Bowling Green’s hockey team should be close to full strength this weekend
Forwards Marc Rodriguez and Brett Mohler are expected to play Friday and Saturday at Bemidji State,
Falcon coach Chris Bergeron said Tuesday.
Rodriguez hasn’t played this season after off-season shoulder surgery, while Mohler has missed the last
seven games after injuring his shoulder Nov. 18 at Miami.
Rodriguez is a solid two-way player who had six goals and nine assists in 39 games last season, and also
can be used as a penalty-killer.
Mohler is one of BG’s best players, and skates on the power-play and penalty-killing units.
The two provide additional depth on a team that has been out-scored 58-36 and is just 6-11-3 overall.
Rodriguez is one of just five juniors on a team that has only two seniors.
"When he’s at his best, he’s physical," Bergeron said of Rodriguez. "He’s capable of
making plays with the puck. He’s a pretty smart hockey player.
"When he tries to be a little bit of everything, he gets away from what makes him really good. He
needs to play hard, compete and be physical, and that will lead to offense."
MOHLER: Although Mohler is healthy enough to play, there are no guarantees he’ll make it through the end
of the season.
Bergeron previously has said the injury has been an on-going issue for a couple of seasons, starting
before Mohler came to BG. He is a sophomore.
"He’s someone we’re going to keep a close eye on, though," Bergeron said. "If this
shoulder injury is something that continues to bother him, we’re going to look into something a little
more long term to make sure this doesn’t keep happening."
RETURN: The Falcons resumed practice Tuesday in preparation for their non-league series at Bemidji.
BG hasn’t played a game since Dec. 9-10, while Bemidji has been off since Dec. 16-17.
"This time of year, with our guys having 10, 14 days off … there were signs of some rust which was
totally fine," Bergeron said of Tuesday’s practice. "They’re not going to simulate a practice
at home, no matter how many times they skate or they lift. You almost have to take baby steps as you’re
getting yourself back in it."
DEFENSE: With defenseman Ian Ruel no longer on the team, junior Bobby Shea has been moved back to defense
to give BG eight defensemen.
Shea was recruited to BG as a defenseman, but has played forward most of this season. He played both
positions in BG’s series against Western Michigan Dec. 9-10.
"I’d still like us to have eight defensemen in terms of our practices, in terms of keeping people on
edge," Bergeron said. "We think our (the play of our defensemen) has been better, but not good
enough, not consistent enough. We’re still looking for six guys to solidify themselves in the lineup
every single night. That hasn’t happened."
REHAB: Freshman goalie Wyatt Galley, who hasn’t played since an Oct. 2 because of a groin injury, will
continue to rehab at home and return to the team when classes start Jan. 9.
"He’s on the path to recovery," Bergeron said, adding he still expects Galley to begin
practicing by end of January in hopes of his being available for game action in February.
SECOND HALF: The Falcons enter the second half trying to end an eight-game winless streak (0-6-2).
In those eight games, BG didn’t play well and its effort often was questioned. It was out-scored 31-10 in
that span.
"We’re looking for constant improvement," Bergeron said. "I would like us to be intense
more of the time and I would like to execute better. Ultimately, that would make for improvement on a
daily basis which is what we want. If we do that, we’ll be fine, regardless of the results."