Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host Lake Superior In Weekend CCHA Battle
January 20, 2009 | Ice Hockey
Jan. 20, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO -
Week 14 BGSU Hockey Notes (vs. Lake Superior) 
Games #25 & #26
Lake Superior (6-10-8, 3-7-6-1 CCHA) vs. Bowling Green (8-13-3, 5-10-1-0 CCHA)
Jan. 23-24, 2009 • Bowling Green, Ohio (BGSU Ice Arena - 5,000) • 7:05
THIS WEEK
The Bowling Green State University hockey team will complete what, for the most part, has been a better than two month homestand with a home series against Lake Superior. The Friday night contest will begin at 7:05 and the Saturday game will start at 7:08 because of television. Since a home series with Northern Michigan that began on Nov. 14, BG will have played 13 their last 16 games at home at the completion of the LSSU series with the three road games during the period parts of home-and-home series with Notre Dame and Michigan.
RADIO
All games this season can be heard on WBGU 88.1 FM. Bob Mills will provide the play-by-play with Rob Councell doing the color commentary. The pregame show will air 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The broadcast can be heard globally on both www.bgsufalcons.com and www.bgrso.org.
TELEVISION
The game Friday will air live locally on the Buckeye Cable System Network (BCSN) with Greg Franke calling the play-by-play and former BGSU coach Buddy Powers providing the color commentary. The game Saturday is the third of five appearances for the Falcons on the CCHA/Comcast Saturday Game of the Week. The game will air live on the NHL Network in Canada and on Comcast Television. Ben Holden will handle the play-by-play duties while Lyle Phair is the analyst and Art Regnier the "sideline" reporter. The game will air on a tape delayed basis Sunday at noon on the NHL Network in the United States.
LIVE STATS
Live stats for all Falcon games are available on the BGSU athletic web site (www.bgsufalcons.com). Stats can be accessed from the schedule page in the hockey section of the web site by clicking on the "gametracker" icon on the right hand side of the page.
FALCON'S NEST RADIO SHOW
BGSU head coach Scott Paluch will be a guest on BGSU's weekly radio show held at the Frickers's restaurant across from Perry Stadium each Monday. Paluch will be on the show Jan. 26, and Feb. 9 and 23. The radio show, which begins at 6 p.m., is hosted by Todd Walker and can be heard on WCWA 1230 AM. The radio show can also be accessed by clicking on the "multimedia" link on the BGSU athletic web site (www.bgsufalcons.com) at the top of the home page.
TOP LINE CONTINUES TO PUT UP THE NUMBERS
The top line of senior Brandon Svendsen and sophomores David Solway and Dan Sexton was slowed last week as Sexton's goal in the Friday game against Michigan was the lone point of the weekend for the line. They had one other weekend (Minnesota State) in which they only had one point. In the 14 CCHA games in which they've played together this season, the line has accounted for 17 of the 28 BG goals (61%), collected 24 of the 39 assists (62%) and 41 of the 67 points (61%). They are a combined plus-9 while the rest of the team is minus-88. For the 22 games this season they have been together, which includes the 14 CCHA games, the line has accounted for 26 of the 52 goals (50%), 34 of the 77 assists (44%) and 60 of 129 points (47%). They are a combined plus-7 compared to -87 for the rest of the team. During one three-week period (Oct. 31-Nov. 15), they combined for 27 points (11-16). In the 22 games they've played as a line, they accounted for at least one point on 33 of the 52 goals scored, two of the players have been involved in 19 of the 52 goals and they have combined as a line to score six times.
MORE BALANCED SCORING
While offense by the Svendsen, Solway and Sexton line will continue to be needed all season, the coaching staff would like to get more balance, the reason the line was split up for the one series. The Falcons have had better balance over the last 11 games and they hope that will continue. Over the last 11 games, BG has scored 27 goals with nine different players scoring those goals. Over that same period, 19 different players, including both goalies, have found the scoresheet at least once.
