Bowling Green State University Athletics
Hockey Opens Regular-Season With A Pair At Home
October 07, 2008 | Ice Hockey
Oct. 7, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University hockey team will open its 2008-09 regular-season when its hosts the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Niagara University this weekend at the BGSU Ice Arena. The Falcons and the Tigers will do battle at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, while the Falcons and Purple Eagles will the drop the puck at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday.
Complete Release in PDF Format (18 Pages)
Game #1
RIT at Bowling Green
Oct. 10, 2008 • BGSU Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m.
RECORDS: BGSU 0-0-0 // RIT 0-0-0
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Bob Mills (Play-by-Play), Everett Fitzhugh (color commentary)
Game #2
Niagara at Bowling Green
Oct. 11, 2008 • BGSU Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m.
RECORDS: BGSU 0-0-0 // NU 0-0-0
RADIO:WBGU (88.1): Bob Mills (Play-by-Play), Everett Fitzhugh (color commentary)
RADIO BROADCAST
Friday and Saturday evening's action from the BGSU Ice Arena can be heard on WBGU 88.1 FM. New Falcon play-by-play announcer, Bob Mills will be providing all the play-by-play, while Everett Fitzhugh will provide the color commentary. A pregame show will be 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 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
• With its 5-1 win on Saturday over Wilfrid Laurrier, BG has now won its last four exhibition contests by a combined score of 31-4.
• Senior defenseman Kevin Schmidt led the way with a goal and an assist in Saturday's 5-1 win. Schmidt, who led all Falcon defensemen with 25 points a season ago, now has a line of 1-4-5 in four-career exhibition contests.
• The Falcons had nine different players record points in their exhibition win, including a 2-2-4 line from their senior class. Kevin Schmidt led all Falcon scorers in the game with a goal and assist, while senior defenseman Russ Sinkewich added another helper and senior captain Tim Maxwell tallied his second-career exhibition goal.
• BG's 2008-09 roster will feature players from nine different states, as 18 of the Falcons' 27 players are American-born players. Just five years ago, the 2003-04 Falcon roster featured 14 Canadian-born players. The 2008-09 Falcons hail from Indiana, Massachuesetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.
• Under Scott Paluch, the Falcons are 12-6-0 in their first two weekends of the season, which includes the exhibition contest and the opening weekend. Last season, BG went 2-1-0, as they collected wins over Windsor (12-1) and at RIT (5-3).
• Bowling Green and RIT first met on Dec. 28, 1986, as part of the Syracuse Invitational where BG won 4-3. Before last season's meeting, the two squads last met during the 2005-06 season at the Ice Arena where the Falcons won 3-2 on a goal by Jonathan Matsumoto on the power play in the final minute of play.
• Bowling Green is 50-30-6 all-time in games against teams from New York.
• BG is 11-5-2 all-time against teams from College Hockey America and 9-2-0 against Atlantic Hockey Association opponents.
• BG is 2-1 in season-openers at home under Scott Paluch and 3-3 all-time.
• BG was 13-6-0 last season when tallying 30 or more shots on net and just 5-13-0 when having less than 30 shots.
• When allowing three goals or less in 2007-08, BG was 17-5-0, but they were just 1-14-0 when allowing four or more goals.
• BG was 13-1-0 when holding a lead after the first period in 2007-08 and 13-2-0 when leading after two periods. The Falcons were then 4-10-0 when trailing after one and 1-8-0 when tied after one.
• The Falcons were 12-8-0 in 2007-08 when scoring a power play goal and 6-11-0 when they didn't score on the man-advantage, while 11-11-0 when allowing at least one power play goal and 7-8-0 when they didn't allow one.
• BG returns 11 of its 18 game-winning goals from last season, including Jacob Cepis' three, which ranked second on the team behind Derek Whitmore's five.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
• BG returns 21 letterwinners, tied for the most in the CCHA with Michigan, from a team in 2007-08 that won 18 games - the most in the last 13 years and most since the 1995-96 season.
• In total, 12 forwards return up front, while six defensemen return on the blue line and three goalies return in net.
• Despite the loss of scoring leader Derek Whitmore, who finished his career last year as one of the Falcons' 20 best all-time goal scorers, the Falcons will return seven of their top-10 pointgetters from last season and 12 of their top-15. Leading the charge will be 2007-08 CCHA All-Rookie Team member, Jacob Cepis, who totaled 31 points. He will be joined by junior James Perkin, who had a career-high 25 points this past season and senior defensemen Kevin Schmidt, who also had a career-best 25 points.
