Tommy Burke was played well overall for Bowling Green’s hockey team.The next step for him is
to be sharp on a consistent basis.Burke is working hard to eliminate the one so-called soft goal he allows
each game – the routine shot a goalie should stop that end up in the net – from his game that have plagued
him during the last month.He’s off to a good start. The sophomore is coming off a 18-save shutout in a 3-0
win over Alabama-Huntsville last Friday.Burke has alternated starts with freshman Tomas Sholl, and will be
in goal tonight when BG visits Michigan Tech in the opener of a Western Collegiate Hockey Association
series."I’m more comfortable this season," said Burke, who has a 2.26 goals-against average and a
.907 save percentage in eight games this season."But the consistency is the big thing. I’ve been pretty
consistent in practice. Hopefully, that will lead to consistency in games because I’ve really upped my
practice consistency compared to last year."Burke spent the summer at a goaltending camp in the
Minneapolis area hosted by St. Cloud State University goaltending coach Dave Rogalski. All of the players at
the camp, goalies and non-goalies, were college and pro players."I had a good summer, the best I’ve
had, on and off the ice," said Burke, who also lifted weights and conditioned during the summer.
"The camp was really good for me."I was really nervous last year when I got to BG. I didn’t know
what to expect. This year, I came in ready to play and be an integral part of the team."The Minnesota
native played well overall last season, even though he had the usual ups and downs of a freshmen. He had a
2.57 goals-against and an .889 save percentage in 15 games as the backup to standout Andrew Hammond."He
seems physically stronger," BG coach Chris Bergeron said "He’s got a much more focused routine
this year and defined routine of what he does before and after games.""His confidence is 100
percent higher than it was last year," Bergeron added. "Everything seems to be more mature and
stronger. He’s progressing the way you would want him to progress. He’s made some nice strides from his
first year to his second year."STANDINGS: BG, 7-8-3 overall and 5-6-1 in WCHA, hits the halfway point
of its 28-game league season at Tech.BG and Tech are tied for fourth with 11 points, but Tech has played two
fewer games.The second- through seventh-place teams are separated by just four points.Ferris State is first
with 22 points, followed by Minnesota State 14 and Bemidji State 13.The top five teams host first-round
playoff series.ALL-WCHA: Tech sophomore forward Alex Petan was named to the WCHA coaches all-league first
team.The 5-foot-8, 155-pounder is Tech’s leading scorer with 15 points, totaling eight goals and seven
assists in 18 games.KEY PLAYERS: Tech junior forward Tanner Kero has six goals and six assists.On defense,
freshman Shane Hanna has two goals and four assists, and freshman Chris Leibinger and senior Brad Stebner
each have an on-ice rating of plus-3.Sophomore Pheonix Copley is one of the WCHA’s top goalies, ranking
second with a 1.96 goals-against average and fourth with a .928 save percentage.PP: After going 23 straight
power plays without a goal, the Falcon power play is 7-of-28 in the last six games.BG is sixth in the WCHA
at 18.7 percent (17-of-91) and has allowed three-short-handed goals.PK: The Falcon penalty-killing is fourth
in the league at 84.4 percent (76-of-90)."The results have been a little bit better than the execution
has been and we’d like it to be the other way around," Bergeron said. "We want the execution to be
good, so we can get better results on a consistent basis."PENALTIES: Tech is the second-most penalized
team in the WCHA (17.4 minutes per game), but is only fifth in league games (14.0).BG is fifth overall
(16.2) and second in league play (15.3).