Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, October 7
Bowling Green, Ohio
7:05 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
vs
UConn
Falcons Open The Season This Weekend Against UConn
October 05, 2011 | Ice Hockey
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
vs.
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HUSKIES
October 7-8, 2011
BGSU ICE ARENA
7:05 p.m. / 7:05 p.m. EST
Opening The 2011-12 Season
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team will open the 2011-12 season at home against the University of Connecticut this coming weekend (Oct. 7-8). The last time the Falcons and Huskies met was in the 2006-07 season opener, which ended in a 2-1 overtime win for Bowling Green. Goaltender Jimmy Spratt allowed just one goal on 17 Connecticut shots on the way to the win. Jonathon Matsumoto registered the first goal in regulation, while Derek Whitmore scored the overtime winner just 46 seconds into the extra frame. BGSU posted an 8 - 29 – 2 record that season.
Strong Exhibition
The Falcons battled the University of Ontario Institute of Technology last Sunday (Oct. 2) in exhibition play to open live action for the 2011-12 season. James McIntosh, Mike Fink, and Jake Sloat each scored a pair of goals in the contest, while Camden Wojtala added one of his own to help BGSU to the 7-4 victory.
BGSU dominated in the shot department, outshooting UOIT 48-17. The Falcons also dominated in the face-off circle, winning 64 percent of the draws. Freshman Wyatt Galley was credited with the win, despite all three net minders seeing action. The Falcon win marked the first meeting between the two programs.
Keep It Rolling
As the No. 11 seed in the 11-team CCHA last year, Bowling Green was expected to go down in the CCHA Tournament first round without much of a fight against sixth-seeded Northern Michigan. Considering no bottom seed had even won one game in the first round since 2004, the odds were stacked against the Falcons. After losing the opener 6-3, it appeared even more-so that the season was about to end. But Bowling Green rallied behind the goaltending of Andrew Hammond for a 2-0 victory to force a decisive game three. And in that contest, Bryce Williamson's double overtime game-winner made Bowling Green the first bottom seed in CCHA history to win a best-of-three series.
Bowling Green in the National Spotlight
Bowling Green will have an opportunity to showcase the hockey program this coming season with two nationally televised games. The first will be a home game against Notre Dame on Oct. 29, 2011. The second will be an away contest against Michigan State on Dec. 3, 2011. Both games will be aired on Comcast, while Fox Sports Detroit will most likely carry Falcon playoff action in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.
Familiar Name, New Faces
Part of the incoming freshman class is goaltender Wyatt Galley. The Ottawa, Ontario native is the son of Falcon great Garry Galley, who was elected to the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
Galley helped the Falcons reach the pinnacle of college hockey by winning the 1984 NCAA title with a thrilling 5-4 win over Minnesota-Duluth in four overtimes. Galley was named to the all-tournament team at the national tournament, which was played at Lake Placid, N.Y. Galley still holds school records for points in a season by a defenseman (67, 1983-84) and assists in a season by a defenseman (52, 1983-84). Galley's 152 career points tied him with Chuck Gyles for second among the highest scoring defensemen in BG history.
Familiar Name, New Faces Part Two
Another member of the freshman class is Canton, Mich. native Ted Pletsch, son of CCHA Commissioner Fred Pletsch. Pletsch comes to BGSU after posting 80 points in 153 career games for the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the CJHL.
Big Changes
The Falcons once again welcomed in an extremely large freshman class, adding nine new faces to the program for the coming season. Four defensemen, four forwards, and one goalie were added with size and winning attitude in mind. With the exception of freshmen forward Dan DeSalvo (5'6, 160lbs.), the average height of the incoming class is over 6-foot-1 while the average weight is just under 200 pounds. Connor Kucera (Fr., D), Adam Berkle (Fr., F), Mike Sullivan (Fr., D), Ryan Carpenter (Fr., F), Marcus Perrier (Fr., D) and Rusty Hafner (Fr., D) round out the freshman class.
Big Changes Part Two
Along with a large freshman class, the Falcons welcome Shane Connelly as the new Director of Hockey operations. Connelly brings a wealth of hockey knowledge and experience to BGSU after playing stints at the junior, collegiate, and professional level.
Prior to college, the former goaltender played junior hockey for two seasons with the Chicago Steel (USHL) where he posted a record of 34-30-4 in 74 appearances. Connelly played four seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin (WCHA) from 2005 to 2009. His career goals-against average (2.39), save percentage (.913), and shutout total (eight) each rank top five in Badgers history. Recording 19 of his 41 career victories as a senior in 2008-09, Connelly also won three games as a freshman backup during Wisconsin's run to the NCAA Championship in 2005-06.
After graduating from Wisconsin in 2009 with a degree in Communications, Connelly joined the ECHL as a member of the Johnstown Chiefs. Over parts of two seasons in the ECHL, Connelly split time between the Johnstown Chiefs, South Carolina Stingrays, Elmira Jackals, Trenton Devils, and Utah Grizzlies. In 74 ECHL appearances, Connelly compiled a record of 25-30-11 including five shutouts, with a 3.14 goals-against average and 0.900 save percentage.
