In his two and a half years on campus at Bowling Green, when Brent Tate has been healthy, he has been a
dominant force for the Falcon hockey team.
Unfortunately for Tate and Bowling Green, that hasn’t often been the case.
Tate, a 6-foot-2, 187-pound forward, came to Bowling Green for the 2012-13 season fresh off attending
Washington Capitals prospect camp with high expectations. He has produced when in the lineup, but having
missed 28 games combined his first two years, he hasn’t had much of an opportunity to develop any sort
of rhythm.
The same has rung true this year. Tate has played in only four of Bowling Green’s 12 games. However, in
those four games he has three goals.
Having admittedly rushed Tate back from injury earlier this year, head coach Chris Bergeron and staff
kept him on the shelf until they were certain he was 100 percent. Tate returned to the lineup last
weekend against Ohio State and showed that was the case.
“You can see the impact he has on our team on the score sheet,” Bergeron said. “He’s just a presence
within our team. He’s a very vocal guy, he plays with a bunch of emotion and passion and I think that’s
contagious at times. I thought he helped us all weekend.”
Last weekend, Bergeron threw a small wrinkle in how he deploys Tate. Usually a winger, Tate skated at
center last weekend.
Bergeron said that wasn’t necessarily planned going into the weekend, but it worked out.
“We’re kind of looking for guys that can play center for us, and he seemed to really like that so we’re
kind of going to stick with it for now,” Bergeron said. “He’s a guy who asks a bunch of questions and
wants to know. A big part of playing center is faceoffs, and he’s always been comfortable doing that.
Another big part is playing down low in our own zone and he’s fine doing that. He competes hard and
knows what’s going on.”
DEFENSE: Following a quick start to the season, point production for Bowling
Green defensemen had dried up in recent weeks.
The Falcons put an end to that trend this weekend, with Sean Walker and Mike Sullivan picking up their
first goals of the season. Sullivan and Dajon Mingo each had an assist against Ohio State last weekend.

The recent lack of production from the blue line hasn’t been for a lack of talent, but because the
Falcons are still learning how to properly utilize that talent.
This year, the Falcons have a group of defensemen who are comfortable joining the rush on a breakout, as
opposed to in past years where they would make outlet passes and hang back. That has led to an
adjustment period for the forwards.
“We have a group of forwards who aren’t used to having defensemen involved in the rush,” Bergeron said.
“We’ve got a bunch of defensemen involved in the rush who aren’t getting utilized because in years past
we haven’t had that. I think our team is just evolving that way.”
ASU: This week, Arizona State University announced intentions to move its
club hockey team up to the Division I level, with hopes of joining a conference by the 2017-18 season.

The Sun Devils were the club hockey national champions last year.
Arizona State’s plan is to play a hybrid club/Division I schedule next season, and compete in Division I
as an independent in 2016-17. Both the WCHA and NCHC have expressed interest in added the Sun Devils to
their respective stable of teams.
The move could inevitably kick-start the next round of college hockey realignment, as other Pac-12
schools have reportedly discussed adding varsity hockey programs.
“I think it poses challenges no matter what league they’re in, but I think it’s a good think when you’re
adding teams,” Bergeron said. “That’s adding opportunities for plays and coaches.”