• Up front, four returning Falcon upperclassmen (Tommy Dee, Kai Kantola, Todd McIlrath and James Perkin set new career-bests in points last season.
• Overall, eight total upperclassmen set or tied career-bests in points last season.
• BG finished 2007-08 17-8 on the year against non-ranked teams, but just 1-11 against ranked opponents with their lone win coming at home against top-ranked Miami.
• In net, sophomore goaltender Nick Eno and senior goaltender Jimmy Spratt combined for a goals-against average of 3.06 last season and a save percentage of .891.
• BG finished the regular-season with 32 goals on the power play last season, as they went 32-of-194 with the man-advantage. However, 24 of those extra-man goals came in the first 17 games, as the Falcons were 24-of-101 (23.8%) in the first half and just 8-of-93 in the second (8.6%).
• Overall, the Falcons finished the season 36-of-220 (16.4%) on the power play and 161-of-195 on the penalty-kill (82.6%).
A LOOK AT THE TIGERS
2007-08 Record: 19-12-6
2007-08 Conference Record: 15-8-5
2007-08 record at home (Rochester, N.Y.): 11-4-3
2007-08 record on the road: 7-6-3
• The Tigers are led by 10-year head coach, Wayne Wilson, who looks to take RIT to its first ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in 2008-09. Wilson holds a 162-76-22 record while coaching the white and orange.
• This matchup versus Bowling Green will be their first regular season match of the 2008-09 season. It also begins a two-game series with CCHA teams with trips to Bowling Green and Western Michigan University.
• RIT has lost its two top scorers from the 2007-08 season in Simon Lambert (21-30-51) and Matt Smith (27-12-39) and return only one double-digit goal scorer, junior forward, Matt Crowell (11-11-22). RIT returns 10 of its 13 double-digit point scorers from the 2007-08 season as well. Nine freshmen also join the team for the 2008-09 campaign.
• Since 2003, RIT is 0-4-1 in regular-season openers and has been outscored by its opposition 24-15 in those games. The Tigers have given up at least four goals in each of its last five regular-season openers.
• Since 2003, RIT is 42-23-2 at home (Rochester, N.Y.) and 36-45-5 on the road.
• In the two full seasons that the Tigers have been affiliated with Division I hockey, they are 5-8-2 in out-of-conference play. Last year, the Tigers went 4-4-1 against opponents outside of the Atlantic Hockey Association, while posting a 15-8-5 AHA record.
• RIT has only been a Division I school in hockey going on its third season, yet has already made a splash in the league. Placed in the Atlantic Hockey Association, the Tigers won the league regular-season title in its first year in 2006-07 and placed second in 2007-08. They lost to the Air Force Academy in the AHA Semifinals to end their 2007-08 season.
• In two seasons in Atlantic Hockey play, RIT has accumulated a 35-15-6 record while also sporting a 40-23-8 overall record in that time.
• The first period was the only period in which RIT outscored its opponents, 39-31 (+8) in 2007-08. In the second and third periods, they were out-scored by opponents 38-39 (-1) and 35-38 (-3), respectively. In overtime however, RIT posted a +3 goal scoring ratio, netting four goals to their opponents one.
2008-09 team makeup
# of players from USA: 5
# of players from Canada: 19
# of players born elsewhere internationally: 1 (Finland)
Versus Bowling Green
Last game: 10/19/2007 @ RIT. BGSU wins 5-3
Returning goal scorers from last year's game: Matt Crowell (Jr., F), Al Mazur (Jr./D)
All-time: 3-0, BG leads series
First Meeting: 12/28/86, BG 4-3
Last Meeting: 10/19/07, BG 5-3
BG out-scored RIT 12-8 in 3 games
When RIT scored first in 2007-08: 16-2-4
When opponent scored first in 2007-08: 3-10-2
A LOOK AT THE PURPLE EAGLES
2007-08 Record: 22-11-4
2007-08 Conference Record: 12-6-2
2007-08 record at home: 12-2-3
2007-08 record on the road: 10-8-1
• The Purple Eagles are led by eighth-year coach Dave Burkholder, who holds a 128-107-22 record in eight seasons behind the Niagara bench. A two-time CHA Coach of the Year, the 1984 graduate of RIT has led the Purple Eagles to two regular-season College Hockey America (CHA) titles, two CHA Tournament titles and NCAA appearnace in 2003-04 and 2007-08.