SVENDSEN IS A TEAM LEADER
Senior Brandon Svendsen is one of the leaders of the team while having the best season of his career. He did not have a point in the Michigan series, only the third weekend this season he has gone without at least one point. He had a four-point (0-4) weekend against Ohio State (Jan. 9-10) which equalled the best of his career (he had four points (2-2) in the Nebraska-Omaha series earlier this season). One of the alternate captains, Svendsen has career bests of 21 points and 15 assists this season while he needs three goals to equal the high of nine in his career. The Roseville, Minn. native's point total is 14th in the CCHA and his assist total is tied for 10th in the league. He has two short-handed goals this season, tied for the fifth-best total in the country, and four for his career. He has a point in 13 games this season with six multi-point efforts. He had a career-best three (1-2) points in the Nov. 8 game at Lake Superior and the Jan. 9 loss to Ohio State (0-3). He is second on the team with 21 points while he leads the team in CCHA play with 17 points (4-13). Svendsen ranks among the CCHA leaders in three categories for all games and four categories for league games only.
OFFENSE FROM THE DEFENSE
The defensive corp has come up big at the offensive end the last few weeks adding to a more balanced attack. Defensemen have scored eight goals and added nine assists (17 points) over the last 11 games. The backline players had a streak of three-straight games (Dec. 20-Jan. 10) in which they contributed a season-best three points in each contest. The defense has at least one point in eight of the last nine games and nine of the last 11. Their current stretch is the best of the season since they opened the year with five points in the first four games. The Falcon rearguards went through a period of time this season in which they contributed just one point over a nine-game span (Oct. 24-Nov. 21)
WHO'S DOING THE DAMAGE
Among the defensemen contributing at the offensive end is junior captain Kyle Page. Page has a point in four (2-2) of the last nine games, including two goals. While that might not turn too many heads, it would if you knew he went the first 87 games of his career before getting his first goal in the Nov. 29 game against Minnesota State. Page has five points this season, matching his career total coming into the season. Also contributing from the back line is freshman Nick Bailen, who has eight points (4-4), five points in the last six games, as well as senior alternate captain Kevin Schmidt. Bailen (4-4) and Schmidt (3-3) are the top scoring defensemen on the team. Schmidt has two shorthanded goals among his three red-lighters this season. Sophomore Andrew Krelove and senior Russ Sinkewich have also contributed with three assists between them during the run.
SOLWAY AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Sophomore David Solway was held without a point last weekend in the Michigan series, only the third weekend he has gone without at least one point this season. He is third on the team with 17 points. He has a point in 12 games this season with four multi-point games, including a career-best three points (1-2) against Nebraska-Omaha (Oct. 31). He had the only two-goal game of his career scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Northern Michigan (Nov. 14) before assisting on the game-winner the following night to earn CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. He has set career bests with his seven assists and 10 goals while his 17 points equals what he scored last season. The Green Bay, Wis. native has 12 points (7-5) in CCHA play, third on the team, while he is tied for the team lead with seven goals, which is tied for eighth in the league. He ranks among the CCHA leaders in two overall and three league-only categories. He is second on the team in league play with a +3 on-ice rating while he is third in all games at plus-one. He has at least one goal in eight of the 11 weekends of play this season. After averaging better than a point a game in the first 13 contests of the season, he has just three points in the last 11 games.
TOUGH STRETCH
The Falcons have played 10 of their last 12 games against ranked opponents. The Falcons have gone 3-8-1 over the period with two of the three wins coming against the only unranked team, Clarkson, they played in the stretch. Four of the games in the stretch were against CCHA leader and top-ranked Notre Dame while Minnesota State, Ohio State and Michigan were also ranked. The Falcons are 1-9-1 this season against the ranked teams they've played, 7-4-2 against unranked teams. BG's shutout win over Michigan last Friday was its first against a ranked team this season.