Taking a look at UConn
The University of Connecticut Huskies come into Bowling Green after posting a 15-18-4 record and advancing to the Atlantic Hockey Association Semifinals a year ago. Connecticut reached the AHA Semifinals in 2010-11 for the first time since 2006-07. UConn returns eight of the top-nine scorers from last season, including All-Rookie selection Cole Schneider and team captain Sean Ambrosie. Schneider returns after posting a freshmen school record 33 points last season for the Huskies. Junior goaltender Garrett Bartus also returns for the Huskies after ranking second in the nation last season with 1085 saves. Bartus recorded 30 or more saves on 21 different occasions in 2010-2011.
UConn faced off against Ryerson last weekend in their only exhibition match before the start of the season. Ironically, UConn also defeated their exhibition opponent by a score of 7-4, with pairs of goals coming from three different players. Senior Marcello Ranallo, junior Miles Winter and freshman Ryan Tyson each scored a goal in the contest to help UConn to the 7-4 win.
Low Numbers
Going into the 2011-2012 season, the Falcons offense carries over questions stemming from last season. As individuals, not one Falcon has over 20 career points. Junior Marc Rodriguez leads the team with 20 career points while senior James McIntosh and sophomore Brett Moehler come in close behind with 18 and 17 points respectively.
As a team, the Falcons also ranked last in offense among the rest of the CCHA. The Falcons only managed 1.46 goals-per-game last season, while ranking last on the power play with a 10.2 percent conversion rate.
Opening Day Quick Facts
- In BGSU history, the Falcons are 22-20 on opening day.
- The last time Bowling Green played a non CCHA opponent on opening weekend was in 2009, when the Falcons played future conference foe Minnesota State. The Falcons lost 3-2 despite goals from Tomas Petruska and Kyle Page.
- The Falcons' last opening day win against a non CCHA opponent was in 2008 against RIT. Kai Kantola scored two goals in a hard fought 4-2 win.
-Over the past 10 season opening games, the Falcons have played five contests at home and five on the road. Bowling Green owns a record of 3-2 at home, while only managing a record of 1-4 on the road.
-With the large freshmen class, this statistic may come up. The last Falcon freshman to score in a season opening game was defenseman Kevin Schmidt. Schmidt scored against Merrimack College in a 3-2 loss to open the 2005-06 season.
Radio
All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into 88.1 WGBU-FM. Everett Fitzhugh will provide the play-by-play commentary. The pregame show will air 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The broadcast can be heard globally on www.bgsufalcons.com.
Live Stats
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”.
AD Greg Christopher and Coach Bergeron Press Conference concerning WCHA and UConn
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team will open the 2011-12 season at home against the University of Connecticut this coming weekend (Oct. 7-8). The last time the Falcons and Huskies met was in the 2006-07 season opener, which ended in a 2-1 overtime win for Bowling Green. Goaltender Jimmy Spratt allowed just one goal on 17 Connecticut shots on the way to the win. Jonathon Matsumoto registered the first goal in regulation, while Derek Whitmore scored the overtime winner just 46 seconds into the extra frame. BGSU posted an 8 - 29 – 2 record that season.
Strong Exhibition
The Falcons battled the University of Ontario Institute of Technology last Sunday (Oct. 2) in exhibition play to open live action for the 2011-12 season. James McIntosh, Mike Fink, and Jake Sloat each scored a pair of goals in the contest, while Camden Wojtala added one of his own to help BGSU to the 7-4 victory.
BGSU dominated in the shot department, outshooting UOIT 48-17. The Falcons also dominated in the face-off circle, winning 64 percent of the draws. Freshman Wyatt Galley was credited with the win, despite all three net minders seeing action. The Falcon win marked the first meeting between the two programs.
Keep It Rolling
As the No. 11 seed in the 11-team CCHA last year, Bowling Green was expected to go down in the CCHA Tournament first round without much of a fight against sixth-seeded Northern Michigan. Considering no bottom seed had even won one game in the first round since 2004, the odds were stacked against the Falcons. After losing the opener 6-3, it appeared even more-so that the season was about to end. But Bowling Green rallied behind the goaltending of Andrew Hammond for a 2-0 victory to force a decisive game three. And in that contest, Bryce Williamson's double overtime game-winner made Bowling Green the first bottom seed in CCHA history to win a best-of-three series.
Bowling Green in the National Spotlight
Bowling Green will have an opportunity to showcase the hockey program this coming season with two nationally televised games. The first will be a home game against Notre Dame on Oct. 29, 2011. The second will be an away contest against Michigan State on Dec. 3, 2011. Both games will be aired on Comcast, while Fox Sports Detroit will most likely carry Falcon playoff action in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.
