Bowling Green needs better goaltending next season, if the team is going to win a league championship,
Falcon hockey coach Chris Bergeron said.
The Falcons’ .903 save percentage overall this season was only good for a three-way tie for fifth in the
10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
BG had a .906 save percentage in league play, only sixth-best in the league.
The Falcons tied for third in the league with 13-10-4 record, but finished 11 points behind Ferris State
and 10 points behind Michigan Tech.
"We’re not going to win championships with just OK to good goaltending, and that’s where we’re at
right now," Bergeron said. "Whoever is getting the job done at a high level is going to play.
If that’s a two-man situation, so be it."
Sophomore Tommy Burke had a 2.43 goals-against average and a .912 save mark in 28 games this season,
while freshman Tomas Sholl had a 2.68 goals-against and an .896 save mark in 12 games.
Also in the mix next season is Chris Nell, who has a 3.18 goals-against and a .910 save percentage in 41
games this season for the Chicago Steel in the United States (Junior) Hockey League.
"We’ve got three guys and three guys we think are all capable," Bergeron said.
Bergeron hopes BG can have goaltending like that of Ferris’ C.J. Motte (2.17, .928) and MSU’s Cole
Huggins (1.88, .926).
Motte is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and was a first-team All-WCHA pick, while Huggins was a
second-team all-league pick.
Motte and Huggins both received consideration for the league’s player of the year award.
Among goalies who played at least a third of their team’s minutes this season, Burke was 26th nationally
in goals-against and 42nd in save percentage.
"You look at the top teams in the league and they’re getting championship-level goaltending,"
Bergeron said.
Bergeron said Burke wouldn’t necessarily be the No. 1 goalie going into next season, even though he
started the final 10 games this season.
"I like the way Tomas Sholl finished the year in terms of practice," Bergeron said. "The
fact he wasn’t in games was based on how he played in the middle of the year."
BLUELINE: Another concern for the Falcons is finding more consistent play from their defensemen.
Freshman Sean Walker was BG’s best and most consistent blueliner, but juniors Connor Kucera, Marcus
Perrier, Mike Sullivan and Rusty Hafner were inconsistent. The four juniors all were healthy scratches
at least once this season.
BG was at its best when its defense – especially Kucera, Perrier and Sullivan – played well.
"I’d like to believe our senior group will right their games individually and we get more out of
them on a consistent basis," Bergeron said. "We have a chance to have a good D corps next
year."
Two rookies next fall – Mark Friedman and Nolan Valleau – could challenge for significant playing time.

FORWARDS: Although BG loses seniors Bryce Williamson and Cam Wojtala, and junior Ryan Carpenter turned
pro, it still figures to have plenty of offense next season.
The Falcons were fourth in the league in scoring (3.05 goals per game), even though Carpenter played just
15 games because of injuries and forward Dajon Mingo missed the second half because of academic issues.
His status for next season hasn’t been resolved.
"I like where we’re going offensively," Bergeron said. "We’re going to have more guys who
can score. I don’t think offense is going to be an issue."
BG believes it’ll receive even more production from juniors Adam Berkle and Dan DeSalvo, and sophomores
Ben Murphy, Mark Cooper and Brent Tate.
Kevin Dufour, Matt Pohlkamp and Pierre-Luc Mercier are being counted on for more goals after solid
freshman seasons.
Bergeron also believes next season’s freshmen class will help with the scoring.
NEXT: The Falcons started off-ice conditioning for next season on Monday.
The BG coaches and players held their annual individual end of the season meetings last week.