Winning two Central Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series hasn’t been enough
to satisfy Bowling Green.
Instead, the Falcons are striving to continue success this weekend in the CCHA
Championships at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.
After finishing last in the league during the regular season, BG has won playoff
series at regular-season league champion Ferris State and sixth-place Northern
Michigan to advance to the CCHA semifinals.
The Falcons, 13-24-5 overall, face second-ranked Michigan (23-11-4) Friday at 8:05
p.m., while No. 7 Miami (23-13-2) plays No. 14 Western Michigan (19-13-6) in the
first game at 4:35 p.m.
The championship and consolation games are Saturday. The winner earns an automatic
berth to the NCAA playoffs.
The Falcons split their season series against Michigan in the Ice Arena Feb. 24-25,
winning the first game 4-3 and losing the second game 3-0.
"We’ve had some success against them, so that gives us confidence," said BG
junior goalie Andrew Hammond, who has a .914 save percentage in his playoff
games. "We know we can compete with them if we play a real solid game.
We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now and we have some momentum, so
we’re looking forward to the challenge."
REWARD: The playoff run has been a nice reward for the Falcons, who were 6-11-3
overall and 1-11-2 entering the Christmas break. BG was 0-6-2 in its last eight
games before the break.
The Falcons won their quarterfinal at No. 2 Ferris State with a 4-3 overtime win in
the deciding game of the best-of-3 series. BG trailed 3-0 after one period in
that game.
"It’s been very rewarding because we’ve been through a lot," BG coach Chris
Bergeron said. "Seeing the looks on the faces of our players in the locker
room after everything they’ve been through made it all worthwhile. That’s what
makes coaching worthwhile."
DEFENSE: One reason the Falcons have been improved in the second half is the play of
their defense.
The defense consists of juniors Bobby Shea, Max Grover, and Ryan Peltoma; sophomore
Jake Sloat; and freshmen Marcus Perrier, Connor Kucera, Mike Sullivan and Rusty
Hafner.
"We have a lot of young guys back there and they’ve just become more consistent
in their play as they’ve gained experience," Hammond said. "They’re
just tried to keep things simple and make smart plays."
LEADERS: BG’s leadership has been by committee this season since it didn’t name
captains. By doing so, Bergeron hoped leaders would emerge during the season.
"We were kind of letting this leadership group or individual (leadership)
develop on its own," Bergeron said. "With that, there have been some
trying times. When things got difficult, there wasn’t one or two people we could
go to and say ‘make it better.’ That was the tough thing.
"You’re asking people to step up, and take the lead, and a ‘why not you kind of
thing,’ and it’s been difficult to think you know, ‘maybe he’s talking to
me,’" Bergeron added.
The Falcons have faced adversity all season, both in terms of their record and
playing from behind in many of their games, including their Game 3 win at
Ferris.
"They’ve done a nice job of being resilient together," Bergeron said.
"They’re doing it for each other. They feel good about each other, when
they play well, the result can come. It has developed into a lead by committee.
That’s basically included everyone in the lineup each night doing their part,
and it’s been good to see."
NOT AGAIN: While BG will be at the Joe for the first time since 2001, Michigan
advanced to the CCHA Championships for the 24th straight season. The Wolverines
have played in the championship game 16 times.
TV: Fox Sports Net Detroit will televise the two semifinal games live, and some FSN
Ohio affiliates will broadcast one or both of the games, although the schedule
was still being determined.
