The last time the Bowling Green hockey team took the ice in a game setting, it posted one of its most
impressive performances of the season in a 5-0 win at Northern Michigan.
That was on Dec. 6. Nearly a month will have elapsed between games by the time the Falcons (11-3-2) take
the ice Saturday at noon against No. 19 Robert Morris.
With the layoff in-game action may bring some rust, Bowling Green has been back at practice this week
working to limit how much of that shows up once game time rolls around.
“They look like they’ve been off for three weeks, but there’s some good intensity there,” said Falcons
head coach Chris Bergeron. “They’ve been working real hard, so it’s just a matter of getting that
execution back. I’m not concerned about that coming back, we just want it to come back quickly.”
Saturday’s game brings its own unique set of circumstances. Not only will it feature a game between
ranked teams, against an opponent that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year, it will be the first
outdoor game in program history.
That game, taking place at Toledo’s Fifth Third Field is a part of the 10-day Walleye Winterfest, which
has included youth hockey games, public skates, and games from the U.S. 18s and the ECHL’s Toledo
Walleye.
The Falcons will practice at Fifth Third Field for the first time Friday. Because they have yet to skate
on ice, Bergeron said the anticipation of the whole affair hasn’t quite set in yet.
“Because we’ve been off for so long, the excitement is just to play another game,” he said. “The
excitement level will ratchet up when we practice there Friday when it’s actually real … It’s not real
until they actually go and experience it. I really feel like that excitement and that energy will
ratchet up at that time.”
Playing outdoors brings its own set of challenges that aren’t present in a typical game, namely in terms
of weather conditions.
Saturday’s forecast calls for clouds and a wintery mix as the day moves on, with 1-3 inches of snow and
winds of 5-10 MPH anticipated.
“Unfortunately the weather is something we can’t control, so we’ll go there Friday and deal with what we
get for practice and go back Saturday and deal with what we get for the game,” Bergeron said. “Whatever
we get faced with, we’ll deal with it.”
Bergeron said he hasn’t been given a scenario where the game would not be played due to the weather. The
Walleye are scheduled to play the Fort Wayne Komets at 6:30 p.m., and Bowling Green and Robert Morris
face off again Sunday at 7:07 p.m. in Pittsburgh.
Bergeron said the Falcons will be heading to Pittsburgh immediately after the game.
The Falcons defeated the Colonials last season, 3-2, in the consolation game of the Three Rivers Classic.
At the time of the game, Robert Morris was 2-11-2.
Following the loss to Bowling Green, the Colonials finished the regular season 11-4-3 and won the
Atlantic Hockey Association tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Minnesota
in the first round.
Robert Morris brings a 12-3-3 record in Saturday’s game, but is coming off a 6-1 loss to Colgate.
“I think they’re a much more confident team than we played last year,” Bergeron said. “They’re a team
that expects to win every game. That in itself brings challenges. You better be prepared to play at a
high level when you face teams like that.
“It’s not fake, their record tells you they deserve to feel the way they do.”
Both Brent Tate and Tyler Spezia are expected to be in the lineup for Bowling Green. Tate left the second
game of the Northern Michigan series with a knee injury, and Spezia hasn’t played since Nov. 15 because
of illness.