* March 1984: Jon Casey leads North Dakota to a 9-6 series upset over home-standing RPI in the NCAA tournament
Van Halen - Jump
Something was certainly afoot in Troy in 1983, and it made the entire college hockey world stand up and take notice of RPI in ways it hadn't for at least 20 years dating back to its last NCAA tournament appearance and perhaps even 30 years dating back to Gordie Peterkin and the goal that shocked the college hockey world.
The 1983-84 Engineers were beastly. Practically able to score at will, RPI dominated scoreboards night in and night out, beatable only when held under three goals in a game (they were 1-4 in those games during the regular season, all five were one-goal games). Furthermore, they were unbeatable at home with a perfect 17-0 record at Houston Field House, winners of 23 straight in Troy dating back to a December 11, 1982 loss to Clarkson by the time the 1984 NCAA tournament began. During that run, they outscored opponents at home 177-84, averaging over seven goals per game.
So when North Dakota, runners-up to Minnesota-Duluth (in both the regular season and the tournament) in the 6-team WCHA came to Troy for the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament, there weren't too many giving the Fighting Sioux a fighting chance. While RPI was busy dominating all comers in the east down the stretch to the tune of 15 wins in their last 16 games on their way to the ECAC title (mostly - Clarkson proved more than game in both RPI's only loss and in the ECAC semifinal), North Dakota had limped to a 6-6-2 record in the same stretch, their final win a 5-4 "victory" in the back end of a two-game series with Duluth in the WCHA playoffs that followed an 8-1 loss that had the Bulldogs in cruise mode.
Truly, the Engineers had a date with destiny in front of what was sure to be a favorable crowd at the Frozen Four in Lake Placid. North Dakota senior Jon Casey had other plans.
With some of the greatest names ever to don the Cherry and White blasting away at him, Casey put on a display of brilliance in net that propelled North Dakota to an upset of the ECAC champions and into the Frozen Four themselves. The netminder faced a total of 93 shots in a two-game, total goal series at Houston Field House, and managed to emerge victorious on the other end. In game one, Casey allowed the Engineers four goals, but the RPI defense, frequently able to bend significantly due to the usual higher output from the offense, allowed five, giving the Fighting Sioux a one-goal edge heading into the back end of the series.
The Engineers couldn't have been overly concerned about falling out of the tournament at that point, after all, they had put together a barrage and were still just one goal down. Another similar effort the next night offensively combined with a boost defensively would surely still see them through. But as good as Casey had been on Friday night, he was even more effective on Saturday night, limiting RPI's freakish offense to only two goals, while the Sioux were able to pump in four of their own. Despite being outshot 93-52, the total score was 9-6, and it was North Dakota, on the back of an incredible performance by their goaltender (with a save percentage of .935, good by today's standards and unheard of at the time), who was off to Lake Placid, leaving the Engineers to wonder about what could have been.
Mike Addesa and some of his charges were critical of the officiating in the series (which had featured western referees), but at the end of the day, officiating can't accomplish what Casey did in net - the numbers simply don't lie.
But what if Jon Casey hadn't been Superman that weekend in March? What if the heavy favorites from that school with the funny name had gotten the job done and moved on to the Frozen Four for the first time in 20 years?
Presuming that the heavy favorites had found a way to continue their usual goal scoring ways and had gotten themselves past Casey and North Dakota, the Engineers would have been the lone eastern team in the 1984 Frozen Four at Lake Placid, which actually ended up being an all-western affair. RPI was not the only team that could have been local in Lake Placid - Clarkson, it should be noted, came within a goal of forcing a Game 2 overtime at Minnesota-Duluth. Boston University, meanwhile, did face overtime in its Game 2 while hosting Bowling Green, the odd sight of a 4-1 game going into overtime thanks to a 4-1 BU win the night before ended with a goal for the Falcons, sending the CCHA regular season champs to the Frozen Four.
But leaving everything else alone, RPI would have gone to Lake Placid with Minnesota-Duluth, Michigan State, and Bowling Green as the other three teams. North Dakota faced off with the Bulldogs, leading to the possibility that an RPI win over North Dakota would have created the classic RPI-UMD matchup that graced the 1985 tournament, just one year sooner.
The 1984 Duluth squad, as one would expect, was largely the same as the 1985 team, with one major exception - Brett Hull was still a year away from matriculating. Both teams included 1985 Hobey Baker winner Bill Watson as the top scorer, both included Norm Maciver, who went on to a long NHL career, and both featured Rick Kosti in net. The 1984 team, in place of Hull, really, had defenseman Tom Kurvers, who had won the 1984 Hobey Baker.
