Two for the Road: Falcons Head to Ferris State

Bowling Green Falcons

vs.
Ferris State Bulldogs

Nov. 6-7, 2009
Ewigleben Ice Arena (Big Rapids, Mich.)

7:05/5:05 p.m. EST

THIS WEEK
Bowling Green hockey will load up the bus once again and head to Big Rapids, Mich. for a two-game series against the Ferris State Bulldogs this weekend. This weekend will wrap up a set of four consecutive games away from the BGSU Ice Arena. Game times are set for 7:05 and 5:05 p.m. EST for Friday and Saturday, respectively.

MEDIA COVERAGE
All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into 88.1 WGBU-FM. Everett Fitzhugh will take the trip to Big Rapids, Mich. to bring fans the play-by-play action. 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.

Live stats for all BGSU home games are available on the BGSU web site - www.bgsufalcons.com - via Live Scoring. The stats can be accessed from the schedule page in the hockey section of the website by clicking on the “details” icon on the right hand side of the page, then by clicking “live scoring”.

LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons returned to Bowling Green, Ohio with two conference points following a shootout win and a loss to Nebraska Omaha this past weekend. In game one, three BGSU Falcons scored their first collegiate goal (Potacco, Samuels-Thomas, Pageau) and freshman goaltender Andrew Hammond made a career-high 43 saves before taking the game to extra time. With no winner decided after overtime, the Falcons' Samuels-Thomas scored the only shootout tally to receive the hard earned shootout victory.

Game two would prove to be a different story as UNO scored their first two goals in the last two minutes of the first and second periods before the Falcons could get on the board. Samuels-Thomas netted his second goal of the weekend straight off a faceoff in the UNO zone, but was quickly answered by Maverick Rich Purslow's second score of the game to make the score 3-1. Nebraska Omaha goalie Jeremie Dupont stopped 15-of-16 Falcon shots on goal to finalize the game at 3-1, good for a Maverick win.

A NIGHT OF FIRSTS
Friday (Oct. 30) marked a night where three Bowling Green players scored their first goal in their Falcon careers. Brian Potacco (So., F), Nathan Pageau (Fr., F) and Jordan Samuels-Thomas (Fr., F) netted goals against the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks, accounting for all the BG scoring in the game. Pageau also tallied his first career assist on Samuels-Thomas' goal prior to scoring his own goal.

The night also marked the first time Bowling Green participated in a shootout during conference regular season play. Samuels-Thomas scored the only goal during the shootout, beating UNO goalie John Faulkner stick-side for the win.

GYMNAST OR GOALIE?
On the same night three Falcons, including two freshmen, scored their first career goals at the college level, freshman goaltender Andrew Hammond 'stood on his head' and posted a career night in net. Against UNO on Friday (Oct. 30), Hammond made a career-high 43 saves on 46 Maverick shots over 65:00, allowing only three goals to Nebraska Omaha. Nineteen of those saves came in the second period alone. He then took his position between the posts for the overtime shootout and saved all three UNO attempts to solidify the BGSU shootout win.

FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS - (5-3-0, 0-2-0-0)
After a hot start winning five of their first six games, the Ferris State Bulldogs dropped their last two contests, both to CCHA opponent Alaska. After dropping the conference opener 3-1 on the road to the Nanooks, the Bulldogs faced another heartbreaking setback after suffering a 3-2 overtime loss in which the game winning goal was scored by AF's Ron Meyers with 0:15 remaining in the OT period. Over the weekend, nine FSU players scored a single point with goals coming from Blair Riley, Aaron Lewicki and Zach Redmond. Prior to the series against Alaska, the Bulldogs pulled out wins against Canisius, Connecticut and two over Robert Morris by a combined score of 22-8.

