helm two seasons ago, going 0-8-1 in nine meetings.
TIDBITS RELATED TO THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
• Though BG is just 1-9-1 in the last 11 meetings against the Irish, five of those games were decided by two goals or less and one was a 1-1 tie.
• BG will be looking to slow down the Irish pair of Erik Condra and Mark Van Guilder who have tallied 28 combined points against the Falcons. In 10 games against BG, Condra has recorded three goals and 12 assists while Van Guilder has recorded eight goals and five assists in 14 games against. Last season the two combined for nine points in four Irish wins against BG. In this season's series opener in BG this season, both tallied a goal in ND's 4-2 victory.
• The Fighting Irish have had three players collect hat tricks against the Falcons in the past 10 seasons, most recently when Mark Van Guilder had one two seasons ago in a 7-4 Irish win at the BG Ice Arena.
• Though he played for the Falcons from 1984-88, BG head coach Scott Paluch never once competed against the school he grew up a fan of as a player. The Irish program went to the club level following the 1982-83 season and didn't rejoin the CCHA till the 1992-93 campaign. Paluch grew up in Chicago, Ill. and was an avid Irish football fan in his youth.
• Notre Dame junior center Christian Hanson is the son of former NHL player Dave Hanson, who is best known for his role in the movie, Slapshot, as one of the famed Hanson Brothers.
IN TWELVE FALCON WINS THIS SEASON ...
• BGSU has averaged 4.1 goals a game, while giving up an average of 1.9.
• BGSU out-shot their opponents by a 32.2 to 24.9 average.
• BGSU was a combined 20-for-75 on the power play (26.7%), while they held opponents to just 11-for-67 (16.4%).
• BGSU had an average of 24.2 penalty minutes per game, while their opponent averaged 28.0.
• BGSU out-scored their opponents, 16-4, in the first period, 17-10 in the second and 13-9 in the third.
• BGSU won 57.3% of their faceoffs.
• Derek Whitmore scored 18 points (16-2-18) and had eight power-play goals.
• James Perkin also scored 14 points (6-8-14), while Jacob Cepis also had 14 (7-7-14).
• Kevin Schmidt had three goals and 10 assists.
• Jimmy Spratt had a 1.96 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
• Nick Eno had a 1.86 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
IN TEN FALCON LOSSES THIS SEASON ...
• BGSU averaged 1.8 goals a game, while giving up an average of 3.6.
• BGSU out-shot their opponents by a 27.2 to 26.8 margin.
• BGSU was a combined 6-for-55 on the power play (10.9%), while their opponents were 8-for-47 (17.0%).
• BGSU averaged 14.1 penalty minutes a game, while their opponent averaged 14.6.
• BGSU won 49.9% of their faceoffs.
• BGSU was out-scored by their opponent, 12-7 in the first period, 11-9 in the second and 13-2 in the third period.
• Derek Whitmore and Kevin Schmidt combined for just 12 points (4-8-12).
• BG surrendered three short-handed goals
• Freshmen Dan Sexton and David Solway both had four goals.
• The Falcon seniors were a combined -16 in the plus/minus category.
For More Information Please See The Full Release At The Top Of The Page
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Danny Nieves (Play-by-Play), Brian Fisher (color commentary)
Game #24
#9 Notre Dame at #21 Bowling Green
Jan. 26, 2008 • BGSU Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m.
Television: BCSN: Greg Franke (play-by-play), Buddy Powers (color commentary)RECORDS: BGSU 12-10-0, 9-7-0 CCHA // ND 18-9-1, 11-6-1 CCHA
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Danny Nieves (Play-by-Play), Brian Fisher (color commentary)
Radio Broadcast
Friday and Saturday night's action between the #21 Falcons and #9 Fighting Irish can be heard by tuning into WBGU 88.1 FM. Danny Nieves will be providing all the play-by-play of the action. A pregame show will air 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.