• This matchup with BG will be their second regular season match of the 2008-09 season. It will conclude a two-game series with CCHA teams after a Friday night trip to Western Michigan.
• Niagara is just 5-13-1 against CCHA opponents over the past seven years since Burkholder took the helm, including a 1-2-0 record against the Falcons.
• NU returns leading-scorer, senior Vince Rocco, who had a line of 14-32-46 a year ago, along with senior Ted Cook, the Purple Eagles' leading goal-scorer from a year ago with 19 (19-12-31).
• Ted Cook needs just one goal to become Niagara's all-time leading goal scorer with 72 career goals. The 2008 CHA Tournament Most Valuable Player finished last season with 71 career lamp-lighters.
• Overall, the Purple Eagles return 19 letterwinners.
• In net, NU is led by senior Juliano Pagliero, who sported a 17-7-4 record in 31 games in 2007-08. He finished with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage, posting four shutouts, including a 32-save performance in a 2-0 shutout against BG to open the season.
• Pagliero ranked 22nd in the nation in goals-against average and eighth in save percentage, as he was a All-CHA First Team member.
2008-09 team makeup
# of players from USA: 9
# of players from Canada: 15
Versus Bowling Green
Last game: 10/18/2007 @ Niagara. NU won 2-0
Returning goal scorers from last year's game: Kyle Rogers (Sr., F)
All-time: 2-2-0, series tied
First Meeting: 12/30/00
TWO STATES APART BUT SO MUCH IN COMMON There will be no shortage of sidebars to Friday night's game between BG and RIT, as the two schools share a lot in common, despite being two states apart and in different leagues. Below is a breakdown of the connections between the two schools.
The Playing Connection ...
• Of the six full-time coaches in Friday's matchup, four played their collegiate hockey at Bowling Green, as BG head coach Scott Paluch (1984-88) and assistant coach Dennis Williams (1997-2001) both dressed for the orange and brown in their college days, along with RIT head coach Wayne Wilson (1980-84) and assistant coach Brian Hills (1979-83). Paluch, an All-American and All-CCHA defensman in his time at BGSU, helped BG to four-consecutive winning-seasons and a CCHA Tournament Championship in 1988. He finished his four-year career as the school's all-time points leader for defensemen with a 169 career points. Williams, a forward for the Falcons in the late 90s and earlier part of the decade, helped the Falcons to the 2001 CCHA semifinals as a senior, as he dressed in 117 games in his four-year Falcon career. Wilson, a captain of BGSU's 1984 National Championship squad, recorded 101 career points as a defenseman for the Falcons, while Hills finished his Falcon career with 270 career points, which ranks second on the all-time school list.
The Coaching Connection ...
• Of the six full-time coaches in Friday's game, four have also coached at BGSU at one point in time, as both Wilson and Hills were once assistant coaches under former Falcon head coaches Jerry York (1979-94) and Buddy Powers (1994-2002).
• Wilson and Hills served as assistant coaches together at BG from 1994-99 under Powers, while Hills stayed till the 2001 season, where he and Wilson coached Dennis Williams as a player.
• Paluch and Wilson served as assistants together under York from 1990-94.
TEAM OF THE DECADE
The Falcons' 18 wins a year ago are the most by any Bowling Green hockey team in the last decade and the most any Falcon team has celebrated in 13 years. BG also advanced to the second round of the CCHA playoffs last season for the first time since 2001, as they won their first home playoff series since
WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED
The 2007-08 season will go done as one to remember for the Falcons as the season featured many accomplishments for the both the team and individual players. Below is look at some of the more major accomplishments from the season.
TEAM
• Most wins in the last decade with 18 and the most since the 1995-96 season when they went 26-14-1.
• First Falcon team to reach the second round of the playoffs since the Falcon squad of 2000-01 that made it to the CCHA semifinals.
• First Falcon team to beat the nation's top-ranked team since 1997.
• First Falcon team to win nine road games since the 1995-96 team.
• First BG team to feature two All-Rookie Team selections (Jacob Cepis and Nick Eno) since the 1993-94 team and just the second squad to do so in the 20 years they've selected the team.
• First Falcon team to feature two 20-point rookie scorers since 1996.
INDIVIDUALLY
• Senior tri-captain Derek Whitmore scored his 100th career point last season as he finished his BG career with 102 career points on 70 career goals and 32 career helpers.
• Derek Whitmore's 70 career goals placed him 19th on BGSU's all-time career goal-scoring list.