UMD defeated North Dakota to advance to the national championship game, but it wasn't for lack of effort by Jon Casey, who continued his amazing performance to limit a team with two eventual Hobey Baker winners to just one goal in regulation. The Bulldogs advanced in overtime, 2-1. Would RPI have done any better? It's almost impossible to know for sure. To their advantage, they would have been closer to home, but RPI did end up with a 1-3 record against WCHA teams in 1983-84 in real life, coupling the two losses to North Dakota with a split against Wisconsin in Madison. It certainly would have been a very, very good game, probably quite similar to the 1985 classic (especially since UMD went to four overtimes in the 1984 national championship).
We're probably assuming a lot by pondering further, but the Engineers would likely have been favorites against Bowling Green in the national championship had they advanced that far. The Falcons had a number of players who had long NHL careers, including Garry Galley, Dave Ellett, and Gino Cavallini, and they were coached by Jerry York, who was in search of his first national championship. They had overachieved a bit on their way to what would eventually be that first national championship.
The question really isn't whether RPI could have beaten Bowling Green here, because it presumes an answer to the previous situation. The question really is this: if RPI had won the 1984 national championship - certainly a happening that would not have been outside the realm of possibility - what would have changed?
Would the professional exodus that took place after the 1985 championship have taken place? Possibly. Daren Puppa probably would have stuck around since he'd just finished his freshman season, but would sophomore Adam Oates have stayed? Hard to say for sure, but probably just as hard to see them staying. It's certainly not a given that the Engineers would have been in a position to go back to back, especially if they'd run into a UMD team with extra motivation to beat RPI in 1985.
Outside of RPI, one wonders if Jerry York would have caught on at his alma mater in 1994 without the national championship win in his back pocket from a decade prior. That seems pretty likely, but if not, what becomes of the current Boston College dynasty? Just a ponderance.
All in all, it's hard to see exactly what RPI would have gone on to accomplish if they had lived up to expectations in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but it certainly underscores the speed with which Mike Addesa was able to build a national contender in Troy.
Showing posts with label bowling green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bowling green. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tsunami Watch: Night of the Living CCHA
It's alive!
Well, not quite yet. But it does sound like reports of the CCHA's demise may have been exaggerated.
Last week, we mentioned that Bowling Green appeared to be out of options when it came to their final destination, with a rapidly expiring WCHA offer sitting on the table and not much else.
Now, via the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune, comes news that instead of trudging off to the WCHA, the Falcons may instead channel their inner North Dakota, and take the lead on the formation of a new league... or at the very least, rebuild the CCHA around themselves.
In yesterday's paper, the Sentinel-Tribune stated that Bowling Green was in talks with those dissatisfied Atlantic Hockey programs we've already mentioned - Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris - on joining together. Those schools had previously been in discussions with the CCHA as a whole before the majority of the remaining members bolted for the WCHA (and WMU for the NCHC). But that only makes for five programs - one less than needed for an automatic bid.
Enter Bucky Gleason's dream team.
You may remember our artful dismantling of The Buffalo News reporter Bucky Gleason in May 2010 following an over-exuberant reworking of college hockey in his apparently uneducated image. We stand by every word of that today, but you'll note that we never pooh-poohed the idea of the University of Buffalo one day having a team, just that it wouldn't necessarily be as easy as Gleason made it sound - not to mention, coming equipped with a silly arrangement by which Clarkson and St. Lawrence would, for some reason, join up with the Bulls.
At any rate, it does sound like UB is at the very least interested enough to be a party to discussions with Bowling Green and the AHA insurrectionists. However, the university told WGRZ-TV that "there are several things that would need to occur both fiscally and within conference alignments for this to work for UB at this time."
Additionally, when it comes to small conferences, this new Zombie CCHA wouldn't necessarily be on the world's greatest footing. They'd probably want at least one, if not two more programs.
So where do we now stand with this news?
Bowling Green: To be quite frank, Bowling Green didn't seem like the type of program that would be taking a lead on forming what in essence would be a brand new league even if it may end up being a new-look CCHA - which is why we're calling it the "Zombie CCHA" for the time being. Sure they've got a national title in their history, but the program has been in rough shape for some time, to include a period of time a few years back in which the program seemed to be in danger of folding (which serendipitously led to Nick Bailen's arrival in Troy). Together with ongoing renovations to BGSU Ice Arena, this may be part of a WMU-like rebound for the program. At any rate, the Falcons have until Oct. 7 to let the WCHA what they want to do for the 2013-14 campaign, so we'll probably know more soon about whether this Zombie CCHA is a real thing.