Television Broadcast
Friday's series-opener between Bowling Green and Notre Dame from the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. will air on Comcast Local as Ben Holden and Lyle Phair will be on the call to bring you all the action. Comcast Local is a 24-hour regional sports network that provides exclusive sports programming to 1.6 million cable subscribers in Michigan and Indiana. In southeast Michigan, Comcast Local can be seen for the most part b tuning into channel 8. For a complete channel listing you can visit www.comcastlocal.com.
Satellite coordinates for Friday's highlights:
18:30 - 22:00 x30
Galaxy 16, Transponder 19K slot D, KU Digital 9MHz, FEC=3/4,
Symbol Rate =7.0313, UL Freq= 14393.5 V, DL Freq= 12093.5 H
Saturday's action at the BGSU Ice Arena between the Falcons and Irish can then be seen by tuning into BCSN. Greg Franke will be providing the play-by-play of the action with former Falcon hockey coach Buddy Powers doing the color commentary.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for Friday and Saturday's games will be available at www.bgsufalcons.com via gametracker, which can be found on the team's schedule page.
THE OPENING FACEOFF (STORYLINES)
Another Hat Trick For Whitmore
• This past weekend saw senior tri-captain Derek Whitmore tally his third hat trick of the season and the third of his career when he scored in each period of the Falcons' 4-1 win this past Friday against Western Michigan. For Whitmore, the hat trick was the third he has had in the last 15 games as he now has 26 goals in his last 29 games going back to last season. The three hat tricks are two shy of the all-time single-season school record of five set by Bob Dobek back in the 1973-74 season. The school record for most hat tricks in a career is eight, which was set by Mike Bartley between 1970-74. Prior to this season, the Falcons had only had four hat tricks since the 2000-01 season. BG's last player to have three hat tricks in a season was Brian Holzinger back in the 1994-95 campaign when he won the Hobey Baker Award.
Two Falcons Take Home Weekly CCHA Honors
• Two Falcon forwards earned weekly CCHA honors this past weekend for leading BG to their sweep of the season series with Western Michigan. Senior forward Derek Whitmore earned his second Offensive Player of the Week award and the third of his career for his four goals on the weekend, while freshman forward Dan Sexton earned Rookie of the Week honors with a pair of assists in each game, including two on both game-winners. Whitmore finished his weekend with a +6 rating as he was on the ice for all six Falcon goals on the weekend, while Sexton finished a +4. Whitmore leads the team with 24 points, while Sexton is tied for fifth with 15.
Although A One Isn't Bad, A Two, Three, Four Or Nine would be nice
• Although the Falcons have already added a win over, then, #1 Miami, BG would like to add a few more victories over ranked opponents to their resume before the season is all said and done. Heading into this weekend's match-ups, BG is 1-7-0 on the season against ranked opponents, but have only lost one game in those eight contests by more than two goals and none by more than three. A big reason for the lack of success this season against ranked foes has come in large part to the Falcons play in the third period as ranked teams have out-scored the Falcons, 10-1, in the game's final 20 minutes, while only out-scoring the Falcons, 19-18, in the game's first two periods. BG is also just 5-for-43 (11.6%) with the man-advantage against top-20 teams and have only averaged 2.4 goals per game and 25.6 shots per game.
A Falcon Victory OR Loss Would ...
VICTORY
• Would give the Falcons their first victory over the Irish in 11 games going back to the 2004-05 season as they are 0-9-1 in the last 10 meetings.
• Would give the Falcons their eighth-road win of the season and would tie their record of two seasons ago with 13 wins.
• Would put them two wins short of their season-best five-game win streak.
• Would give them 10 CCHA wins for just the third-time in the last 10 years.
• Would give BG its' first win over the Fighting Irish since Jeff Jackson took the helm.
LOSS
• Would be the seventh-straight defeat at the hands of the Fighting Irish.
• Would be their sixth-straight loss in games played at the Joyce Center.
• Would drop BG to 1-8 on the year against ranked opponents.
