Game Gab - Nightly Post-Game Analysis
Come here after the games for analysis and insights from CHN Staff members.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
Notre Dame 1, Bowling Green 0 - Friday, March 15, 2013
Notre Dame and Bowling Green played scoreless in regulation, before Notre Dame finally scored in overtime. Anders Lee forced a turnover. ND forward Jeff Costello picked it up and fed Bryan Rust for the game winner at 1:07, Rust's 13th of the season and team-best fourth game winner. “I just got on the ice in a line change and was able to get open in the slot,” said Rust in explaining his goal. “Jeff Costello was able to find me and I kicked the puck up to my backhand and was able to score. He (goalie Andrew Hammond) was playing with a lot of confidence. He was unbelievable tonight. You have to give him all the credit in the world." Hammond made 35 saves in the loss.
"I thought the second period was their best, but they were good all night," BG coach Chris Bergeron said of Notre Dame. "They blocked a lot of shots, and made it difficult for us in all three zones. They're a team that exposes you if you don't take care of things, and too many times tonight we didn't, and ultimately it cost us. ... You turn the puck over to people you turn it over to -- we've been preaching the longest time, you don't give people things, especially teams like Notre Dame who can create on their own without you giving them things. Unfortunately, it's a lesson we learned the hard way."
“I thought we were a little rusty early in the game,” ND coach Jeff Jackson said. “We slowly started getting our game legs back in the second period. That’s pretty typical when you have the bye week. I thought things started to change when David Gerths’ line got going. They picked up the forecheck and got the cycle going and created some scoring chances.”
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Bowling Green 7, Lake Superior 0 - Sunday, March 10, 2013
After losing Game 1, Bowling Green looked like the superior team in every facet over the next two games, especially Sunday, where it just cruised to the win. Andrew Hammond is back and healthy in net again, and he got the shutout, and the Falcons are feeling confident that this is truly a program on the rise. Why can't they go into Notre Dame and win another series and make it back to The Joe, like last year? Ryan Carpenter led the way with his 18th goal, and Dan DeSalvo scored twice. "We challenged them hard after the game. Friday, we didn't really answer the bell, they were ready to play and we weren't. Our guys played tonight like we've been in this game before, and we have been in this game before -- on the road, in the playoffs. The guys that we challenged Friday are the ones that really stood out tonight."
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Notre Dame 4, Bowling Green 1 - Saturday, March 2, 2013
(photo: Todd Pavlack)
Bowling Green came up empty in two games this weekend, and, though it took a lot of good steps this season, was unable to take a really big one and secure home ice for the playoffs. Instead, BG finishes ninth and will travel to Lake Superior. The Falcons did get top goalie Andrew Hammond back in the lineup after an injury kept him out a while, but he still needs to shake off rust in time for the playoffs. He made a mistake playing the puck during a penalty kill and it cost his team what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
“Nowhere near good enough to win,” BG coach Chris Bergeron told reporters. “No where near the level of fight I thought we were going to have with the opportunity we had.” ... Said Falcons forward Andrew Wallace: “We had a tough time getting the puck deep and getting to our game. We didn’t take care of the puck, and against a team like Notre Dame … that can be a long night.”
Along the way, Anders Lee scored his 18th for Notre Dame, as the Irish moved into second place. Still, the Irish are teetering on that NCAA bubble, and may not play a TUC in the CCHA quarterfinals. So they have their work cut out for themselves still as far as the NCAAs are concerned.
“David (Gerths) has elevated his game the past couple of months,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said of the game-winning-goal scorer. “That makes us a better team. It gives us more scoring depth from our forward lines. That line played well again tonight. They played well last weekend too with Sammy Herr in there. It’s positive for us. We have some depth depending on the opponent.”
“For what happened to us in January, for us to rebound the way we have in the last month is really good,” said Jackson. “At least we are going in the right direction heading into the playoffs. Hopefully we aren’t done getting better. We have to play better for our second round opponent. We’ll have a tough second round. We reached our first objective, finishing in the top four. Now our next objective is to get to Detroit and Joe Louis Arena.”