Riley and Lewicki lead the team in goals (4) and Riley is second on the team in points (6). Cody Chupp and Derek Graham both sport lines of 1-6--7, leading the team in points and assists. Lewicki currently leads the team in power play snipes having two of the team's eight power play goals. Ferris State runs a two-man committee at goaltender with junior Pat Nagle and sophomore Taylor Nelson. Both netminders have a sub-2.00 GAA and have saved more than .925 percent of shots against them. Nagle currently ranks sixth in the nation in GAA (1.48) and is 13th in save percentage (.938). Nelson, however, is more susceptible to allowing the power play goal having done so four times compared to Nagle's two. Nelson has also allowed one short-handed goal to Nelson's zero.

The Bulldogs rank 14th nationally in the penalty kill (.870) after neutralizing 40-of-46 penalties they have committed. They are also tops in the conference in shots on goal against their opponent with 38.4 per game. Of their 307 total shots between the posts, only 25 have hit home (.081). In conference, FSU have put 50 shots on goal in two games but only have two goals to show for it (.040).

Ferris State is led by 18th year head coach Bob Daniels. He holds a 274-324-63 (.462) mark in his career to date and led his team to a 12-19-7 (9-14-5, CCHA) record in 2008-09. Placing fifth in the CCHA standings last season, the Daniels-led Bulldogs lost in the first round of the conference tournament to UNO in two games.

BEGINNING THE CCHA SEASON
In 40 years worth of conference openers, the Falcons have an extensive 40 year resume. The Falcons are:
1-8-1 since 2000 (last win, 10/14/08 vs. Alaska, 1-0)
1-8-1 in their last 10
4-9-2 in their last 15
7-11-2 in their last 20
20-18-3 in history (1-0-1 as part of the MCHA)

MICHIGAN STATE'S DEREK GRANT NAMED CCHA ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that forward Derek Grant of Michigan State has been named the CCHA Rookie of the Month for October.

Grant is tied for first in the nation in scoring among rookies with 10 points, including four goals and six assists. His scoring line ties him for second place overall in the CCHA behind teammate Corey Tropp. Grant has also been effective on the Spartan powerplay with a 3-4-7 line, which ranks second in the conference behind Tropp as well. His 1.25 point-per-game average ranks fourth nationally among rookies who have appeared in more than one game. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound forward began the season on a six-game scoring streak to help MSU claim a 6-2-0 record overall.

Grant was named CCHA Rookie of the Week for Oct. 12 after helping the Spartans sweep Clarkson the opening weekend of the season. He tallied a goal and an assist in his first career game on Oct. 9 and finished with the same totals in the second game. The 19-year old forward followed that performance with two assists in MSU's Oct. 16 road win at Maine, marking his third straight multiple-point game. Grant added a goal in each game of a series split with No. 1-ranked Miami, Oct. 23-24.

Alaska forward Andy Taranto, Lake Superior forward Domenic Mondardo, Miami forward Curtis McKenzie, Michigan forward Chris Brown, Nebraska-Omaha goaltender John Faulkner, Notre Dame goaltender Mike Johnson and Western Michigan forward Trevor Elias earned special mention for CCHA Rookie of the Month for October.

BOWLING GREEN ON NATIONAL TELEVISION THIS SEASON
Bowling Green hockey will be displayed on a national setting twice for the 2009-10 season. The first occurrence will be during the away contest at Michigan on Feb. 9, 2010. That game will be broadcast on Comcast Cable at 7:35 p.m. The second occasion will be at Michigan State on Feb. 26, 2010 when Fox Sports Network-Detroit will air the Falcons and the Spartans dropping the puck at 6:05 p.m. Select BGSU home games will be broadcast locally on BCSN.

KYLE PAGE NAMED CAPTAIN FOR 2009-10; SOLWAY AND DEE AS ASSISTANT CAPTAINS
With a team that is as young as the Falcon squad is (8-SR, 4-JR, 4-SO, 10-FR), it is only fitting that seniors Kyle Page and Tommy Dee along with junior David Solway have been named the captains of the 2009-10 BGSU Falcons. Dee and Solway will dawn their assistant captain “A”s.