SEXTON TIED FOR FOURTH IN CCHA IN SCORING
Sophomore Dan Sexton has put together the best season of his young career and he is currently in his best stretch of the season. He had a five-game goal-scoring streak and a six-game point streak end when BG was shutout by Michigan Saturday after he had scored a goal in BG's shutout win Friday. Both are career bests for him. He had six goals and 10 points during his streaks. He had the best goal-scoring weekend of his career with three tallies against Clarkson (Dec. 19-20), including his second two-goal game of the season. The Apple Valley, Minn. native leads the team with 26 points (11-15) while scoring at least one point in every weekend series except one this season. He has scored a point in a team-best 16 games and has a team-best eight contests with two or more points, including two games with three points (Ohio State, Jan. 9, 1-2--3; RIT, Oct. 10, 0-3--3). He is tied for fourth in the CCHA in points, tied for 10th in the assists and tied for fifth in goals. Sexton has set career highs in all three categories this season. He is among the league leaders in six overall and CCHA-only statistical categories. His 16 points (7-9) in CCHA play is second on the team. His two game-winning goals, in league games, and three in all games ranks among the league leaders while his three for the season is tied for sixth nationally. He is tied for 32nd in the nation in points.
KANTOLA IS LIGHTING THE LAMP
Junior forward Kai Kantola has scored a goal in five of the last 10 games with six red-lighters in that span. He got the streak going with his third career two-goal contest against Minnesota State (Nov. 28). He completed that weekend with a third goal on Saturday, making that the best goal-scoring weekend of his career. Since that series, he has single goals in three of the eight games, including one in both games of the Ohio State (Jan. 9-10) series. Kantola, who also had two goals in the season opener against RIT, is fourth on the team in scoring with 12 points (10-2) while his 10 goals tie him for second on the team. He is tied for seventh in the CCHA in goals scored. His average of 0.45 goals per game ranks tied for 39th in the nation. Kantola, who has a point in nine games this season, has three goals in league play. Kantola has seven points in the last 10 games.
HOME COOKING
After making two trips in the first three weeks of the season and three in the first five weeks, the Falcons have played a good portion of their recent schedule at home. BG has played 11 of its last 14 games at home with the only road games part of two home-and-home series with Notre Dame and a home-and-home with Michigan. They host Lake Superior this weekend before spending most of the final portion of the season on the road. After concluding the home series with Lake Superior this weekend, the Falcons will have played 17 of their first 26 games at home. But, of course, then the schedule flip-flops and BG will play seven of their last 10 on the road to conclude the regular season. The Falcons series Jan. 30-31 at Miami will be the first overnight trip since Nov. 7-8 when they played at Lake Superior. BG is 6-7-2 at home this season, 3-6 in league play.
POWER PLAY HAVING SOME RECENT SUCCESS
The Falcons had five power-play goals in the first four games of the season. But, it took them the next 11 games to get five more man-advantage tallies. But, if their recent success is any indication, the special teams are back for the Falcons. The power-play is eight-for-47 (17.0%) over the last seven games while it had converted just five-of-76 (6.6%) opportunities over the previous 13 games. BG is nine-of-83 (9.7%) in their 16 league games with the man-advantage. BG had two power-play goals in the third period which helped them get back in the Notre Dame game (Dec. 13). It was the first time in 10 games the Falcons had two or more goals with the manpower advantage. BG has a pair of power-play goals in three of their last seven games and at least one in five of the last seven. They have five games this season with two power-play goals. On the other side of the ledger, the Falcons have held their opposition scoreless on the power-play in five of the last seven games killing off 44-of-48 (91.7%) opportunities.
THE PP GOES, THE O DOES TOO
It is probably no coincidence that as the power-play has improved recently, so has the offensive output by the Falcons. BG has scored 21 goals in the last seven games after having scored just 11 times in the previous seven contests. BG's eight goals in the Ohio State series (Jan. 9-10), was its best offensive weekend of the season. In the 13 games before BG's present mini-scoring streak, the Falcons averaged just 1.69 goals per game. BG has averaged 3.0 goals over the last seven games. In fact, the Michigan game Saturday was the first time in seven games BG had scored less than three goals.