WHERE WHITMORE GOES ... SO DO THE FALCONS
The 2007-08 campaign has been one to remember for senior forward and tri-captain Derek Whitmore. The Rochester, N.Y. native has tallied a national-leading three hat tricks and has already tied his career single-season high of 19 goals, which he set last season, while also being well within reach of two prominent BGSU career lists. With just six more goals this season he will enter the top-20 list for career goals in a Falcon uniform and with just 10 more points, he'll become the 69th player in school history to eclipse the 100-point barrier. Here are some tidbits related to the reigning CCHA Offensive Player of the Week.
• Leads the team with 24 points (19-5-24), which is just five points shy of his career single-season point total of 29, set last season.
• Been named the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week twice this season (Nov. 12, Jan. 21).
• His three hat tricks put him just two shy of the single-season school record of five set by Bob Dobek in the 1973-74 season.
• Tied for fifth-nationally with four game-winning goals.
• Second in the country and CCHA in goals per game with a 0.90 average, while ranking third in power-play goals with nine.
• Scored 16 of his 19 goals this season in Falcon wins where he has picked up 18 of his 24 points.
• When he tallies a multiple-point effort in his Falcon career, BG is 14-6-1, while they are 29-25-4 when he tallies a single point.
• Tallied 14 of his 19 goals this season in the first and third periods and 12 lamp lighters in road contests.
RIDING THE "ROAD" TO SUCCESS
Being able to win on the road is a big key to having success and the road has been a friendly place this season to the BGSU hockey team. The Falcons are 7-5-0 this season away from the BGSU Ice Arena, which currently ranks tied for the fourth-best road win total in the CCHA and is tied for the fourtb-best road win total in the nation with six other squads. Only 15 teams in Division I hockey have a winning home record and a winning record on the road and BG is one of those teams as they are also 5-4-0 at home. The seven road wins are the second most the Falcons have had in a regular-season under sixth-year head coach Scott Paluch as the 2004-05 squad won eight road tilts. That total is also tied for the third-most the program has had since the 1995-96 season when they had nine. The team mark of 13 regular-season road wins was set in 1986-87 when Paluch was a junior defenseman. BG could tie that mark only if they win the remainder of their six road games this season.
A LOOK AT THE FALCONS
The Falcons of sixth-year head coach Scott Paluch currently sit at 12-10-0 overall with a 9-7-0 mark in the CCHA, which currently has them in sixth-place, one point behind Nebraska-Omaha in fifth ... they are 7-5-0 on the road this season, 5-4-0 at home and 0-1-0 in neutral site contests ... BG comes into the weekend 4-6 in their last 10 games, but five of those losses came to teams ranked in the top-13 or higher in the national polls, including three losses to the No.1 and No. 2 teams...overall on the season, seven of the Falcons' 10 losses came to ranked opponents as they are 1-7 against ranked opponents and 11-3 against non-ranked foes ... the Falcons however, have only lost two games all season decided by three goals or more ... leading the way for the Falcons in the scoring column is senior forward Derek Whitmore (19-5-24), while freshman forward Jacob Cepis sits just four points back with a line of 10-10-20 ... Whitmore leads the team with 19 goals scored, while Cepis is second on the team with 10 ... on the blue line, the Falcons are led by junior defenseman Kevin Schmidt who has 19 points this season on four goals and 15 assists ... senior defenseman Mike Nesdill has 13, while junior defenseman Tim Maxwell then has 12 ... in net, BG has gotten 11 starts from junior goaltender Jimmy Spratt and from freshman Nick Eno as the two have combined for a 2.67 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage ... against non-ranked opponents though, the duo has combined for a 2.12 GAA and a .911 save percentage ... the Falcons came into the season returning 20 letterwinners, including 11 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies ... they also welcomed in seven newcomers, including five forwards, one defenseman and one goalie .. overall BG returned 73% of their goals from last season and 78% of their points.
