Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons and Spartans Battle In Home-And-Home This Weekend
February 16, 2009 | Ice Hockey
Feb. 16, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO -
Week 18 BGSU Notes/Stats (vs. Michigan State) 
Game #33
Bowling Green (10-19-3, 7-16-1-0 CCHA) at Michigan State (9-18-5, 6-14-4-3 CCHA)
Feb. 20, 2009 • East Lansing, Mich. (Munn Ice Arena - 6,470) • 7:05
Game #34
Michigan State (9-18-5, 6-14-4-3 CCHA) at Bowling Green (10-19-3, 7-16-1-0 CCHA)
Feb. 21, 2009 • Bowling Green, Ohio (BGSU Ice Arena - 5,000) • 5:05
THIS WEEK
The Bowling Green State University hockey team has a home-and-home series against Michigan State. The two teams will square off in East Lansing on Friday in a 7:05 p.m. contest. The two programs will then conclude the series with a game Saturday at 5:05 in Bowling Green. The Saturday game will be the final home game for BG's three seniors - goalie Jimmy Spratt, defenseman Kevin Schmidt and forward Brandon Svendsen.
RADIO
All games this season can be heard on WBGU 88.1 FM. Bob Mills will provide the play-by-play while Brian Fisher (Friday) and Everett Fitzhugh (Saturday) will provide 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 Saturday will air live on Fox Sports Detroit. Dan Dickerson will provide the play-by-play for the game while Central Collegiate Hockey Association Associate Commissioner Fred Pletsch is the analyst.
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 make his last appearance on the show this season on Feb. 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 had three points in the split with Ferris State last weekend. Svendsen had both goals in the Friday game and Sexton had an assist on one of Svendsen's tallies. They have combined to score seven points in three games this season - vs. Nebraska-Omaha (10/31 - 3-4), vs. Ohio State (1/9 - 2-5) and Lake Superior (1/24 - 3-4). In the 22 CCHA games in which they've played together this season, the line has accounted for 25 of the 45 BG goals (56%), collected 34 of the 68 assists (50%) and 59 of the 113 points (52%). For the 30 games this season they have been together, which includes the 22 CCHA games, the line has accounted for 34 of the 69 goals (49%), 44 of the 106 assists (42%) and 78 of 175 points (45%). During one three-week period (Oct. 31-Nov. 15), they combined for 27 points (11-16). In the 30 games they've played as a line, they have accounted for at least one point on 43 of the 69 goals scored, two of the players have been involved in 25 of the 69 goals and they have combined as a line to score seven times.
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 had both goals in the Friday loss to Ferris State, his second two-goal game of the season and his career (other came in season opener vs. RIT). He had career-best four-point weekends against Lake Superior (Jan. 23-24, 2-2), Ohio State (Jan. 9-10, 0-4) and Nebraska-Omaha (Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 1-3) this season. He has had a career-high three points in a game against Lake Superior (Nov. 8, 1-2; and Jan. 24, 1-2) and Ohio State (Jan. 9, 0-3). One of the alternate captains, Svendsen has career bests of 28 points, 17 assists and 11 goals this season. His two-goal performance against Ferris State pushed his season total past his previous high of 10 in his freshman season. The Roseville, Minn. native's point total is tied for 12th in the CCHA and his assist total is tied for 16th in the league. He has three short-handed goals this season, which is first in the CCHA and tied for third nationally. He has five for his career. Svendsen has a point in 17 games this season with eight multi-point efforts. He is second on the team with 28 points for all games and tied for the team lead with Dan Sexton with 24 points (9-15) in CCHA play. Svendsen ranks among the CCHA leaders in five categories for all games and league games only. He has at least one point in all but four weekends this season.
