Ryan Carpenter only had to wait 52 seconds for his first shift of the regular season Friday night.
Once the Bowling Green junior started playing, it was business as usual for one of the best players in
the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
The forward scored a goal in helping the Falcons to a 3-0 victory over the University of Alaska in the
Ice Arena.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder missed BG’s first 24 games with a broken finger and a broken foot.
“I was just excited to be back with the boys, back with the team, back in the locker room, to be a part
of the team,” said Carpenter, who admitted he was so excited to be playing he couldn’t take his usual
pre-game nap in the afternoon.
Carpenter, who learned he would be playing Thursday, played right wing on a line with left wing Brett
Mohler and center Dan DeSalvo. The trio played consistently well, combining 11 shots on goal, including
a team-best six by Carpenter.
Carpenter injured his finger when he was hit by a shot Oct. 5 during BG’s Canadian exhibition. He was
scheduled to return against Ferris State Nov. 15, but broke the foot when he was hit by a shot in
practice two days before that game. He then spent almost seven weeks on crutches with the foot in a
boot.
“The foot kept progressing, but I’ve gotten my hopes up so many times, I didn’t want to get too excited,”
Carpenter said. “I knew when it felt good on Thursday, I knew I was playing. That was a good feeling.”

Carpenter was a first-team selection on the coaches preseason All-WCHA team, and was receiving attention
from pro scouts. He also was mentioned as a possible candidate for the Hobey Baker Award.
Carpenter led BG with 15 goals and 33 points last season. He was switched from center to right wing for
the game, but Carpenter’s duties didn’t change that much.
“He’s such a positive presence,” BG coach Chris Bergeron said. “He’s vocal and that’s taking nothing away
from Cam (co-captain Wojtala), the seniors, but you’re adding somebody special. It definitely was nice
to see No. 22 out there.”
In addition to his regular shift, Carpenter took his usual spot in front of the net on one of the
power-play units. The only thing he didn’t do that he normally does was kill penalties. He’ll eventually
return to that role.
Carpenter kept his shifts short early in the game, so he’d be able to play late in the game.
“He didn’t look like a guy who hadn’t played in a game all year,” Bergeron said.
As expected, Carpenter became tired as the game went on. The next test is how he’ll feel physically for
today night’s series finale at 7:07.
“I rode the stationary bike as much as I could once the boot was off, but it’s hard to mimic game speed,”
Carpenter said.
Carpenter’s strength is his play down low in the offensive zone. He has a strong presence in front of the
net and is terrific at tipping pucks. His goal came on a deflection of Rusty Hafner’s point shot.
“It’s a tribute to the kid,” Bergeron said. “He’s a great kid, a great athlete. He eats properly. He
sleeps properly. His conditioning was pretty good. He’s a guy that’s a little bit different than most
because of the time he puts in.
“We are all excited for him. We know how hard this year has been for him and how hard he worked to come
in, in great shape and have a great junior year. It hasn’t panned out the way he wanted it to. For him
to get rewarded right away, he deserves it. He’s a kid who always look at the positive side of things.
There wasn’t a lot of positive this year, but he found a way to be positive through it and he got
rewarded.”
INJURED: BG sophomore forward Brent Tate didn’t play Friday and is day-to-day after tweaking his lower
back, Bergeron said.
Tate, who had back trouble last season, tweaked the back twice after playing at Alabama-Huntsville last
weekend. He didn’t practice Wednesday, but skated Thursday and tweaked the back late in that practice.

“We’ll have to be careful with that,” Bergeron said.
Tate has eight goals and seven assists, and provides BG with a physical presence.