A LOOK AT THE FIGHTING IRISH
The Fighting Irish of third-year head coach Jeff Jackson are currently 18-9-1 on the season with an 11-6-1 record in the CCHA ... they currently sit in fourth-place in the league standings, three points back of Michigan State and four ahead of fifth-place Nebraska-Omaha ... ND is coming off a stretch here where they've gone 0-3-1 in their last four games, including two losses to #1 Michigan this past weekend in Ann Arbor and Detroit ... ND lost 3-2 on Friday to the Wolverines and 5-1 on Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills ... ND was held to 0-9 with the man-advantage on the weekend as they are just 1-for-42 in the last nine games with their last power-play goal coming back on Dec. 8th in a 7-0 win at Princeton for a current streak of 41 power plays without a goal ... despite the troubles on the power play though, the Irish were still able to go 3-5-1 in that nine-game stetch as their team defense ranks third-nationally, giving up on average just 2.07 goals per contest ... leading the way up front for ND is junior centerman Erik Condra who has 27 points on the season with a line of 10-17-27 ... sophomore winger Ryan Thang leads the team with 12 goals scored ... on the blueline, sophomore defenseman Kyle Lawson leads the way with three goals and 12 assists ... in net, the Irish have gotten the most starts from junior goaltender Jordan Pearce who has a 14-8-1 record on the season with 2.01 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage ... He and freshman Brad Phillips have combined for three shutouts and 2.07 goals-against average with a combined save percentage of .907.
THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
This weekend's games with the Fighting Irish will mark the 82nd and 83rd times that the Falcons and Irish have face-offed against each other. ND owns an overall 41-34-6 lead in the all-time series and a 23-12-4 mark against the Falcons in South Bend, while BG owns a 22-17-2 mark at the BGSU Ice Arena.
The two teams last met on Nov. 20th at the Joyce Center where the Irish came away with a 2-1 victory as an early second period goal by defenseman Kyle Lawson ended up being the game-winning goal. Derek Whitmore scored the lone tally of the night for BG with a first period marker from Kevin Schmidt and Brandon Svendsen, while freshman goaltender Nick Eno made 22 saves on 24 Irish shots. His counterpart, Jordan Pearce made 27 stops on 28 BG shots. The game featured only 18 combined minutes of penalties as the Falcons were 0-5 on the power play, while the Irish were 0-4.
The two teams also met this season in BG's third game of the season where two-unanswered Irish goals by Evan Rankin and Erik Condra led ND to a 4-2 win. Derek Whitmore tallied a goal and an assist, along with freshman forward Dan Sexton to lead all Falcon scorers.
Last season the Falcons dropped all four games to the Irish, losing 5-2 (Nov. 10) and 4-0 (Nov. 11) in South Bend at the Joyce Center, before playing two tough one-goal games against them at home where they lost 3-2 (Feb. 2) and 2-1 (Feb. 3) when ND entered the weekend as the No. 2 team in the country. BG is 1-8-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Irish and winless in the series since ND coach Jeff Jackson took the helm two seasons ago, going 0-8-1 in nine meetings.
TIDBITS RELATED TO THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
• Though BG is just 1-9-1 in the last 11 meetings against the Irish, five of those games were decided by two goals or less and one was a 1-1 tie.
• BG will be looking to slow down the Irish pair of Erik Condra and Mark Van Guilder who have tallied 28 combined points against the Falcons. In 10 games against BG, Condra has recorded three goals and 12 assists while Van Guilder has recorded eight goals and five assists in 14 games against. Last season the two combined for nine points in four Irish wins against BG. In this season's series opener in BG this season, both tallied a goal in ND's 4-2 victory.
• The Fighting Irish have had three players collect hat tricks against the Falcons in the past 10 seasons, most recently when Mark Van Guilder had one two seasons ago in a 7-4 Irish win at the BG Ice Arena.
• Though he played for the Falcons from 1984-88, BG head coach Scott Paluch never once competed against the school he grew up a fan of as a player. The Irish program went to the club level following the 1982-83 season and didn't rejoin the CCHA till the 1992-93 campaign. Paluch grew up in Chicago, Ill. and was an avid Irish football fan in his youth.
• Notre Dame junior center Christian Hanson is the son of former NHL player Dave Hanson, who is best known for his role in the movie, Slapshot, as one of the famed Hanson Brothers.
IN TWELVE FALCON WINS THIS SEASON ...