OFFENSE FROM THE DEFENSE
The defensive corp has come up big at the offensive end since mid-November adding to a more balanced attack and an increased scoring output. Defensemen have scored nine goals and added 20 assists (29 points) over the last 19 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 and that has happened a total of four times this season. The defense has at least one point in 15 of the last 17 games and 16 of the last 19. 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)
PAGE DOING IT BOTH WAYS
Known as a defensive defenseman for most of his career, junior captain Kyle Page has added an offensive side to his game of late. Page led the team with three points, all assists, in the Ferris State series last week. He had one assist Friday night and a pair of assists, including one on the game-winner, on Saturday. It was the first two-point game of his career (104 games). Page has a point in nine of the last 17 games, including five of the last eight. Page did not have a goal in the first 87 games of his career and had a point in only six of his first 87 contests. Page's goal in the Jan. 23 victory over Lake Superior turned out to be the game-winner, the first of his career. Page, a Wixon, Mich. native, is the leader of the defense and also plays on penalty-kill and power-play units. Page's 11 points (3-8) this season is a career high. He had five career points coming into this season. He leads the team with 59 blocked shots.
OTHERS DOING THE DAMAGE
In addition to Kyle Page, a number of the defensemen have chipped in at the offensive end. Freshman Nick Bailen has 12 points (4-8), nine points in the last 14 games. Senior alternate captain Kevin Schmidt has seven points (3-4) this season, two of his goals coming short-handed. And sophomore Andrew Krelove has an assist in three of the last 13 games after not scoring in the first 19 contests this season. Krelove had three points in 26 games in his first season at Bowling Green.
SOLWAY LOOKING FOR THE RETURN OF HIS OFFENSE
Sophomore David Solway did not have a point last weekend against Ferris State and has just six points in the last 19 games after scoring 14 points in the first 13 contests of the year. He is third on the team with 20 points (11-9). He has a point in 14 games this season with five 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 the 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 11 goals, nine assists and 20 points this season. The Green Bay, Wis. native has 15 points (8-7) in CCHA play, third on the team. His goal totals are tied for 13th in the CCHA for all games and tied for 18th in league play (eight goals). He has at least one goal in nine of the 16 weekends of play this season and has at least one point in all but six weekends.
PLAYING THE BEST
The Falcons have played 12 of their last 20 games against ranked opponents. The Falcons have gone 5-14-1 over the period with four of the five wins coming against three of the unranked teams, Clarkson, Lake Superior and Ferris State, they played in the stretch. Four of the games in the stretch were against CCHA leader and former #1 Notre Dame while Minnesota State, Ohio State, Michigan and Miami were also ranked. The Falcons are 1-11-1 this season against the ranked teams they've played, 9-8-2 against unranked teams. BG's shutout win over Michigan on Jan. 16 was its only victory 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 has a point in 11 of the last 15 games (18 points (8-10) in those 15 games) and a goal in seven of the last 14 games (eight goals in those 14 games). He had a five-game goal-scoring streak and a six-game point streak, both career bests, end when BG was shutout by Michigan on Jan. 17. He had six goals and 10 points during the 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 other was against Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 31). The Apple Valley, Minn. native leads the team with 34 points (13-21) while scoring at least one point in every weekend series except two this season. He has scored a point in a team-best 21 games and has a team-best 11 contests with two or more points, including two games with three points (Ohio State, Jan. 9, 1-2; RIT, Oct. 10, 0-3). He is tied for fourth in the CCHA in points and tied for sixth in assists and 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 24 points (9-15) in CCHA play is tied for the team lead with Brandon Svendsen and is tied for eighth in the CCHA. His three game-winning goals for the season is tied for 19th nationally and he is tied for 33rd in the nation in points.
KANTOLA IS LIGHTING THE LAMP
Junior forward Kai Kantola is tied for second on the team with 11 goals this season. The Raleigh, N.C. native had 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. Following that series, he had single goals in three of the next six 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 14 points (11-3). He is tied for 13th in the CCHA in goals scored. Kantola, who has a point in 11 games this season, has four goals in league play. Kantola has nine points (7-2) in the last 18 games. His goal total this season matches his career total coming into the season while his 14 points is a career high.
