Bowling Green’s Ryan Carpenter will miss at least one more week with a broken finger, Falcon
hockey coach Chris Bergeron said Tuesday.The junior center is expected to have the pins removed from his
finger early next week and could be back on the ice for practice Nov. 12, Bergeron said.Carpenter, one of
the top players in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, hasn’t played since being injured Oct. 5 in
BG’s exhibition contest.It was hoped Carpenter would be available for this weekend’s series at 18th-ranked
Minnesota State, the WCHA coaches pick to win the league.Carpenter tried to practice Tuesday, but couldn’t
wrap his finger around the stick and left the ice."He can’t shoot and he can’t stickhandle,"
Bergeron said.INJURIES: BG, however, received good news on injuries to defenseman Connor Kucera and forward
Brett Mohler.Kucera suffered what Bergeron called a "very minor concussion" against
Alaska-Anchorage last Saturday, but is expected to play this weekend after practicing Monday and
Tuesday."He hasn’t had any concussion-type symptoms since Saturday night," Bergeron said.
"Our intention, unless he takes a step backwards which we think would have happened by now, is for him
to play this weekend."Mohler, who has missed three games with a foot injury, is expected to be eligible
to return to the lineup next week.He’ll skate in BG Thursday and Friday."If those days go OK, then he
goes back in the mix on Monday," Bergeron said.ROAD HOCKEY; BG hasn’t played well overall on the road
this season, going 0-2-1."Our process hasn’t been great on the road. Our details haven’t been great on
the road," Bergeron said. "The effort is there, but we all know when you’re on the road, the
process and the details had better be good or you don’t get the results."The lack of success on the
road is surprising because BG has won four road playoff series during the last three seasons, and many of
the key players from those games remain on the team.HONORED: BG junior forward Dan DeSalvo is the WCHA
offensive player of the week and sophomore defenseman Ralfs Freibergs is the defensive player of the
week.DeSalvo had a goal and three assists in three games.Freibergs had three assists and an on-ice rating of
plus-2, while helping BG kill off 14 of its 15 short-handed situations.HOT START: DeSalvo’s play has helped
BG, 4-2-2 overall, overcome Carpenter’s loss.DeSalvo has two goals and eight assists, and an on-ice rating
of plus 4. He also skates on the power-play and penalty-killing units, and his ice time has increased with
Carpenter hurt."He came in very fit. He looked great," Bergeron said. "His fitness was good.
His strength was good. He looked like someone who took this summer very seriously. He’s embraced the role of
playing more minutes and being that consistent contributor."FORCEFUL: BG junior forward Adam Berkle is
off to a solid start. The 6-foot-3, 193-pounder has been a physical force and has three assists in eight
games. He leads the team with a plus-6 and also plays on the special teams."When he’s at his best, he’s
a big power forward," Bergeron said. "He was hungry around the puck this weekend and he dogged the
puck all weekend long. He was physical. We expect him to be consistent and we expect him to do it every
shift."The line of Berkle, Cam Wojtala and Matt Pohlkamp was matched against Anchorage’s top line in
both games. The Anchorage trio didn’t score an even-strength goal as BG swept the series.MORE INJURIES:
Minnesota State played without two of its best players because of injuries last weekend – forward Matt
Leitner (upper body) and defenseman Josh Nelson (lower body).Leitner was named the WCHA’s preseason player
of the year.SERIES: The Falcons are 0-3-1 against MSU, but the teams haven’t played since the 2009-10
season.