• BGSU has averaged 4.1 goals a game, while giving up an average of 1.9.
• BGSU out-shot their opponents by a 32.2 to 24.9 average.
• BGSU was a combined 20-for-75 on the power play (26.7%), while they held opponents to just 11-for-67 (16.4%).
• BGSU had an average of 24.2 penalty minutes per game, while their opponent averaged 28.0.
• BGSU out-scored their opponents, 16-4, in the first period, 17-10 in the second and 13-9 in the third.
• BGSU won 57.3% of their faceoffs.
• Derek Whitmore scored 18 points (16-2-18) and had eight power-play goals.
• James Perkin also scored 14 points (6-8-14), while Jacob Cepis also had 14 (7-7-14).
• Kevin Schmidt had three goals and 10 assists.
• Jimmy Spratt had a 1.96 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
• Nick Eno had a 1.86 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
IN TEN FALCON LOSSES THIS SEASON ...
• BGSU averaged 1.8 goals a game, while giving up an average of 3.6.
• BGSU out-shot their opponents by a 27.2 to 26.8 margin.
• BGSU was a combined 6-for-55 on the power play (10.9%), while their opponents were 8-for-47 (17.0%).
• BGSU averaged 14.1 penalty minutes a game, while their opponent averaged 14.6.
• BGSU won 49.9% of their faceoffs.
• BGSU was out-scored by their opponent, 12-7 in the first period, 11-9 in the second and 13-2 in the third period.
• Derek Whitmore and Kevin Schmidt combined for just 12 points (4-8-12).
• BG surrendered three short-handed goals
• Freshmen Dan Sexton and David Solway both had four goals.
• The Falcon seniors were a combined -16 in the plus/minus category.
For More Information Please See The Full Release At The Top Of The Page
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Danny Nieves (Play-by-Play), Brian Fisher (color commentary)
Radio Broadcast
Friday and Saturday night's action between the #21 Falcons and #9 Fighting Irish can be heard by tuning into WBGU 88.1 FM. Danny Nieves will be providing all the play-by-play of the action. A pregame show will air 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.
Television Broadcast
Friday's series-opener between Bowling Green and Notre Dame from the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. will air on Comcast Local as Ben Holden and Lyle Phair will be on the call to bring you all the action. Comcast Local is a 24-hour regional sports network that provides exclusive sports programming to 1.6 million cable subscribers in Michigan and Indiana. In southeast Michigan, Comcast Local can be seen for the most part b tuning into channel 8. For a complete channel listing you can visit www.comcastlocal.com.
Satellite coordinates for Friday's highlights:
18:30 - 22:00 x30
Galaxy 16, Transponder 19K slot D, KU Digital 9MHz, FEC=3/4,
Symbol Rate =7.0313, UL Freq= 14393.5 V, DL Freq= 12093.5 H Saturday's action at the BGSU Ice Arena between the Falcons and Irish can then be seen by tuning into BCSN. Greg Franke will be providing the play-by-play of the action with former Falcon hockey coach Buddy Powers doing the color commentary.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for Friday and Saturday's games will be available at www.bgsufalcons.com via gametracker, which can be found on the team's schedule page.
THE OPENING FACEOFF (STORYLINES)
Another Hat Trick For Whitmore
• This past weekend saw senior tri-captain Derek Whitmore tally his third hat trick of the season and the third of his career when he scored in each period of the Falcons' 4-1 win this past Friday against Western Michigan. For Whitmore, the hat trick was the third he has had in the last 15 games as he now has 26 goals in his last 29 games going back to last season. The three hat tricks are two shy of the all-time single-season school record of five set by Bob Dobek back in the 1973-74 season. The school record for most hat tricks in a career is eight, which was set by Mike Bartley between 1970-74. Prior to this season, the Falcons had only had four hat tricks since the 2000-01 season. BG's last player to have three hat tricks in a season was Brian Holzinger back in the 1994-95 campaign when he won the Hobey Baker Award.