POWER PLAY HAVING SOME RECENT SUCCESS
The Falcons had five power-play goals in the first four games of the season. But, it took the next 11 games to get five more man-advantage tallies. Of late, BG has been much more productive on the power-play and more successful on the penalty kill. The power-play is 15-for-96 (15.6%) over the last 15 games while it had converted just five-of-76 (6.6%) opportunities over the previous 13 games. BG is 16-of-142 (11.3%) in their 24 league games with the man-advantage. BG has a pair of power-play goals in four of their last 15 games and at least one in 11 of the last 15. They have six games this season with two power-play goals. BG's three power-play goals against Miami (Jan. 30-31) was its best total this season against a CCHA foe. On the other side of the ledger, the Falcons have held their opposition scoreless on the power-play in 10 of the last 16 games killing off 77-of-87 (88.5%) opportunities over the span. BG has not given up a power-play goal in any of the last four games and has killed off 20 consecutive opposition power-play 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 38 goals in the last 15 games after having scored just 11 times in the previous seven contests. BG's eight goals in the Ohio State (Jan. 9-10) and Lake Superior (Jan. 23-24) series, was its best offensive weekends 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 2.53 goals over the last 15 games. BG has scored three or more goals in nine of their last 15 games, after reaching that mark seven times in the first 17 contests of the year.
SPRATT AMONG BGSU LEADERS
Senior goaltender Jimmy Spratt has started all 29 games he's played in this season, and 29 of the 32 contests BG has played this year. 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 (Jan. 16) making 29 stops to record the only BG shutout in the history of the series with the Wolverines. 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 (Jan. 16-17). 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. In the Michigan series, he stopped 67-of-68 shots (.985) with a 0.51 goals-against. The series with NMU and Clarkson were the first since his freshman season (Nov. 4-5, 2005 vs. Nebraska-Omaha - his second and third career starts) in which he won both games of a series. He has allowed three or fewer goals in 19 of the 29 games he's started and he has a 2.94 goals-against, a little better than one-half a goal better than his career GAA (3.66) coming into this season. He has seven games of 30 or more saves this season with a season-high 38 saves against Michigan (Jan. 16) and Miami (Jan. 31). He has an .896 save percentage. In 21 league starts, Spratt has a 3.03 goals-against and an .896 save percentage. He has now played in 95 career games, with 92 of those starts. Spratt, who is one of only nine goalies in school history to reach the 2,000-save plateau, has 2,333 career saves, sixth on the BGSU list while his 1,755 stops in CCHA play is tied for third in school history. Spratt has logged 1,555:29 this season, eighth among all goalies in the nation this season, and second in the CCHA to Notre Dame's Jordan Pearce. Spratt, who is currently in his best run of the season, has given up three or fewer goals in nine of his last 11 games and he has a 2.56 goals-against and a .919 save percentage over the period. He has a 5-5 record in his last 11 games.
ENO BACK IN ACTION
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. He has also started games against Miami (Jan. 30) and Northern Michigan (Feb. 7). 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.
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 seven of the last 14 games (nine points, 3-6) and nine of the last 19 contests. The Fredonia, N.Y. native is the top scoring defenseman on the team with 12 (4-8) points. He is also an important part of the power-play unit with three man-advantage markers, tied for fourth 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 12 games. Bailen has his second two-point game of the season and first two-assist game with two helpers in the the Friday loss to Ferris State. Bailen was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week for Dec. 15-21 and he is 14th in the CCHA in scoring among first-year players. He has at least one point in six of the last seven weekends of play.
SENIORS WILL BE HONORED SATURDAY
The three BG seniors will play their final home game Saturday and will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony. Goalie Jimmy Spratt, defenseman Kevin Schmidt and forward Brandon Svendsen have played in a combined 378 BGSU contests during their careers. Spratt has started 29 games this season and 92 in his career. He has a 3.43 career goals-against and a career .883 save percentage. Schmidt has played in 141 games with 11 goals and 38 assists for 49 points. Svendsen has played in 142 games scoring 31 goals and adding 43 assists for 74 points. Schmidt and Svendsen are the alternate captains on this year's squad.