Canisius: Noteworthy in the Sentinel-Tribune story is the little tidbit - alluded to in Gleason's comedy bit - that Canisius may be working out a deal with none other than Terry Pegula, the man who donated the seed money to get Penn State's program off the ground. Pegula, who also owns the Buffalo Sabres, would apparently be seeking to use to use the facility as a practice rink for the Sabres as well, which would only mean good things for the Griffins and their program, especially if they can be part of a conference like the CCHA that will allow them to offer a full slate of scholarships. This could be a program on the rise.
Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris: Nothing really new to report here other than that the rest of the teams who had already been in contact with the CCHA are still apparently looking to leave Atlantic Hockey if they can.
Buffalo: Something about UB's statement has me a little skeptical that they're actually going to pull this off, especially since BGSU has a timetable of their own that they need to adhere to that expires in a couple of weeks. Still, if the money is there - reputed to be coming via Buffalo billionaire Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the Boston Bruins, who's been generous to the school before - this is certainly something that is possible. About the only thing Gleason had going for him in that article was that he was right about the potential for college hockey growth in the Buffalo area, and if the Bulls can anchor the Zombie CCHA along with Niagara and Canisius, it would even have its own hub city. UB is trying to significantly transform itself into the undisputed top school in the SUNY system - a move like this wouldn't hurt that at all.
RIT: Notably, the other school that yearns for more than Atlantic Hockey still isn't a part of the discussion. This could well be a matter of the Tigers waiting to see if something becomes available in the ECAC, as it has been mentioned that RIT would love to earn a place in with the Ivies and some of their peer schools. That doesn't look likely unless a current team leaves, which, as we've said, is only probably going to happen if Notre Dame goes to Hockey East. RIT's probably waiting for the dominoes to fall. A Notre Dame move to the NCHC could trigger some interest in the Zombie CCHA, if it exists by then, from the Tigers.
Air Force: It hasn't been reasonably confirmed that the Falcons are eager to leave Atlantic Hockey yet (there have only been a few Twitter rumors here or there), but in the same vein, they could be a candidate for a Zombie CCHA or even the WCHA, especially if BGSU ultimately turns down the WCHA's invite (leaving them with just eight teams). The Academy already bailed on the CHA when it appeared that conference was ready to go down the drain, if several teams leave Atlantic Hockey their survival instincts may just kick in once again.
Atlantic Hockey: That leads into the obvious next step... if these wheels eventually get set in motion, it could be relatively disastrous for the AHA moving forward - the only teams not presently linked to a potential move from the conference are American International, Army, Bentley, UConn, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. The league's already lacking in fire power, this league would not only be relegated to the bare minimum of six teams, it would be very dependent on the seeming "it's just there" nature of the AIC program (as we discussed in AIC's Know Your Enemy) for survival. Something to consider.
Alabama-Huntsville: These new developments have been nothing but positive for the Chargers, who now could find themselves with as many as three decent options for conference membership if all goes well. We talked about the WCHA as a potential landing spot, but the Zombie CCHA or a vastly depleted Atlantic Hockey would probably be even better candidates for the Chargers. Right now, of course, their biggest hurdle is a temporary president who seems ready to throw the team away before they get the opportunity to try for a permanent home.
Notre Dame: Completely unrelated to the Zombie CCHA is the seemingly never-ending question of where the Fighting Irish are going to land. The Eagle Tribune's Mike McMahon said yesterday that independence is pretty much now off the table and the NCHC or Hockey East choice is all that remains - and at the very least, Hockey East doesn't seem to think that the Irish are leaning as far toward the NCHC as they originally were.
Hockey East: Today was Hockey East Media Day, which was abuzz with the possibility of Notre Dame joining the conference. McMahon got a chance to speak to Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna, indicating that the league would probably seek a 12th team if Notre Dame comes into the conference - and he also tweeted that the discussions at Media Day had RPI as the top potential choice with UConn as a longshot (there are Title IX issues at play in Storrs) and a little less discussion on Quinnipiac.
RPI: So... we wait. And if Notre Dame declares their undying love for Hockey East... hold onto your helmet.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tsunami Watch: Settling Point?
While we dry out a bit here in Irene-ravaged Troy (which was almost wholly to blame for this not running yesterday), here's the latest on the conference carousel that may soon be grinding to a halt.
