Hockey Looks To Rebound In Pivotal CCHA Series At Ohio State

Jan. 29, 2008

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University hockey team will be looking to put this past weekend's games with Notre Dame behind them when they head down the road to Columbus for a pivotal two-game series at 10th-place, Ohio State. BG, fresh off a pair of losses to the Fighting Irish in a home-and-home series that saw them get out-scored 10-2, will be looking to build upon their 4-4 record in January as they head into the final 10 games of the regular season. This weekend's games will be the first two of six contests in that stretch against teams below the Falcons in the CCHA standings. All the action will start with a 7:05 p.m. face-off on Friday from Value City Arena and will conclude on Saturday with another dropping of the puck at 7:05 p.m.

Complete Release in PDF Format (42 pages)

Games #25-26
Bowling Green at Ohio State

Feb.1-2, 2008  Value City Arena, 7:05 p.m.

RECORDS: BGSU 12-12-0, 9-9-0 CCHA // OSU 8-18-2, 4-13-1 CCHA
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Danny Nieves (Play-by-Play)

RADIO BROADCAST
Friday and Saturday night's action between the Falcons and Buckeyes in Columbus 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.
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)
One Red-Hot Freshman Forward
 One of the biggest reasons that the Falcons were able to go 4-4 in the month of January and were able to put on a strong showing at the Badger Hockey Showdown was the play of freshman forward Dan Sexton. In his last 10 games, Sexton has tallied eight points on three goals and five assists as he is tied for the team-lead in points during that span with sophomore forward James Perkin. Over his last 13 games then, the Apple Valley, Minn. native has recorded 11 points on five goals and six helpers with three of those goals coming short-handed. This past weekend, he tallied short-handed goal number three to move him into a tie for third-nationally and just two behind national-leader Chad Rau of Colorado College. Just two weeks ago, he picked up four assists in the Falcons' two-game home-and-home sweep of Western Michigan on way to earning CCHA Rookie of the Week honors. Sexton currently ranks fifth on the team in points overall with a line of 6-8-14.
Power Play Slump
 A freeze has been put on the BGSU power play over the last half of the season. After the Falcons started off the year strong, going 20-for-72 (27.8%) with the man-advantage in their first 12 games, they've cooled down to a mere 6-for-70 in their last 12 for an 8.6 percent conversion rate. Those numbers have knocked the Falcon power play down from their once number two conversion percentage in the country to 15th now at 18.3 percent. Over the last 10 contests, BG was 4-for-55 (7.3%) with the extra-man and were 0-for-26 the past two weekends. The Falcons are currently scoreless on their last 30 power play opportunities, which is their longest drought of the season. In the record column, their power play woes in the second half of their season to this point has led to a 4-8 record over the past 12 games, while they were 8-4 in their first 12. BG's top power play scorer, Derek Whitmore, has been held to a single extra-man goal in this 12-game span after tallying eight in the Falcons' first 12 season tilts.
Penalties, Penalties, Penalties
 In the last four games, the Falcons have averaged 46.8 penalty minutes a game, while their opponents have averaged 50.2 minutes. BG had 87 minutes penalty minutes assessed to them on Jan. 18th versus Western Michigan and then had 44 and 46 minutes assessed to them this past Friday and Saturday against Notre Dame. That has all totaled up to 187 total penalty minutes in 240 minutes played. The result has been a new 21.7 average for penalty minutes a game, which currently ranks tops in the national rankings. On the flip side, the Falcons' opponents were assessed a total of 201 penalty minutes in that time as Western Michigan was given 120 minutes for the 10-skater brawl on Jan. 18th and Notre Dame was given 67 total minutes of penalties this past weekend.
A FALCON VICTORY OR LOSS WOULD ...
VICTORY
 Would be the Falcons' first against the Buckeyes in three contests.
 Would give the Falcons back-to-back victories at Value City Arena where they're an unbeaten 1-0-1 in their last two games.
 Would give the Falcons their eighth-road win of the season and would tie their record of two seasons ago with 13 wins.
 Would give them 10 CCHA wins for just the third-time in the last 10 years.
LOSS
 Would be their third-straight defeat at the hands of the Buckeyes.
 Would give BG three losses in-a-row for just the second time this season.
 Would put the Falcons below .500 in the CCHA for the second time this season and for the first time since their conference-opening loss to Notre Dame.
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 sixth-nationally with four game-winning goals and tied for fifth in the CCHA. Ranks tied for first in game-winning goals in CCHA games only with all four winning lamp lighters coming in league play.
