BG eager to open conference play

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Last season, the Bowling Green hockey team didn’t get its first taste of Western Collegiate Hockey
Association play until the first weekend of November – a home series against Alaska-Anchorage.
By that point the Falcons had already played six games. This year, the team gets things started a little
earlier. Following a season-opening split with Miami, the Falcons flock into WCHA play this weekend at
Alabama-Huntsville.
The game offers Bowling Green its first chance of working toward its goal: a WCHA championship.
"I think the boys are pretty excited just because it’s our first real road trip together, which are
always fun, but at the same time we’re going there to get two wins," said Bowling Green captain Dan
DeSalvo. "(It’s) the first two games of the WCHA, (so it’s) crucial; every game matters, every
point matters. Especially since we’re trying to finish No. 1 in the standings, every game matters. We’re
looking to take home two wins this weekend."
The Falcons went 3-1 against the Chargers last season. Playing against each other the first weekend of
December, the Chargers stunned Bowling Green in overtime of game two to pick up their first win of the
season.
The two teams know each other well. Dating back to the 2010-11 season, the first that head coach Chris
Bergeron and his staff were at Bowling Green, the Falcons have played Alabama-Huntsville nine times.
Bowling Green was 8-1 in those games.
Heading into the weekend, the goal for the team has been to remain focused on the road ahead.
"It’s just taking advantage of the next opportunity," said Bowling Green assistant coach Ty
Eigner. "We feel that we started well against a pretty good Miami team. Now the challenge is for us
to move forward with a conference opponent and not be as focused on what they’re doing and how they’re
playing, but be more focused on what we’re doing and how we’re playing."
RIGHT FOOT: For the second straight season, Bowling Green started the season against a nationally-ranked
opponent.
After going 0-1-1 against eventual national champion Union College to begin last season, Bowling Green
picked up a split with No. 10 Miami last weekend.
The series against the RedHawks not only give the Falcons a measuring stick to compare itself to an elite
team, but picking up a win gives the team confidence moving into conference play this weekend.
"It’s early, but this year we play Miami and beat them at home, play an OK game at their place and
lose," DeSalvo said. "This year might be a little different, might have a better team or
whatever it is. You turn a couple plays around on Sunday, or play better for a few more minutes of the
game, maybe it’s a sweep of a nationally-ranked team, which would’ve been nice obviously.
"Our goal as a team is to become nationally ranked and that could’ve been a step toward that. That’s
neither here nor there, we’re just looking forward to Alabama and starting off the WCHA strong."

CHARGERS: In its first season in the WCHA, Alabama-Huntsville went 2-35-1 last year.
The Chargers are led in net by sophomores Matt Larose and Carmine Guerriero. Both played well in
season-opening losses to Colorado College. In the two games, the Chargers allowed 85 combined shots,
with Larose and Guerriero combining to stop 78 of them, good for a .918 save percentage.
Defenseman Brandon Carlson scored two goals and posted an assist this weekend against the Tigers. He had
four points in 36 games as a freshman last year.
"We’ve played Huntsville a lot, even when they weren’t in the new conference we had a couple series’
with them," Eigner said. "They’re a very familiar opponent, and we are familiar to them as
well."

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