Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Return Home To Face Ferris State
February 09, 2009 | Ice Hockey
Feb. 9, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO -
Week 17 BGSU Hockey Notes And Stats (vs. Ferris State) 
Games #31 & #32
Ferris State (11-12-7, 8-9-5-2 CCHA) vs. Bowling Green (9-18-3, 6-15-1-0 CCHA)
Feb. 13-14, 2009 • Bowling Green, Ohio (BGSU Ice Arena - 5,000) • 7:05
THIS WEEK
The Bowling Green State University hockey team will have its final two-game home weekend series of the season when the host Ferris State for a pair of games this weekend. The two programs will square off at the BGSU Ice Arena with both games of the Friday-Saturday series starting at 7:05.
RADIO All games this season can be heard on WBGU 88.1 FM. Bob Mills will provide the play-by-play while Kevin McGraw (Friday) and Mike Castellano (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 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 fourth 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 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 did not score in a weekend series for the first time this season when Northern Michigan kept them off the board last week. They had 24 shots between them in the two-game series. 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 20 CCHA games in which they've played together this season, the line has accounted for 23 of the 40 BG goals (58%), collected 33 of the 59 assists (56%) and 56 of the 99 points (57%). For the 28 games this season they have been together, which includes the 20 CCHA games, the line has accounted for 32 of the 64 goals (50%), 43 of the 97 assists (44%) and 75 of 161 points (47%). During one three-week period (Oct. 31-Nov. 15), they combined for 27 points (11-16). In the 28 games they've played as a line, they have accounted for at least one point on 41 of the 64 goals scored, two of the players have been involved in 24 of the 64 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 has 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 26 points and 17 assists this season while he needs one goal to equal his high of 10 in his freshman season. The Roseville, Minn. native's point total is tied for 10th in the CCHA and his assist total is 15th 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 16 games this season with seven multi-point efforts. He is second on the team with 26 points for all games and 22 points (7-15) in CCHA play. Svendsen ranks among the CCHA leaders in four categories for all games and three categories for 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 the last few weeks adding to a more balanced attack and an increased scoring output. Defensemen have scored nine goals and added 15 assists (24 points) over the last 17 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 13 of the last 15 games and 14 of the last 17. 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 has a point in seven of the last 15 games, including three of the last six, and a goal in three of those contests. 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 eight points this season is his career high. He leads the team with 55 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 10 points (4-6), seven points in the last 12 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 11 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 at Northern Michigan and has just six points in the last 17 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 10th in the CCHA for all games and tied for 14th in league play. He ranks among the CCHA leaders in two overall and league-only categories. He has at least one goal in nine of the 15 weekends of play this season and has at least one point in all but five weekends.
PLAYING THE BEST
The Falcons have played 12 of their last 18 games against ranked opponents. The Falcons have gone 4-13-1 over the period with three of the four wins coming against two of the unranked teams, Clarkson and Lake Superior, 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, 8-7-2 against unranked teams. BG's shutout win over Michigan on Jan. 16 was its only one against a ranked team this season.
SEXTON TIED FOR THIRD 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 10 of the last 13 games (17 points (8-9) in those 13 games) and a goal in seven of the last 12 games (eight goals in those 12 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 33 points (13-20) while scoring at least one point in every weekend series except two this season. He has scored a point in a team-best 20 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 third in the CCHA in points and tied for fifth in assists and goals. Sexton has set career highs in all three categories this season. He is among the league leaders in seven overall and six CCHA-only statistical categories. His 23 points (9-14) in CCHA play also leads the team and is tied for seventh in the CCHA. His three game-winning goals for the season is tied for 14th nationally and he is tied for 23rd 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 the only BG goal last weekend against Northern Michigan. He 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 10th 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 16 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 them 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 14-for-85 (16.5%) over the last 13 games while it had converted just five-of-76 (6.6%) opportunities over the previous 13 games. BG is 15-of-131 (11.5%) in their 22 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 on Dec. 13 and started them on the run they are currently on. 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 four of their last 13 games and at least one in 10 of the last 13. They have six games this season with two power-play goals. BG's three power-play goals against Miami two weeks ago was its best total this season against a CCHA foe. On the other side of ledger, the Falcons have held their opposition scoreless on the power-play in eight of the last 14 games killing off 69-of-79 (87.3%) opportunities. BG held Northern Michigan scoreless in nine opportunities last weekend.
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 33 goals in the last 13 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 2.5 goals over the last 13 games. BG has scored three or more goals in eight of their last 13 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 27 games he's played in this season, and 27 of the 30 games 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) that he won both games of a series. He has allowed three or fewer goals in 17 of the 27 games he's started and has a 3.01 goals-against, a little better than one-half a goal better than his career GAA (3.66) coming into this season. He has just 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 .893 save percentage. In 19 league starts, Spratt has a 3.14 goals-against and an .893 save percentage. He has now played in 93 career games, with 90 of those starts. Spratt, who is one of only nine goalies in school history to reach the 2,000-save plateau, has 2,282 career saves, sixth on the BGSU list while his 1,704 stops in CCHA play is fourth-best in school history. Spratt has logged 1,555:29 this season, 10th 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 seven of his last nine games and he has a 2.69 goals-against and a .917 save percentage over the period. He has a 4-4 record in his last nine 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 started one game in each of the last two weekends, the Friday game against Miami (Jan. 30) and the Saturday contest against 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 six of the last 12 games (seven points, 3-4) and eight of the last 17 contests. The Fredonia, N.Y. native is the top scoring defenseman on the team with 10 (4-6) 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 10 games. Bailen was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week for Dec. 15-21 and he is tied for 15th in the CCHA in scoring among first-year players. He has at least one point in five of the last six weekends of play.