 Second in the country and CCHA in goals per game with a 0.83 average, while ranking tied for third in the nation 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 had 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 7-6-0 this season away from the BGSU Ice Arena, which currently ranks tied for the fifth-best road win total in the CCHA and is tied for the fifth-best road win total in the nation. Only 17 teams in Division I hockey have a winning or .500 home record and road record and BG is one of those teams as they are also 5-5-0 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 12-12-0 overall with a 9-9-0 mark in the CCHA, which currently has them in sixth-place, one point behind Nebraska-Omaha in fifth ... they are 7-6-0 on the road this season, 5-5-0 at home and 0-1-0 in neutral site contests ... BG comes into the weekend 4-6 in their last 10 games ... overall on the season, nine of the Falcons' 12 losses came to ranked opponents as they are 1-9 against ranked opponents and 11-3 against non-ranked foes ... the Falcons however, have only lost four 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 12 starts from junior goaltender Jimmy Spratt and 11 from freshman Nick Eno as the two have combined for a 2.86 goals-against average and a .887 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 BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes of 13-year head coach John Markell currently sit at 8-18-2 overall and are 4-13-1 in the CCHA ... they currently sit in 10th-place in the CCHA standings just four behind Alaska in ninth-place and just two ahead of Lake Superior State and Western Michigan who sit last with seven league points ... OSU is 2-10-0 at home, 3-7-1 on the road and 3-1-1 in neutral site contests ... the Buckeyes come into the weekend off a split at Lake Superior State that saw them win 4-3 on Friday, before falling 6-5 Saturday in overtime ... OSU was led on the weekend by reigning CCHA Player of the Week, Tommy Goebel, who tallied four goals and an assist, recording a pair of goals each night ... the Bucks were 3-for-8 on the power play for the weekend, while the Lakers were 5-for-11, going 5-for-8 with the man-advantage in Saturday's win ... OSU is led up front by senior forward Tommy Goebel who has 25 points on the season off 16 goals and nine assists ... on the blue line, senior defenseman Jason DeSantis leads the Bucks with 13 points on three goals and 10 assists ... in net, sophomore Joseph Palmer has played in 22 games for OSU, recording a 6-13-2 record ... Palmer carries a goals-against average of 3.33 and a save percentage of .883 ... OSU as a team has combined goals-against average of 3.36 and a .882 save percentage ... the OSU offense ranks eighth in the CCHA with a 2.43 goals per game average and are 10th in scoring defense at 3.39 ... on the power play, the Buckeyes are converting at a 15.9 clip, while they are killing penalities at an 80.4 mark ... OSU has given up a CCHA-high 33 goals in the first period and 37 goals in the econd period.
THE OHIO STATE SERIES
This weekend's games between the Falcons and Buckeyes will mark the 161st and 162nd times that the two programs have met on the ice. The 160 previous meetings are the most the Falcons have against any one opponent as BG owns an overall 89-58-5 edge in the all-time series dating back to the first meeting on Dec. 5, 1969. OSU owns a 34-33-3 edge in games played in Columbus and a 9-2-1 edge in games played at Value City Arena where the Buckeyes moved in January of 1999.
Last season, the Buckeyes earned a pair of wins in the series at the BGSU Ice Arena, winning 9-3 and 4-1. OSU junior forward Corey Elkins picked up his first career hat trick in game one, while BG senior forward Derek Whitmore had two goals and an assist. In game two, Falcon senior defenseman Michael Hodgson tallied the Falcons' lone goal as OSU got two points from defenseman Sean Collins en route to the win. The Falcons were a combined 2-for-20 with the man-advantage in the two losses.
TIDBITS RELATED TO THE OHIO STATE SERIES
 BG is 39-2-1 all-time against the Buckeyes when holding Ohio State to two goals or less, including a current 35-game unbeaten streak when doing so. The last time OSU beat the Falcons when scoring two goals or less came during the 1971-72 season when the Buckeyes won back-to-back 2-1 games in the series. OSU has never beaten BG when scoring less than two goals and has never won a 2-0 game in the series.
 The Falcons are 7-for-49 on the power play against OSU since 2005-06 ... 8-for-64 since 2004-05 and 0-for-86 since the beginning of 2003-04.
 Buckeye head coach John Markell, played at BGSU from 1975-79 where he recorded 235 career points (102g, 133a). That mark ranks sixth on the all-time Falcon scoring list as Markell is also a member of the BGSU Hall of Fame.
 BG won its' first CCHA playoff crown with an 8-1 victory over the Buckeyes in the 1973 championship contest after finishing fourth in the regular-season standings.
 In one of the more memorable comebacks in Falcon history, the Falcons battled back from a 5-0 deficit to win 6-5 in overtime against the Buckeyes on Oct. 26, 1991 at the BGSU Ice Arena.
 Current Falcon head coach Scott Paluch, set a BGSU record for most assists in a series by a defenseman back in November of 1987 when he tallied seven helpers in a three-point weekend for the Falcons who earned a 5-5 tie and an 8-3 win.
LAST TIME OUT ...
The Falcons dropped a pair to the #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish this past weekend in a home-and-home series, falling 6-1 and 4-1 as the Irish completed the sweep of the season series and won for the ninth-straight time in the series. Friday's 6-1 loss at the Joyce Center was the first time this season that BGSU has lost a game by more than three goals, as well as given up more than five. BG's lone goal in the contest came from senior tri-captain John Mazzei who tallied his second goal of the season. Sophomore forward Tommy Dee picked up his first helper of the season on the play late in the second that made the game 5-1. Freshman goaltender Nick Eno made 19 stops on the night on 24 Irish shots, before he was replaced by junior Jimmy Spratt in the third period who made seven saves on eight shots.
On Saturday, the Irish jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two periods, before freshman forward Dan Sexton got BG rigbt back into the game with a short-handed breakaway goal at 11:58 of the third period. Freshman Andrew Krelove picked up his second assist of the season on the play, while Spratt picked up his first in the Falcon net. Spratt maded 22 saves on 25 shots on the night, but it wasn't enough a late power-play goal and an empty-netter put the game away.
For More Information, statistics and player bios, please see the complete release at the top of the release.