• Derek Whitmore's 27 goals last year are the most by a Falcon in a single-season since Mike Johnson scored 30 in 1996-97.
• Derek Whitmore was named CCHA Offensive Player of the week twice and James Perkin was named it once.
• Freshman forward Jacob Cepis was named CCHA Rookie of the Week twice and Dan Sexton was once.
• Junior defenseman Kevin Schmidt finished a single point short of tying Grady Moore for the most points by a Falcon rearguard in the last 10 seasons with his 25 points.
• Freshman forward Jacob Cepis became the first Falcon forward since Adam Edinger to earn All-Rookie honors in the CCHA.
• Freshman goaltender Nick Eno became the first Falcon goaltender since Bob Petrie to be named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team.
• Sophmore defenseman Kyle Page was named to the league's Scholar-Athlete team for the first time in his career.
• Nine different upperclassmen set new career-bests in points last season.
25 YEARS OF CELEBRATING A CHAMPIONSHIP
A special logo, located below this note, was created this year to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the 1984 National Championship. The 2008-09 season marks 25 seasons since that magical 1983-84 season where BG went 34-8-2 and 22-4-2 in the CCHA on way to the school's first-ever and only National Championship. The logo will appear all season on the note packet and is featured in the 2008-09 hockey media guide.
TOUGH GO
It'll be a tough road for the Falcons in 2008-09, as the schedule features 14 games against teams that qualified for the 2008 NCAA Tournament and 19 total games against teams that sported winning records just a season ago. Included in those games will be a road contest at defending NCAA National Champion Boston College (Oct. 17) and two home-and-home weekends against National Runner-Up Notre Dame (Nov. 21-22; Dec 12-13). Other notable dates include a Jan. 16-17 home-and-home series with defending Central Collegiate Hockey Association Champion Michigan and a Feb. 20 and 21st home-and-home series with 2006-07 National Champion Michigan State. In non-conference action, BG will also host Niagara (Oct. 11) in a single game and have two home weekend series against Minnesota State (Nov. 28-29) and Clarkson (Dec. 19-20).
FALCON ILLINI
Coach Scott Paluch was honored by his home state in December of 2007 when he was inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame. Paluch, who played for BGSU from 1984-88, finished his career as the Falcons' all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 49-121-169. Those 49 goals remain the standard for BGSU rearguards. The Chicago native signed a pro contract with the St. Louis Blues following his collegiate career.
ENO(UGH) ALREADY
Nick Eno, who sported a 12-10-0 record with a 2.79 goals-against average and .905 save percentage, became the third Falcon netminder to earn CCHA All-Rookie Team status last season. He joined Bob Petrie (1994) and Aaron Elllis (1993) in earning the honor. The Howell, Mich. native's goal-against mark ranks as the seventh-best single-season mark in school history, while his save percentage is tied for seventh-best.
BIG-TIME ROOKIE SEASON FROM SMALL-TIME ROOKIE GUY
Bowling Green's impact freshmen were a big reason for their success last season and none of these freshmen may have been bigger than Jacob Cepis, despite his 5-foot-8-inch frame . The Parma, Ohio native tallied 15 goals and 16 assists in his rookie campaign as he currently ranks tied for 33rd on the all-time Falcon scoring list for freshmen. He finished just a point shy of Jonathan Matsumoto's freshman mark of 32 points in 2004-05, which is the most by a Falcon in the last 10 years and is tied for 28th on the all-time BGSU freshmen list. He was also just two points away from being the Falcons' top rookie scorer in the past 13 years and three points away from being the top rookie scorer since Brett Harkins scored 54 points as a freshman during the 1989-90 season.
THE OTHER SEXTON TWIN
Though he is not grinding handrails and doing inverted 180's like his pro-snowboarding twin brother Joey, sophomore forward Dan Sexton displayed his own jaw-dropping moves on the ice last season. The Apple Valley, Minn. native recorded a line of 7-14-21, as he teamed up with Jacob Cepis to form only the sixth duo of BGSU freshmen since 1984 to each be 20-point scorers.
BG WARRIORS BECOME KINGS OF THE ROAD
The Falcons posted a 9-9-0 regular-season road record last season, which was tied for the fifth-best road win total in the CCHA and the eighth-best in the nation. The nine road wins are the most in Scott Paluch's seven seasons, besting the eight won by the 2004-05 squad. The team mark of 13 regular-season road wins was set in 1986-87 when Paluch was a junior defenseman.