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Ferris State 4, Bowling Green 3 - Saturday, February 16, 2013
After Friday's stirring win, on a late tying goal and Ryan Carpenter's score in overtime, Bowling Green was unable to find the same magic Saturday. The Falcons again played without top netminder Andrew Hammond, who is sidelined with an injury. Kyle Bonis paced Ferris State with his 17th goal of the season. ... “We played better tonight than we did last night,” Bowling Green coach Chris Bergeron told the Sentinel-Tribune, despite the loss. “There was more of a purpose to what we doing, but we didn’t make enough plays. Our margin for error is so small and this game is clear-cut example of that. I’m happy with the way we played for the most part, but I’m not happy with the result.”
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Michigan State 3, Bowling Green 1 - Saturday, February 9, 2013
Freshman Tommy Burke stepped in and performed admirably this weekend in place of injured senior Andrew Hammond in the Bowling Green nets. Hammond's status is unknown, but coach Chris Bergeron said he hopes to have him back before the regular season is over. Burke helped BG get a weekend split, in a couple of low-scoring games. ... "A tribute to them. We tried to warn our guys. But I think we showed our lack of experience in being in a game where we can close a weekend," Bergeron said. "They brought their game up a level, we didn't. We got the bounces we deserved."
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Bowling Green 7, Lake Superior 3 - Saturday, February 2, 2013
Bowling Green sweeps the weekend, which was an important bounceback. The Falcons had been playing well, then got swept by Miami last week. No shame there, really, but instead of letting themselves go into a tailspin, the Falcons put on the brakes and got a couple of wins. It came at the expensive of the Lakers, who had their own midseason surge but have now gone back the other way, 1-6-1 in the last eight games.
Mark Cooper is emerging into a big offensive threat for Bowling Green. He had two more goals, and now has nine. "He's not surprising to us. This is just the beginning," BG coach Chris Bergeron said. ... Bergeron continued, talking about Bowling Green's season: "All the adversity we've been through has to pay off somewhere. They're a resilient group. ... This goes back to last year when anyone who saw me talk about this team, they saw me get emotional because I'm very proud. They've got me in their ear all the time, all these things, and they're not winning games, yet they hang in there and come to the rink for themselves and each other all the time. It's a very proud feeling. The Bowling Green program had to be resilient three years ago. We were tested. And hopefully it's something we'll be known for. ... Our biggest challenge now is to put this aside and get back to work with eight games still remaining."
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Miami 3, Bowling Green 1 - Saturday, January 26, 2013
Dan DeSalvo of BG battles Miami's Blake Coleman. (photo: Todd Pavlack)
Bowling Green dropped its third straight, getting swept in two tight games, following a six-game unbeaten streak. Miami wins its third in a row and, lo and behold, is up to No. 4 in the Pairwise. The win was No. 300 for coach Enrico Blasi, all at his alma mater. Jimmy Mullin scored twice in Saturday's win for the RedHawks.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Western Michigan 2, Bowling Green 1 - Saturday, January 19, 2013
Bowling Green came into Saturday's game coming off three straight wins -- over Michigan, Notre Dame and Western Michigan. And despite the Saturday loss and weekend split, the Falcons can feel good about their outlook the rest of the way. It was slow going to start the season, unable to ride the momentum of last year's playoff run. But it seems to be coming together now. And Andrew Hammond continues to be stellar in net.
Credit Western Michigan with not letting the Falcons' train get the best of it this weekend, though. WMU fell behind 1-0, then stemmed the tied by getting the equalizer in the second from defenseman Luke Witkowksi, and pulled it out in the third with a gritty effort. Said Witkowski about this team's penalty kill, which was crucial all night, "The 5-on-3 was a big kill. We had three of our captains out there and I think we did a pretty good job. We really battled until the end. I think we did a solid job all night." ... WMU coach Andy Murray said his team did a better job hitting the net Saturday. "It was an intense game, like every hockey game is. They are a great rival and play hard. They have quality players and are well organized as a team. I like the structure that their coaches have brought to their game. Compliments to them, and compliments to our guys too. We challenged our guys in our morning meeting to elevate their game; we were disappointed with the result last night, and certainly this has a much better feeling to it."