Familiar Name, New Faces
Part of the incoming freshman class is goaltender Wyatt Galley. The Ottawa, Ontario native is the son of Falcon great Garry Galley, who was elected to the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
Galley helped the Falcons reach the pinnacle of college hockey by winning the 1984 NCAA title with a thrilling 5-4 win over Minnesota-Duluth in four overtimes. Galley was named to the all-tournament team at the national tournament, which was played at Lake Placid, N.Y. Galley still holds school records for points in a season by a defenseman (67, 1983-84) and assists in a season by a defenseman (52, 1983-84). Galley's 152 career points tied him with Chuck Gyles for second among the highest scoring defensemen in BG history.
Familiar Name, New Faces Part Two
Another member of the freshman class is Canton, Mich. native Ted Pletsch, son of CCHA Commissioner Fred Pletsch. Pletsch comes to BGSU after posting 80 points in 153 career games for the Pembroke Lumber Kings of the CJHL.
Big Changes
The Falcons once again welcomed in an extremely large freshman class, adding nine new faces to the program for the coming season. Four defensemen, four forwards, and one goalie were added with size and winning attitude in mind. With the exception of freshmen forward Dan DeSalvo (5'6, 160lbs.), the average height of the incoming class is over 6-foot-1 while the average weight is just under 200 pounds. Connor Kucera (Fr., D), Adam Berkle (Fr., F), Mike Sullivan (Fr., D), Ryan Carpenter (Fr., F), Marcus Perrier (Fr., D) and Rusty Hafner (Fr., D) round out the freshman class.
Big Changes Part Two
Along with a large freshman class, the Falcons welcome Shane Connelly as the new Director of Hockey operations. Connelly brings a wealth of hockey knowledge and experience to BGSU after playing stints at the junior, collegiate, and professional level.
Prior to college, the former goaltender played junior hockey for two seasons with the Chicago Steel (USHL) where he posted a record of 34-30-4 in 74 appearances. Connelly played four seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Wisconsin (WCHA) from 2005 to 2009. His career goals-against average (2.39), save percentage (.913), and shutout total (eight) each rank top five in Badgers history. Recording 19 of his 41 career victories as a senior in 2008-09, Connelly also won three games as a freshman backup during Wisconsin's run to the NCAA Championship in 2005-06.
After graduating from Wisconsin in 2009 with a degree in Communications, Connelly joined the ECHL as a member of the Johnstown Chiefs. Over parts of two seasons in the ECHL, Connelly split time between the Johnstown Chiefs, South Carolina Stingrays, Elmira Jackals, Trenton Devils, and Utah Grizzlies. In 74 ECHL appearances, Connelly compiled a record of 25-30-11 including five shutouts, with a 3.14 goals-against average and 0.900 save percentage.
Taking a look at UConn
The University of Connecticut Huskies come into Bowling Green after posting a 15-18-4 record and advancing to the Atlantic Hockey Association Semifinals a year ago. Connecticut reached the AHA Semifinals in 2010-11 for the first time since 2006-07. UConn returns eight of the top-nine scorers from last season, including All-Rookie selection Cole Schneider and team captain Sean Ambrosie. Schneider returns after posting a freshmen school record 33 points last season for the Huskies. Junior goaltender Garrett Bartus also returns for the Huskies after ranking second in the nation last season with 1085 saves. Bartus recorded 30 or more saves on 21 different occasions in 2010-2011.
UConn faced off against Ryerson last weekend in their only exhibition match before the start of the season. Ironically, UConn also defeated their exhibition opponent by a score of 7-4, with pairs of goals coming from three different players. Senior Marcello Ranallo, junior Miles Winter and freshman Ryan Tyson each scored a goal in the contest to help UConn to the 7-4 win.
Low Numbers
Going into the 2011-2012 season, the Falcons offense carries over questions stemming from last season. As individuals, not one Falcon has over 20 career points. Junior Marc Rodriguez leads the team with 20 career points while senior James McIntosh and sophomore Brett Moehler come in close behind with 18 and 17 points respectively.
As a team, the Falcons also ranked last in offense among the rest of the CCHA. The Falcons only managed 1.46 goals-per-game last season, while ranking last on the power play with a 10.2 percent conversion rate.
Opening Day Quick Facts
- In BGSU history, the Falcons are 22-20 on opening day.
- The last time Bowling Green played a non CCHA opponent on opening weekend was in 2009, when the Falcons played future conference foe Minnesota State. The Falcons lost 3-2 despite goals from Tomas Petruska and Kyle Page.
- The Falcons' last opening day win against a non CCHA opponent was in 2008 against RIT. Kai Kantola scored two goals in a hard fought 4-2 win.
-Over the past 10 season opening games, the Falcons have played five contests at home and five on the road. Bowling Green owns a record of 3-2 at home, while only managing a record of 1-4 on the road.
-With the large freshmen class, this statistic may come up. The last Falcon freshman to score in a season opening game was defenseman Kevin Schmidt. Schmidt scored against Merrimack College in a 3-2 loss to open the 2005-06 season.
Radio
All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into 88.1 WGBU-FM. Everett Fitzhugh will provide the play-by-play commentary. The pregame show will air 30 minutes prior to the opening face-off. The broadcast can be heard globally on www.bgsufalcons.com.
Live Stats
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”.
AD Greg Christopher and Coach Bergeron Press Conference concerning WCHA and UConn
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