BGSU plays No. 12 Notre Dame in CCHA playoffs

0
BG’s Dan DeSalvo (right) controls the puck against Lake Superior’s Eric Drapluk during Game 3 of
their first-round series (Photo: Todd Pavlack/BGSUHockey.com)

Bowling Green faces a familiar opponent this weekend in the quarterfinals of the Central
Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.The Falcons visit 12th-ranked Notre Dame, a team that has won three
of the four meetings between the teams this season.BG finished the regular season with 4-3, 4-1 losses at ND
in a series it only played sporadically well.The Falcons, however, played well from start to finish Jan. 15
when theyposted a 4-2 win over the Irish at BG. ND also won 4-1 at BG Dec. 15.“It gives us confidence that
we can beat them,” BG senior goalie AndrewHammond said of the January win. “We didn’t play our best hockey
againstthem (the last time).”The Falcons are coming off impressive performances in Games 2 and 3 oftheir
first-round series victory at Lake Superior. They posted 6-3 and7-0 wins by controlling the puck in the
offensive zone for large partsof the game.That also was the key to BG’s win over ND. But when BG lost twice
to theIrish in February, it had too many turnovers and defensive lapses.“If we’re doing things right and
play a certain style of hockey, we canbe very successful,” Hammond said. “The key is staying the course
forwhat we did this weekend.”IRISH: ND was off last weekend as it earned one of the five first-round byes
for finishing second in the CCHA.The Irish are 21-12-3 overall and were 17-8-3-2 in the league, including a
5-1-3 record in their last nine games overall.ND is eighth nationally in goals allowed (2.25 per game). In
the CCHA,it is second in scoring (2.97 goals per game), third in power-playconversions (18.2 percent) and
ninth in penalty-killing (82.4 percent).MR. MARCH: BG forward Dan DeSalvo, who had a CCHA record 10
playoffgoals last season, had two goals and one assist at Lake Superior.SPARK: BG forwards Marc Rodriguez
and Ted Pletsch, and defenseman RyanPeltoma played well during the final two games at Lake Superior
aftersitting out Game 1. Rodriguez and Peltoma are seniors, and Pletsch is asophomore.“It was an opportunity
and what kids do with their opportunity is up tothem,” Bergeron said. “We were looking for a spark from the
three ofthem and we got just that. To see what those three guys did with theopportunity after being out
Friday, I’m very proud of them and I’m veryhappy for them.”MISSING: BG junior forward Andrew Wallace didn’t
play in Games 2 and 3at Lake Superior, the first two games he’s missed all season.Wallace didn’t play for
what Bergeron termed a “coaches decision.”He’s one of BG’s best at faceoffs and is a regular on the
penalty-killing unit.PK: The BG penalty-killing, last in the CCHA at 76.2 percent, was solidat Lake
Superior. BG killed off 11 of the Lakers’ 13 chances with theextra man.BG also needs to stay out of the
penalty box and give ND no more than three or four power-play attempts per game.“We have to play on the
edge, play hard, compete and not take penalties,” Bergeron said. “We’ve proven we can do that.”PP: The BG
power play was 1-of-12 at Lake Superior and is last in the CCHA at 13 percent.KUCERA: BG defenseman Connor
Kucera, who missed the Lake Superior series with a knee injury, won’t play at ND.Bergeron said Kucera might
return for a CCHA semifinal game, if BG wins at ND.SCHOLAR: Sophomore forward Ryan Carpenter is BG’s nominee
for the CCHA’s Scholar-Athlete Award.He has a 3.9 grade-point average in accounting.The winner will be
announced March 22.

No posts to display