SPRATT AMONG BGSU LEADERS
Senior goaltender Jimmy Spratt has started 23 of the 24 games this season. Spratt recorded his first career shutout in the 1-0 win over Alaska earlier this season (Oct. 24) turning away all 30 shots he faced. He posted his second shutout in the 3-0 win at Michigan last Friday making 29 stops. The Chesterfield, Mich. native enjoyed probably the three best weekends of his career this season in sweeps of Northern Michigan (Nov. 14-15) and Clarkson (Dec. 19-20) and the split with Michigan last week. In the NMU series, he had a 0.99 goals-against and a .961 save percentage (two goals/49 saves) while he had a 1.00 goals-against and a .960 save percentage (two goals/48 saves) in the two games against Clarkson. Last week against Michigan, he stopped 67-of-68 shots (.985) with a 0.51 goals-against. The NMU and Clarkson series' were the first time since his freshman season (Nov. 4-5, 2005 vs. Nebraska-Omaha - his second and third career starts) that he won both games of a series. He has allowed three or fewer goals in 14 of the 23 games he's played and has a 2.92 goals-against, a little better than one-half a goal better than his career GAA (3.66) coming into this season. He has just five games of 30 or more saves this season with a season-high 38 saves against Michigan (Jan. 16). He has an .893 save percentage. In 15 league games, Spratt has a 3.03 goals-against and an .893 save percentage. He has now played in 89 career games, with 86 of those starts. Spratt, who is one of only nine goalies in school history to reach the 2,000-save plateau, has 2,181 career saves, seventh on the BGSU list while his 1,603 stops in CCHA play is sixth-best in school history. He needs 24 saves to move into the #6 spot at BG for all games currently occupied by Mike Liut (1973-77 - 2,204 saves) and eight saves to pass Jordan Sigalet on the CCHA games only list (1,610 saves - 5th) and 49 saves to pass Wally Charko (1,651 saves - 4th). Spratt has logged 1,357:08 this season, sixth among all goalies in the nation this season. Spratt has given up one or fewer goals in four of his last five games and, despite giving up six goals in a game during the span, he has a 2.00 goals-against and a .936 save percentage over the five games.
ENO SEES FIRST ACTION OF THE SEASON
The other half of last year's goaltending duo, sophomore Nick Eno, saw his first action of the season against Ohio State (Jan. 9) after missing the first half of the year with a left ankle sprain sustained before the season began. Eno played in a relief of starter Jimmy Spratt in that first game back, and made his first start of the season the following night. In 28:23 of work in his first game back, Eno had 10 saves and allowed one goal. On Saturday, he went all the way playing 62:42 making 21 saves and allowing four goals. Eno, who sported a 12-10-0 record, a 2.79 goals-against average and .905 save percentage last year, earned CCHA All-Rookie honors. The Howell, Mich. native's goals-against average last season ranks seventh on the single-season BG list, while his save percentage is tied for seventh-best. In CCHA play last season, Eno was 9-7-0 with a 2.51 goals-against and a .918 save percentage.
LATE HEROICS
The Falcons have scored within the last five minutes of regulation time in 10 different games this season. In three of those instances the goal broke a tie to win the game. In one instance it tied the game in a contest that ended deadlocked. And in two instances it tied the game sending it to overtime - BG winning one in overtime and losing the other in an extra period. BG has scored a total of 10 goals (10 different contests) in the last five minutes of regulation time this season.
A GLANCE AT THE SECOND HALF
The Falcons will finish their 2008-09 regular season with eight-straight weekend series against CCHA opponents. Of the 16 games after returning from the holiday break, only two are against teams that presently comprise the top four teams in the conference. In the month of January, the Falcons play five of their eight games at home while in February only three of their eight games are at home. Six of the eight series will be against teams they have not played this season. Only a home series against Lake Superior (Jan. 23-24) and a road series at Northern Michigan (Feb. 6-7) are against teams they have already met this season.