Two Falcons Take Home Weekly CCHA Honors
• Two Falcon forwards earned weekly CCHA honors this past weekend for leading BG to their sweep of the season series with Western Michigan. Senior forward Derek Whitmore earned his second Offensive Player of the Week award and the third of his career for his four goals on the weekend, while freshman forward Dan Sexton earned Rookie of the Week honors with a pair of assists in each game, including two on both game-winners. Whitmore finished his weekend with a +6 rating as he was on the ice for all six Falcon goals on the weekend, while Sexton finished a +4. Whitmore leads the team with 24 points, while Sexton is tied for fifth with 15.
Although A One Isn't Bad, A Two, Three, Four Or Nine would be nice
• Although the Falcons have already added a win over, then, #1 Miami, BG would like to add a few more victories over ranked opponents to their resume before the season is all said and done. Heading into this weekend's match-ups, BG is 1-7-0 on the season against ranked opponents, but have only lost one game in those eight contests by more than two goals and none by more than three. A big reason for the lack of success this season against ranked foes has come in large part to the Falcons play in the third period as ranked teams have out-scored the Falcons, 10-1, in the game's final 20 minutes, while only out-scoring the Falcons, 19-18, in the game's first two periods. BG is also just 5-for-43 (11.6%) with the man-advantage against top-20 teams and have only averaged 2.4 goals per game and 25.6 shots per game.
A Falcon Victory OR Loss Would ...
VICTORY
• Would give the Falcons their first victory over the Irish in 11 games going back to the 2004-05 season as they are 0-9-1 in the last 10 meetings.
• Would give the Falcons their eighth-road win of the season and would tie their record of two seasons ago with 13 wins.
• Would put them two wins short of their season-best five-game win streak.
• Would give them 10 CCHA wins for just the third-time in the last 10 years.
• Would give BG its' first win over the Fighting Irish since Jeff Jackson took the helm.
LOSS
• Would be the seventh-straight defeat at the hands of the Fighting Irish.
• Would be their sixth-straight loss in games played at the Joyce Center.
• Would drop BG to 1-8 on the year against ranked opponents.
WHERE WHITMORE GOES ... SO DO THE FALCONS
The 2007-08 campaign has been one to remember for senior forward and tri-captain Derek Whitmore. The Rochester, N.Y. native has tallied a national-leading three hat tricks and has already tied his career single-season high of 19 goals, which he set last season, while also being well within reach of two prominent BGSU career lists. With just six more goals this season he will enter the top-20 list for career goals in a Falcon uniform and with just 10 more points, he'll become the 69th player in school history to eclipse the 100-point barrier. Here are some tidbits related to the reigning CCHA Offensive Player of the Week.
• Leads the team with 24 points (19-5-24), which is just five points shy of his career single-season point total of 29, set last season.
• Been named the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week twice this season (Nov. 12, Jan. 21).
• His three hat tricks put him just two shy of the single-season school record of five set by Bob Dobek in the 1973-74 season.
• Tied for fifth-nationally with four game-winning goals.
• Second in the country and CCHA in goals per game with a 0.90 average, while ranking third in power-play goals with nine.
• Scored 16 of his 19 goals this season in Falcon wins where he has picked up 18 of his 24 points.
• When he tallies a multiple-point effort in his Falcon career, BG is 14-6-1, while they are 29-25-4 when he tallies a single point.
• Tallied 14 of his 19 goals this season in the first and third periods and 12 lamp lighters in road contests.
RIDING THE "ROAD" TO SUCCESS
Being able to win on the road is a big key to having success and the road has been a friendly place this season to the BGSU hockey team. The Falcons are 7-5-0 this season away from the BGSU Ice Arena, which currently ranks tied for the fourth-best road win total in the CCHA and is tied for the fourtb-best road win total in the nation with six other squads. Only 15 teams in Division I hockey have a winning home record and a winning record on the road and BG is one of those teams as they are also 5-4-0 at home. The seven road wins are the second most the Falcons have had in a regular-season under sixth-year head coach Scott Paluch as the 2004-05 squad won eight road tilts. That total is also tied for the third-most the program has had since the 1995-96 season when they had nine. The team mark of 13 regular-season road wins was set in 1986-87 when Paluch was a junior defenseman. BG could tie that mark only if they win the remainder of their six road games this season.