FALCON ICE CHIPS
BG has scored in 49 of the 90 periods (regulation time) this season, five less than their opposition...the difference in the number of goals scored, 102 to 68, in favor of the opposition, comes from the fact BG has 13 multi-goal periods this season compared to 30 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 three one-goal losses and two two-goal losses to ranked teams this season...BG is 2-11-2 in Saturday games this season, 7-7-1 in Friday contests...the Falcons are 1-1-3 in their five overtime games this season...BG is 7-8-2 at home this season, 4-7-0-0 in CCHA play...BG leads the CCHA in power-play opportunities with 196 thus far this season...BG's total is third in the country behind only North Dakota and Denver who have had 201 opportunities with the man-advantage...BG is tied for second nationally with seven short-handed goals behind four programs who have scored eight...Minnesota State, Air Force, RIT and Army have eight while BG and Northeastern have seven apiece...BG has now lost a season-high five games in a row scoring only eight goals in those five games while allowing 24...BG is 1-4 at home since the holiday break...BG had problems of late getting shots averaging 22.3 shots per game over the previous seven games before erupting for 44 shots in the Saturday game against Northern Michigan...it was the sixth time they have topped 40 shots in a game this season and the first time they have lost when getting 40 or more shots...BG allowed two short-handed goals in the Saturday loss to Northern Michigan and have now allowed 10 this season...only Nebraska-Omaha (11) has allowed more.
FERRIS STATE NOTES
The Bulldogs are 2-4-4 since the holiday break, but have stayed in the middle of the pack in the CCHA by getting points each weekend...they have earned at least one point in nine of their 11 conference series to date...seven of their last 10 games have either ended in a tie or it was a one-goal decision...FSU is coming off a tie (they lost the shootout) and a 1-0 loss in a home-and-home series against Michigan State...FSU has been a good road team this season posting a 5-2-4 record overall and a 5-1-3-1 record in conference play...their only CCHA road loss was a 4-2 decision at Nebraska-Omaha...FSU has given up two or fewer goals in seven of their last eight games...senior center Brendan Connolly leads the team with 22 points (7-15)...sophomore defenseman Zach Redmond leads the team with 18 assists and has 21 points, which is third in the CCHA among defensive players...13 of Redmond's points have come on the power play...junior Aaron Lewicki leads the team with nine goals and he has added seven assists...senior Justin Lewandowski has eight goals, five of those power-play tallies to lead the team...Ferris State has 13 players with 10 points or more...sophomore Pat Nagle and freshman Taylor Nelson have split time this season in goal...Nelson has played four of the last five games and has a 2.28 goals-against, sixth in the CCHA, and a .916 save percentage while Nagle has a 2.62 goal-against and a .914 save percentage...Nelson is 5-4-4 on the season while Nagle has a record of 6-8-3...17 of their 30 games this season have been either a tie or a one-goal decision.
LAST WEEK
The Falcons managed just one goal in the series at Northern Michigan dropping a 3-0 decision Friday night and a 4-1 contest in the finale...in the first game of the series, NMU scored just over five minutes into the second period and added a second goal just 46 seconds into the third period to build a 2-0 lead...the Falcons had a chance to cut into the deficit with 50 seconds of a 4-on-3 situation and 39 seconds of a 5-on-3 late in the final period, but could not solve NMU goalie Brian Stewart...the Wildcats added a late empty-net goal to make it the final...BG had a 28-23 edge in shots, including a 22-12 edge in the first two periods...Stewart had 28 stops while senior Jimmy Spratt had 20 stops...BG did not score on seven man-advantage situations while NMU was 0-for-6 on the power play...the following night, the Falcons had a huge 44-12 edge in shots, but Stewart was again the story allowing only a BG power-play goal at 13:55 of the final period after the Wildcats had already carved out a 4-0 lead...two of NMU's goals came short-handed as they scored twice in the first period and once in each of the final two periods...BG's goal came on a tipped shot by junior Kai Kantola off a shot attempt by freshman Nick Bailen...junior James Perkin also had an assist on the play...Stewart was credited with 43 saves while sophomore Nick Eno had eight stops...the Falcons were one-of-eight on the power play while NMU was zero-for-three.
NEXT WEEK
BG begins a weekend series against Michigan State with a Friday game (Feb. 20) at 7:05 in East Lansing. The following night the Falcons return for the final home game of the regular season hosting the Spartans for a 5:05 contest.