FALCON ICE CHIPS
BG has scored in 53 of the 96 periods (regulation time) this season, four less than their opposition...the difference in the number of goals scored, 106 to 73, in favor of the opposition, comes from the fact BG has 14 multi-goal periods this season compared to 31 for the opposition...BG was 3-3-2 in games outside the CCHA this season...the Falcons played 20 games before January this year for the first time since the 2001-02 season...BG has three one-goal losses and two two-goal losses to ranked teams this season...BG is 3-11-2 in Saturday games this season, 7-8-1 in Friday contests...BG's win over Ferris State last week was its first on a Saturday in the second half of the season...the Falcons are 1-1-3 in their five overtime games this season...BG is 8-9-2 at home this season, 5-8-0-0 in CCHA play...BG is 2-10-1 on the road this season, 2-8-1 in CCHA play...BG leads the CCHA in power-play opportunities with 207 thus far this season...BG's total is tied for second in the country behind only North Dakota (217)...Denver also has had 207 opportunities with the man-advantage...BG is tied for fifth nationally with seven short-handed goals...only Minnesota State (10), Air Force (9), Army (9) and RIT (8) have more than BG...BG has allowed 10 short-handed goals this season...only Nebraska-Omaha (12) has allowed more....the Falcons broke their season-high six-game losing streak with their win over Ferris State Saturday...if the season is any indication, goals will be at a premium this weekend against Michigan State...BG has 17 goals (1.88 average) over the last nine games and MSU has 14 (1.55 average)...sophomore Wade Finegan scored his second career goal in the win over Ferris State Saturday and it turned out to be the game-winner, the first of his career...the other two goals for the Falcons in the win over Ferris State came from players, James Perkin and Tommy Dee, who had four goals each this season coming into the game.
MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
Michigan State, much like Bowling Green, has struggled to score goals this season which could make the first goal scored in both games this weekend very important...MSU is last in the CCHA in scoring and 56th among 58 Division I teams in the country averaging 1.66 goals per game...the Spartans have two wins and two ties (one shootout win) in their last four games after losing their previous five contests...MSU has scored two or fewer goals in 27 games this season, one or fewer in 16 contests...senior forward Matt Schepke leads the Spartans in goals (13) and points (21)...he also leads the team with five power-play markers...he has nine goals (three on the power play) and 15 points in CCHA play to lead the squad...freshman forward Daultan Leveille (7-6) and senior forward Tim Crowder (4-9) both have 13 points...Crowder as a second-team preseason All-CCHA selection...the top scoring defenseman for the Spartans is sophomore Jeff Petry with 12 points (2-10)...senior Jeff Lerg, a first-team preseason all-conference pick, is 8-16-3 this season with a 2.70 goals-against and a .924 save percentage, fourth in the CCHA and 14th nationally...Lerg has started 27 games this season and has two shutouts, both in league play...MSU was 0-10-2 in the middle portion of this season, but they have compiled a 5-7-2 mark in their last 14 games...MSU comes into the games this weekend tied for 10th in the CCHA with Lake Superior, four points in front of Bowling Green...the Spartans conclude their regular season with a home-and-home series against CCHA leader Notre Dame...head coach Rick Comley is in his seventh season at Michigan State and has a 151-103-29 record...he has a career record of 748-578-100 in 36 years as a collegiate head coach...former BGSU player and coach Tom Newton is in his 19th season as an assistant coach at Michigan State.
LAST WEEK
The Falcons fought back twice to tie the score in their Friday game with Ferris State only to see the Bulldogs score the clincher at 14:08 of the third period in a 3-2 win. After FSU opened the scoring with a goal in the second period, Bowling Green tied it 30 seconds into the final stanza on a Brandon Svendsen goal. At 10:15, Ferris State took the lead again, but it was short-lived as Svendsen got his second of the game at 12:21, on the power play, to tie the game. Freshman defenseman Nick Bailen had assists on both BG goals. BG had a 36-28 edge in shots and senior Jimmy Spratt made 25 saves. Pat Nagle made 34 stops for Ferris State as the Bulldogs were 0-for-5 on the power play while BG converted once in seven tries. Saturday night, BG controlled a majority of the play in taking a 3-1 decision to break a six-game losing skid. BG scored at 9:27 of the first period (junior James Perkin) and 13:49 of the middle period (sophomore Wade Finegan) to take a 2-0 lead. FSU would cut the deficit in half with a tally at 14:12 of the second period, but that was all they would get against Spratt, who made 26 saves. Junior Tommy Dee gave the Falcons some breathing room with a goal at 5:52 of the final period. The Bulldogs won the shot battle, 27-22, and goalie Taylor Nelson was credited with 19 stops. Niether team scored with the man-advantage, FSU with three opportunities and Bowling Green with four.
NEXT WEEK BG closes out the 2008-09 regular season with a road series at Western Michigan. Both games of the Feb. 27-28 series will begin at 7:35 p.m.