WMU got a lot of contributions, including the winning goal from Mike Leone. "I thought there was a lot of determination," Murray said. "I thought Ben Warda was instrumental in that goal. I also thought that Justin Kovacs may have played his best game as a Bronco. That's the kind of intensity we are looking for from Justin. It was a hardworking goal, made by a hardnosed player. A guy that knows his game was not at the right level last night and needed to be better tonight."
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Ferris State 3, Bowling Green 1 - Saturday, November 17, 2012
After blowing a 3-0 third-period lead Friday, only to win in overtime on Garrett Thompson's goal, Ferris State had a smoother ride Saturday, as it finished a sweep of the Falcons in Bowling Green. FSU came out of a rough-and-tumble second period with a 2-0 lead, let up an early power-play goal in the third, then held on.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Western Michigan 2, Bowling Green 2 - Saturday, November 10, 2012
Broncos goalie Frank Slubowski was a bit busier Saturday than Friday, when he needed just 11 saves in a 3-1 win. He needed 23 saves this time, getting a tie before WMU won in the shootout.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Michigan State 6, Bowling Green 1 - Saturday, November 3, 2012
Andrew Hammond returned to the lineup Friday night after an injury, and recorded the shutout win for Bowling Green. But he was roughed up in this one, as Will Yanakeff made a return of his own (not from injury) to the Spartans net and got the win. He was helped by a stingy defense that allowed just 19 shots. “Take no marks away from Michigan State,” Bowling Green coach Chris Bergeron told the Sentinel-Tribune. “Not only did they win, but they embarrassed us. We haven’t had a game like that in the three years I’ve been here.” Bowling Green had killed off 18 straight penalties going in, but allowed four power-play goals. Conversely, its own power play now has gone 25 straight chances without a goal. ... Bowling Green freshman Brent Tate played his first game after missing eight games with a back injury.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Ohio State 3, Bowling Green 3 - Saturday, October 27, 2012
Photo: Todd Pavlack
Another couple of freshman goaltenders squared off -- two more in a long line of them in the CCHA this season -- OSU's Collin Olson and Bowling Green's Tommy Burke. In this case, as opposed to the all-freshmen tandems at Miami and Michigan, these guys are splitting time with seniors, OSU's Brady Hjelle and Bowling Green's Andrew Hammond. Burke has the better numbers so far, and gets a shootout win here. Hjelle and Olson have identical numbers for the Buckeyes, who are off to a 2-2-2 start.
Notre Dame 4, Bowling Green 3 - Saturday, March 16, 2013
No Cinderella run for Bowling Green this year, though the Falcons gave Notre Dame everything it could handle in this series. Bryan Rust, who had the OT game winner Friday, scored twice, including a crucial penalty shot in the third period. Also, Nick Larson and Anders Lee scored solo goals to lead Notre Dame. The Irish are unbeaten in seven, and after a lot of tumult, look to have finally secured an NCAA bid. After going to overtime in Friday’s game, Notre Dame scored twice in the first period to build a 2-0 lead. “I thought we came out really well, put pressure on them and we were moving the puck out of our zone real well,” said Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson. “They (Bowling Green) are a good forechecking team and a good offensive zone team. We did a nice job against them in the early stages of the game and then a couple of penalties changed things in the second period.”
Bowling Green battled back for a 2-2 tie into the third, but during a penalty kill, were called for a penalty for closing a hand on the puck in the crease. Notre Dame could've opted for a 5-on-3 or penalty shot, but took the penalty shot, and Jackson chose Rust. “I figured Rusty is pretty good and we would still have the power play," Jackson said. "I had a couple of candidates to take the shot. I chose him (Rust) because I watch him every Thursday after practice and seen how he has performed in the shootouts.” ... Said Rust: “The backhand has been my move. I have a lot of confidence in it and I knew if I got a good enough first move in that I could pull it back to my backhand and get a good enough shot off.”
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