Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, January 20
Fairbanks, Alaska
11:05 p.m.
Bowling Green State University
at
Alaska
Photo by: Todd Pavlack / BGSUHockey.com
Falcons Look For Revenge This Weekend In Alaska
January 18, 2012 | Ice Hockey
Bowling Green looks to avenge their sweep to the Nanooks earlier this season
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY FALCONS
at
ALASKA-FAIRBANKS NANOOKS
January 20-21, 2012
Carlson Center
7:05 p.m. AT/ 11:05 p.m. EST
at
ALASKA-FAIRBANKS NANOOKS
January 20-21, 2012
Carlson Center
7:05 p.m. AT/ 11:05 p.m. EST
Falcons Last Weekend
The Bowling Green State University ice hockey team skated to a 2-2 regulation tie with Ohio State last Saturday night, eventually defeating the Buckeyes in a CCHA shootout. Freshman Ted Pletsch and junior Marc Rodriquez lit-the-lamp for the Falcons, while junior goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped 18-of-20 shots in the contest. Bryce Williamson and Ryan Carpenter scored in the shootout.
The Falcons rallied late to tie Ohio State 1-1 in regulation last Sunday, before once again defeating the Buckeyes in a CCHA shootout. Sophomore Cam Wojtala scored the lone regulation goal for the Falcons, while junior goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped 31-of-32 shots in the contest. Adam Berkle and Marc Rodriguez scored in the shootout for the Falcons.
Hello Mr. Rodriguez
The goal scored by junior Marc Rodriguez marks his first point since Jan. 8 of last year, when he registered an assist in a 3-1 loss to Ferris State. Rodriguez's last goal scored came against Holy Cross last season (Dec 30, 2010) in a 3-2 Falcon win.
Uncharted Waters
Saturday's regulation tie marks Bowling Green's first tie of the year when carrying a lead into the final period. The Falcons were previously 6-1-0, suffering their only loss (3-2) at the hands of Notre Dame on Oct. 29, 2011.
The Streak Grows
The Falcons have not recorded a win in regulation since Nov. 12 against Canisius, extending their current regulation winless streak to 12 games.
Ties For Days
Bowling Green has recorded five regulation ties already this season, passing their season total from last year (2010-2011). Coach Bergeron now has nine overall regulation ties since taking the helm for Bowling Green.
Party Of Two
Bowling Green's two-goal output Saturday marks the first time the Falcons have scored more than one goal in almost a month. The Falcons netted three goals against Western Michigan (Dec 09, 2011) in a 3-3 tie at the BGSU Ice Arena, then failed to score over one goal in three straight games.
Almost There
Junior Andrew Hammond is one win away from getting his seventh win of the year, which would set a personal best for wins in a season.
Shootout Plans
After Sunday night's game, the Falcons are now 3-1 in CCHA shootout action. The Falcons only shootout loss came against Western Michigan (Dec 09, 2011) at the BGSU Ice Arena. In fact, the last three games at the BGSU Ice Arena have gone to a shootout.
Ted Pletsch
After failing to secure a point in the first 12 games of the season, freshman Ted Pletsch has warmed up. After netting his first career goal against Michigan State (Dec 02, 201), Pletsch has scored two goals in the past four games, giving him three on the season. Pletsch added an assist on Sunday.
Welcome Back Wojtala
Wojtala's goal in the final minute of play Sunday snapped a 10 game point drought, dating back to his two-assist effort against Canisius (Nov. 12, 2011).
Many Saves
Hammond's 31-save performance Sunday marks his fourth 30+ save effort on the year. Bowling Green is now 0-3-1 when Hammond makes 30 saves or more in a game.
The Last Time
Next weekend's away set with Alaska-Fairbanks marks the first opponent the Falcons will play a second time in the 2011-12 season. The Falcons played the Nanooks at the BGSU Ice Arena Nov. 25-26, dropping both contests 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. The weekend shutouts marked the first time in program history that Bowling Green had been shut out in a weekend set against a CCHA opponent. Nanook goaltender Scott Greenham stopped a total of 39 shots over the weekend, recording his second and third shutouts of the season.
Breaking Out
The Falcons have only been able to achieve one CCHA regulation victory so far this year, defeating Lake Superior 1-0 back in late October. Looking at last season, Bowling Green was 1-1 coming out of the break week, splitting a home set with the Lakers in Bowling Green last season.
Heading To Alaska
Bowling Green heads to Alaska this weekend to take on the Nanooks. The Falcons have not had much success there as of late. The last time Bowling Green defeated the Nanooks in Alaska was during the 2008-2009 campaign. Brandon Svendsen scored the lone goal for the Falcons in a 1-0 win (10/24/08), while Jimmy Spratt was credited with the victory.
Trouble With The Nanooks
Bowling Green is currently on a five-game losing streak to Alaska Fairbanks, dating back to the 2009-10 season. The last Falcon win came at the BGSU Ice Arena on Nov. 13, 2009. The Falcons defeated the #9 ranked Nanooks 3-1, with goals from Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Josh Boyd and Tommy Dee. Nick Eno stopped 24-of-25 shots in the win.
CCHA Dominance
The release of the recent national poll shows eight CCHA schools ranked in the top 20. Northern Mich. received votes as well, while Alaska and BGSU are the only two CCHA schools not represented.
Scouting Alaska
The Nanooks carry a great deal of depth up front, boasting seven players with double-digit points. Sophomore forward Cody Kunyk leads all scorers with 17 points on the year, while fellow sophomore Colton Beck is right behind him with 16 points. Senior Aaron Gens leads all Nanook defenders with 10 points this season. Gens recorded two assists against the Falcons in their last meeting, helping Alaska to a 2-0 win.
Senior Scott Grenham continues to log most of the minutes between the pipes, starting in 20 games so far this season. Greenham has a record of 6-10-4 on the year, with a 2.52 goals-against-average. The Ontario native carries a .901 save percentage, with three shutouts (two against the Falcons) on the year.
Like Bowling Green, Alaska struggles to score goals as well, ranking second to last in the CCHA (2.32). The Nanooks have improved greatly in the power-play department, moving up from the bottom of the pack to eighth (14.6) since the teams last met. The Nanooks have dropped in the penalty-kill department however, only killing off 81.4 percent of their penalty kills.
Radio
All games this season can be heard on the radio by tuning into 88.1 WBGU-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.
LiveStats
Live stats for all BGSU home games are available on the BGSU website- 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”.
Falcons And The Media
Every week, BGSU ice hockey head coach Chris Bergeron and select players will meet with the local media to discuss the previous weekend and upcoming opponents.
BG Hockey Postgame 10.17
Saturday, October 18
BG Hockey Press Conference : Coach Williams 10.14
Thursday, October 16
BG Hockey Press Conference 10.7
Tuesday, October 07
BG Hockey Postgame 10.4
Sunday, October 05