Page, who was also named captain last season, returns after posting his best offensive season in 2008-09 (4-10--14). As a sophomore, Page was a defensive stalwart for the Brown and Orange with his candidacy for CCHA Defenseman of the Year in 2007-08. He is a two-time winner of the Jim Ruehl Award, given to BGSU's top defensive player. Page also was named to the All-CCHA Rookie Team in 2006-07.

Solway will return as the team's leading point-getter from the 2008-09 season (24) at the forward position. He played in all 38 games as a sophomore netting a career-high 12 goals and assisting on 12 others. Dee returns as another reliable scoring threat as a forward. In 2008-09 he scored seven goals and added an assist to finish the year with eight points total.

WELCOME TO FALCON COUNTRY!
With the Williams era underway, many new faces have come to Bowling Green, Ohio. Ten new players and three new coaches have been welcomed into the Falcon Family for the upcoming season.
Included in this class of freshmen is the 2008-09 OJHL scoring champion (Nathan Pageau, F), a seventh-round NHL Draft selection of the Atlanta Thrashers (Jordan Samuels-Thomas, F) and a goaltender who is fresh off a 2008-09 Bank Cup Championship (Andrew Hammond, G). Ryan Peltoma (Fr., D), Jerry Freismuth (Fr., F), Ian Ruel (Fr., D), Matt Rodriguez (Fr., F), Max Grover (Fr., F), Reed Rushing (Fr., D), and Robert Shea (Fr., D) round out the freshman class.

On the bench with head coach Dennis Williams will be three new coaches to assist him. Assistant coach Mike Mankowski, most recently of Canisius College (2005-09), brings a wealth of experience and specializes in recruiting. Scott Stirling was brought in and will begin his first season as a coach. after completing an established post-collegiate career as a goaltender with teams from the ECHL, AHL and the Norwegian Hockey League. Doug Slipacoff comes to BGSU as a recent graduate of Neumann College and will reunite with coach Williams after Williams recruited Slipacoff to play for him as a Golden Knight in 2005. Slipacoff played defense for the Knights and was a part of their 2009 Division-III National Championship season.

TALK ABOUT REBOUNDS
Freshman goaltender Andrew Hammond (Surrey, B.C.) had one of the biggest turnarounds in Falcon goaltending history in just a matter of 24 hours. After relieving junior Nick Eno against Providence on Oct. 23 and giving up four goals in 33:39 of play, Hammond returned between the posts for game two of the Falcons-Friars series and played a large role in giving the Falcons a chance to win that game. In a 3-1 loss to PC, Hammond made his second collegiate start making 29 of 31 saves and kept the Friars scoreless for 31:51 before allowing the game-winning goal with less than five minutes remaining in the contest.

THEY COME IN PAIRS
In their latest series of action, senior forwards Tommy Dee and James Perkin were the sole sources of offense for the Falcons and sported multiple point weekends. Tommy Dee had a hand in all the weekend action beginning by scoring both Falcon goals in the team's 8-2 loss on Oct. 23. Perkin assisted on Dee's first goal Friday night, but waited until the following day to score a goal of his own against the Friars. Dee returned the favor by assisting on Perkin's goal. Dee finished the weekend with three points (2-1--3) and Perkin with two (1-1--2).

DYNAMIC DUO
Junior Nick Eno and freshman Andrew Hammond may be battling each other for playing time but together they make for a great one-two punch at the goaltender position. Each goalie had the chance to start at Minnesota State (Oct 9-10). Despite the two losses, Hammond and Eno combined for 69 saves on 76 shots against and both finished saving more than 90 percent of the shots they faced. Head coach Dennis Williams said of Eno, “Five or six of his saves were highlight reel saves that could of went the other direction and really put us in a hole.” As for Hammond, Williams said, “Andrew Hammond was the best player for us out there tonight [Saturday]. He kept us in the game and we just got to find more ways to provide more offense.”