A LOOK AT THE FALCONS
The Falcons of sixth-year head coach Scott Paluch currently sit at 12-10-0 overall with a 9-7-0 mark in the CCHA, which currently has them in sixth-place, one point behind Nebraska-Omaha in fifth ... they are 7-5-0 on the road this season, 5-4-0 at home and 0-1-0 in neutral site contests ... BG comes into the weekend 4-6 in their last 10 games, but five of those losses came to teams ranked in the top-13 or higher in the national polls, including three losses to the No.1 and No. 2 teams...overall on the season, seven of the Falcons' 10 losses came to ranked opponents as they are 1-7 against ranked opponents and 11-3 against non-ranked foes ... the Falcons however, have only lost two games all season decided by three goals or more ... leading the way for the Falcons in the scoring column is senior forward Derek Whitmore (19-5-24), while freshman forward Jacob Cepis sits just four points back with a line of 10-10-20 ... Whitmore leads the team with 19 goals scored, while Cepis is second on the team with 10 ... on the blue line, the Falcons are led by junior defenseman Kevin Schmidt who has 19 points this season on four goals and 15 assists ... senior defenseman Mike Nesdill has 13, while junior defenseman Tim Maxwell then has 12 ... in net, BG has gotten 11 starts from junior goaltender Jimmy Spratt and from freshman Nick Eno as the two have combined for a 2.67 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage ... against non-ranked opponents though, the duo has combined for a 2.12 GAA and a .911 save percentage ... the Falcons came into the season returning 20 letterwinners, including 11 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies ... they also welcomed in seven newcomers, including five forwards, one defenseman and one goalie .. overall BG returned 73% of their goals from last season and 78% of their points.
A LOOK AT THE FIGHTING IRISH
The Fighting Irish of third-year head coach Jeff Jackson are currently 18-9-1 on the season with an 11-6-1 record in the CCHA ... they currently sit in fourth-place in the league standings, three points back of Michigan State and four ahead of fifth-place Nebraska-Omaha ... ND is coming off a stretch here where they've gone 0-3-1 in their last four games, including two losses to #1 Michigan this past weekend in Ann Arbor and Detroit ... ND lost 3-2 on Friday to the Wolverines and 5-1 on Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills ... ND was held to 0-9 with the man-advantage on the weekend as they are just 1-for-42 in the last nine games with their last power-play goal coming back on Dec. 8th in a 7-0 win at Princeton for a current streak of 41 power plays without a goal ... despite the troubles on the power play though, the Irish were still able to go 3-5-1 in that nine-game stetch as their team defense ranks third-nationally, giving up on average just 2.07 goals per contest ... leading the way up front for ND is junior centerman Erik Condra who has 27 points on the season with a line of 10-17-27 ... sophomore winger Ryan Thang leads the team with 12 goals scored ... on the blueline, sophomore defenseman Kyle Lawson leads the way with three goals and 12 assists ... in net, the Irish have gotten the most starts from junior goaltender Jordan Pearce who has a 14-8-1 record on the season with 2.01 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage ... He and freshman Brad Phillips have combined for three shutouts and 2.07 goals-against average with a combined save percentage of .907.
THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
This weekend's games with the Fighting Irish will mark the 82nd and 83rd times that the Falcons and Irish have face-offed against each other. ND owns an overall 41-34-6 lead in the all-time series and a 23-12-4 mark against the Falcons in South Bend, while BG owns a 22-17-2 mark at the BGSU Ice Arena.
The two teams last met on Nov. 20th at the Joyce Center where the Irish came away with a 2-1 victory as an early second period goal by defenseman Kyle Lawson ended up being the game-winning goal. Derek Whitmore scored the lone tally of the night for BG with a first period marker from Kevin Schmidt and Brandon Svendsen, while freshman goaltender Nick Eno made 22 saves on 24 Irish shots. His counterpart, Jordan Pearce made 27 stops on 28 BG shots. The game featured only 18 combined minutes of penalties as the Falcons were 0-5 on the power play, while the Irish were 0-4.