BAILEN CONTRIBUTING IN ALL PHASES
Freshman defenseman Nick Bailen has emerged as one of the top first-year players in the CCHA. Bailen has a point in four of the last six games (five points) and six of the last 11 contests. The Fredonia, N.Y. native is the top scoring defenseman on the team with eight (4-4) points. He is also an important part of the power-play unit with his three markers with the man-advantage tied for second on the squad. Bailen also plays on the penalty-killing unit. He had a pair of goals in the Ohio State game (Jan. 9) and has three goals in the last four games. Bailen was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week for Dec. 15-21 and he is 15th in the CCHA in scoring among first-year players.
FALCON ICE CHIPS
BG has scored in 40 of the 72 periods (regulation time) this season, one more than their opposition...the difference in the number of goals scored, 75 to 56 in favor of the opposition, comes from the fact BG has 10 multi-goal periods this season compared to 21 for the opposition...BG was 3-3-2 in games outside of the CCHA this season...the Falcons played 20 games before January this year for the first time since the 2001-02 season...BG has two one-goal losses and two two-goal losses to ranked teams this season...the Falcons had not recorded a point in CCHA play since their Nov. 15 win at home over Northern Michigan, a span of six games, before getting the shutout win over Michigan last Friday...the Falcons are 1-1-3 in their five overtime games this season...junior forward Tommy Dee had the game-winner in the Friday victory over Michigan, the first game-winner of his career...Dee has all three of his goals for the season in the last seven games after scoring a total of five goals in the first 74 games of his career...the Falcons dropped to 2-8-2 in Saturday games this season with their loss to Michigan last week...junior forward Todd McIlrath had one point in the first 18 games of the season...he has scored three points in the last six contests.
LAKE SUPERIOR NOTES
The Lakers have compiled a 3-7-6 record since they played Bowling Green earlier this season (Nov. 7-8)...their eight ties this season is the most in the program's history and their six ties in league games equals the program high...the Lakers are coming off two closely contested games at home against the nation's top team, Notre Dame...LSSU lost the first night 3-2 and earned a 3-3 tie in the finale...LSSU is 1-7 this season in shootouts with their only victory coming against Bowling Green in the Nov. 8 game earlier this season...it is the only shootout BG has been involved in...senior forward Troy Schwab became the first Laker to reach 100 career points in the last 10 years over the weekend and has 22 points (8-14)...junior forward Zac McAvoy has nine goal and 11 assists while senior forward Josh Sims has 18 points (8-10)...freshman forward Fred Cassiani leads the team with 10 goals, and has 15 points...junior forward Nathan Perkovich and Sims lead the team with three power-play tallies apiece...sophomore goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson has seen a bulk of the work this season and has a 5-6-6 record with a 2.33 goals-against and a .928 save percentage...head coach Jim Roque, a former player and assistant coach at Lake Superior, is in his fourth season head ing the program and has a 35-51-22 record.
LAST WEEK
The Falcons gave sixth-ranked Michigan all it could handle in the earning a split in the weekend series as each won on the others home ice. BG started the weekend with a 3-0 whitewashing of the Wolverines, the first shutout for BG in the series (107 games). Junior Tommy Dee got the game-winner at 9:18 of the first period and teammates Dan Sexton and Nick Bailen added insurance tallies in the third period to back up the 29-save performance of senior goalie Jimmy Spratt, who recorded his second career shutout. Michigan had a 29-17 edge in shots while BG was one-for-six on the power play and Michigan came up empty on five opportunities. Saturday, UM took its turn with a 1-0 win. The only goal came at the 10:15 mark of the second period as Michigan outshot the Falcons, 39-19. BG was zero-for-4 on the power play while Michigan failed on all eight of their attempts. Spratt had 38 saves while Michigan netminder Billy Sauer had 19 stops.
NEXT WEEK
The Falcons take to the road for a weekend series for the first time since early November as they have two games against Miami in Oxford. The Friday-Saturday series will feature a 7:35 game to start the series and a 7:05 start in the finale.
