The Bowling Green State University hockey team moved swiftly to get a late-season addition to the roster.

The Falcons are bringing in goaltender Salvatore Evola in to be the backup to freshman goaltender Christian Stoever.

The move comes after head coach Ty Eigner said junior Zack Rose is out for the season with a hip labral tear. The recovery process is four to six months.

“Zack’s priority needs to be his own health in order for him to be 100% healthy and come back to be the best version of himself next year,” Eigner said. “The sooner he gets the surgery, the better.”

Rose will end the season with a .881 save percentage and 266 saves. He allowed 3.23 goals per game and ends with a 6-4-2 record.

Eigner said the timing of the injury allowed them to add another goalie. They had to find a student-athlete who is in their last year of junior hockey eligibility and willing to be a backup goalie.

“I can’t predict the future, but we can guarantee you’ll come in and be our backup right away that first weekend we play. That was something he felt good about,” Eigner said.

Eigner said they searched for American players because the process to bring in a foreign player to Bowling Green would be too long to complete. Student-athletes have to be registered for classes before they can start practicing with the team.

With the semester already starting at Bowling Green, they had to hurry to add a player and have him register. Eigner said Evola spent last week asking teachers to join their class. He couldn’t register online since he is starting the semester late.

“Had we been into week three (of the semester), I don’t think the university would have been okay with admitting a kid or any student for that matter,” Eigner said.

The hockey program went through this earlier in the year when they brought in defenseman Jack Blake. Blake had his Junior Hockey league season cut short and the program offered him a chance to be with the team.

Blake was strictly brought in to begin practicing with the team and be familiar with the program. He won’t play any games this season.

Evola might follow that same plan. Eigner is not sure if the 20 year-old freshman will see any playing time on the ice.

“Right now, Christian Stoever is starting on Friday. The plan would be for Christian to continue to do so. I can’t predict if Sam will start a game or not start a game,” Eigner said.

Evola comes in with an impressive resume.

He played for Detroit Country Day School and guided his team to back-to-back Division III championships in his junior and senior year.

As a junior, he allowed 0.97 goals per game. As a senior, he allowed 1.15 goals per game. In his last two years of high school, he had a 35-6-2 record.

After graduating high school in 2019, he went to play Junior Hockey.

Evola last played for the Johnstown Tomahawks. From 2020-22, he had a 32-17-4 record. Last season, he had a .924 save percentage and 2.18 GAA.

Eigner said Evola has known about BGSU for a while, making it a more informed decision on his part to come in.

“He’s been here before. His high school team came here and his high school coach has a history with our program,” Eigner said. “It was comfortable and he was familiar with it.”

Evola’s skill set is similar to a previous BGSU goaltender. Eigner said Evola reminds him of the last goaltender he coached, Eric Dop.

“He’s not the biggest goalie we have. He’s more along the lines of Eric Dop in terms of style and size. He really skates well and moves laterally well,” Eigner said.

Eigner also said this is a chance for the program to see what they have for when Rose leaves after graduation.

It’s a win-win for the Falcons. They get important goaltending depth for an important stretch of the season and get a chance to see what their future is at goaltender.