The two teams also met this season in BG's third game of the season where two-unanswered Irish goals by Evan Rankin and Erik Condra led ND to a 4-2 win. Derek Whitmore tallied a goal and an assist, along with freshman forward Dan Sexton to lead all Falcon scorers.
Last season the Falcons dropped all four games to the Irish, losing 5-2 (Nov. 10) and 4-0 (Nov. 11) in South Bend at the Joyce Center, before playing two tough one-goal games against them at home where they lost 3-2 (Feb. 2) and 2-1 (Feb. 3) when ND entered the weekend as the No. 2 team in the country. BG is 1-8-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Irish and winless in the series since ND coach Jeff Jackson took the helm two seasons ago, going 0-8-1 in nine meetings.
TIDBITS RELATED TO THE NOTRE DAME SERIES
• Though BG is just 1-9-1 in the last 11 meetings against the Irish, five of those games were decided by two goals or less and one was a 1-1 tie.
• BG will be looking to slow down the Irish pair of Erik Condra and Mark Van Guilder who have tallied 28 combined points against the Falcons. In 10 games against BG, Condra has recorded three goals and 12 assists while Van Guilder has recorded eight goals and five assists in 14 games against. Last season the two combined for nine points in four Irish wins against BG. In this season's series opener in BG this season, both tallied a goal in ND's 4-2 victory.
• The Fighting Irish have had three players collect hat tricks against the Falcons in the past 10 seasons, most recently when Mark Van Guilder had one two seasons ago in a 7-4 Irish win at the BG Ice Arena.
• Though he played for the Falcons from 1984-88, BG head coach Scott Paluch never once competed against the school he grew up a fan of as a player. The Irish program went to the club level following the 1982-83 season and didn't rejoin the CCHA till the 1992-93 campaign. Paluch grew up in Chicago, Ill. and was an avid Irish football fan in his youth.
• Notre Dame junior center Christian Hanson is the son of former NHL player Dave Hanson, who is best known for his role in the movie, Slapshot, as one of the famed Hanson Brothers.
IN TWELVE FALCON WINS THIS SEASON ...
• BGSU has averaged 4.1 goals a game, while giving up an average of 1.9.
• BGSU out-shot their opponents by a 32.2 to 24.9 average.
• BGSU was a combined 20-for-75 on the power play (26.7%), while they held opponents to just 11-for-67 (16.4%).
• BGSU had an average of 24.2 penalty minutes per game, while their opponent averaged 28.0.
• BGSU out-scored their opponents, 16-4, in the first period, 17-10 in the second and 13-9 in the third.
• BGSU won 57.3% of their faceoffs.
• Derek Whitmore scored 18 points (16-2-18) and had eight power-play goals.
• James Perkin also scored 14 points (6-8-14), while Jacob Cepis also had 14 (7-7-14).
• Kevin Schmidt had three goals and 10 assists.
• Jimmy Spratt had a 1.96 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
• Nick Eno had a 1.86 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
IN TEN FALCON LOSSES THIS SEASON ...
• BGSU averaged 1.8 goals a game, while giving up an average of 3.6.
• BGSU out-shot their opponents by a 27.2 to 26.8 margin.
• BGSU was a combined 6-for-55 on the power play (10.9%), while their opponents were 8-for-47 (17.0%).
• BGSU averaged 14.1 penalty minutes a game, while their opponent averaged 14.6.
• BGSU won 49.9% of their faceoffs.
• BGSU was out-scored by their opponent, 12-7 in the first period, 11-9 in the second and 13-2 in the third period.
• Derek Whitmore and Kevin Schmidt combined for just 12 points (4-8-12).
• BG surrendered three short-handed goals
• Freshmen Dan Sexton and David Solway both had four goals.
• The Falcon seniors were a combined -16 in the plus/minus category.
For More Information Please See The Full Release At The Top Of The Page