'JuST' A GREAT START
In his debut as a Falcon, freshman Jordan Samuels-Thomas (nicknamed “JST”) shot out of the gate by scoring a team-leading three points in his first weekend of play. Samuels-Thomas received assists on three goals, two in the first game of his career, against Minnesota State (Oct. 9-10). The last Falcon freshman to score a point in the team's season opener was Kevin Schmidt (2005-2009) when he scored a power-play goal versus Merrimack on Oct. 14, 2005. The last freshman to score multiple points in his debut in brown and orange was Jonathan Matumoto on Oct. 22, 2004 when he scored a goal and two assists at Union College. Samuels-Thomas is only the sixth freshman to score in a BG season opener.

OFF TO THE NHL!
Bowling Green has a rich tradition in preparing its hockey players for rich careers in the National Hockey League. For three Falcons from last year's team that could not be truer.

Kevin Schmidt (2005-'09): Before the ECHL season started, the Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate the Wheeling Nailers signed the former Falcon defenseman. In his Falcon career, Schmidt scored 12 goals, 40 assists and was named assistant captain for the 2008-09 season.

Dan Sexton (2007-'09): After signing a two-year entry-level deal with the Anaheim Ducks, Sexton has spent time with the Ducks and its AHL affiliate, San Antonio, before being reassigned to the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL). Sexton was named to the All-CCHA honorable mention team after a 2008-09 season where he played in 38 games, scoring 17 goals and 22 assists.

Brandon Svendsen (2005-'09): Svendsen had signed a contract with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL and put together a four goal and 15 assist season after completing his career with the Falcons. Shortly after the conclusion of the Steelheads season, Svendsen signed a tryout contract with the Ottawa Senators in July 2009. He has since been reassigned to the Elmira Jackals (ECHL). During the 2008-09 season as alternate captain, Svendsen had his best season establishing career highs for points (30), goals (12) and assists (18) with Bowling Green. Overall, the Minnesota native played 148 career games with 76 points (32g-44a) wearing brown and orange.

HAPPY (40TH) BIRTHDAY FALCON HOCKEY!!
A year after celebrating the 25th anniversary of the school's only national championship dating back to the magical 1983-84 season, ending with a quadruple overtime victory over Minnesota-Duluth, Bowling Green State University will celebrate its 40th year of varsity hockey. The first varsity hockey team was fielded in 1969 and had Division-III status as a part of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA).

In their first contest on November 14, 1969 the Falcons, led by head coach Jack Vivian, played Windsor University and came away with an 8-2 win for their first official collegiate victory. The 1969-70 team would go on to post a 13-12-5 overall record and finish in first place in the WCHA with a 6-1-1 mark. In their two years in the MCHA, Bowling Green would finish with a combined record of 31-24-6 (13-2-1 MCHA) with two conference first place finishes.

In 1971, BGSU would be one of four schools to charter the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) along with Ohio University, Ohio State University and Saint Louis University. Along with the conference creation, Bowling Green would also garner Division-I status in hockey. In the program's first games under these new stipulations BGSU would thump Ryerson Polytechnical Institute by scores of 9-3 and 9-0. In the Falcons' first CCHA contest, they would beat Ohio University, 5-2. During the 1971-72 season, the Falcons would finish 21-10-2 overall and 6-4-2 in conference play, good for third place.

Bowling Green is the only member of the CCHA to remain an active member for all 39 years (including this year) of the conference's existence. Ohio State left the CCHA during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, but returned for the 1975-76 season.

After 39 years, BGSU has an all-time record of 789-669-94 (.540). Bowling Green's 478 CCHA wins is good for third among current conference teams. Last season, the Falcons finished 11-24-3 overall and 8-19-1 in conference play, placing 12th in the CCHA. They would be bumped from the CCHA Tournament in the first round by Ohio State after 5-4 and 7-1 losses at the hands of the Buckeyes.

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