Last week, the rumored WCHA-CCHA merger that had been discussed came to fruition as the WCHA offered membership to the remaining members of the CCHA with the exception of Notre Dame, which is still on the fence between the NCHC and Hockey East (and, apparently, becoming an independent).
Alaska, Lake Superior State, and Ferris State quickly accepted. Thus, the WCHA currently looks like this in 2013:
Alaska
Alaska-Anchorage
Bemidji State
Ferris State
Lake Superior State
Michigan Tech
Minnesota State
Northern Michigan
St. Cloud State
There's one thing that all of these schools have in common: Division II. That may be one of the things that is causing hesitation for the other two WCHA invitees, Bowling Green and Western Michigan, both of whom play at the highest level of Division I.
That leaves the following remaining question marks.
Notre Dame: Once again, it was something other than Notre Dame which moved first. We all thought the Irish would be the first to make a move... they're now almost certain to be last. Well... maybe next to last.
The options are still pretty much laid bare on the table. They're one of three remaining CCHA teams, so they can't reasonably stay there - not that that's ever been something that was realistic to begin with. They've got a standing offer from the NCHC, and Hockey East wouldn't say no if they wanted to join there.
If Notre Dame preferred to align themselves with the Big Ten, there's another option that the Irish could be considering - independence. Now, this wouldn't leave the Irish as independents in the style of Alabama-Huntsville, which will be in its second season of fully cobbling together a schedule this year, but rather, would be a situation where the Irish had long-term scheduling arrangements with other leagues, almost certainly with the Big Ten and probably with the NCHC as well. Such an arrangement would allow Notre Dame to keep playing the schools they're already used to playing without having to tether themselves to the Big Ten (which they've famously refused to do for decades) or a conference largely consisted of less prestigious institutions in the NCHC. They wouldn't be able to vie for an automatic bid and they'd have to find a way to keep playing into March (when the conferences are in tournament mode), but with the scheduling arrangements, a good Irish team with a solid record would probably be in contention for an NCAA bid without much problem.
Bowling Green: The Falcons are in an interesting position. They have the WCHA invite in their back pocket, but as a Division I school, they could arguably have the clout to join the NCHC, which would probably like to grow larger than just six schools - not to mention that BGSU's MAC cohorts, Miami, are already there. They're almost certainly going to wait to see what Notre Dame does before making a decision.
Western Michigan: The Broncos are, even more than BGSU, waiting to see what Notre Dame is going to do, in part because their proximity to South Bend could potentially allow them to latch on with the Irish as a travel partner in either the NCHC or Hockey East. It remains to be seen if the latter would be interested at all in WMU, though the former has apparently already extended an offer. Now they also have an offer from the WCHA. Options abound. It's amazing what one outstanding rebound season combined with a new commitment from administration will do for a program.
Atlantic Hockey: The WCHA-CCHA merger kills any chance that the four potential departures - Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris - had of being able to leave, since they had interest in playing in a revamped CCHA that will no longer exist. Those schools - and RIT as well - still have interest in improving their station in college hockey, however. What options do they have? Honestly, they don't have many places to turn. They could seek to join the ECAC, but even with the WCHA filling back up again, there's not much of a reason for the ECAC to expand (further diluting the pool for the automatic bid). For the time being, they're probably stuck where they are.
Alabama-Huntsville: The WCHA-CCHA merger is kind of a nightmare scenario for the Chargers... unless they can somehow petition the WCHA to become its 10th, 11th, or 12th member. The problem is, we're already talking about a league that is going to have to figure a way to include a pair of schools as isolated as Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage, bringing on another isolated team - and another D-II school - might be a dicey proposition.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Men's Hockey - Rensselaer Holiday Tournament (26/27 Nov)
It wasn't easy, but the streak is finally over for the Engineers in their own tournament. Given that it had been nine years since RPI won the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament - which has been known by many names over the 60 straight seasons it has run, it probably wasn't ever going to be simple for the Engineers to skate off with the title, even with the relatively weak field most observers saw coming to Troy. The Engineers had to fight back from a pair of 2-goal deficits on Friday but beat UConn 6-5, then had to bounce back from yet another late goal in the title game to win in overtime over Bowling Green, 3-2.
UConn
Lee/Polacek/Cullen
Helfrich/Higgs/O'Grady
Rabbani/Malchuk/Brutlag
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Halpern
Bergin/Foss
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Dolan
Merriam
The big news on Friday before the game was sophomore Bryce Merriam getting his first action of the season in net, but also of note were the jumbling of lines. Tyler Helfrich was moved off the top line for the first time this season with the hopes of helping to develop a bigger second line scoring threat. Higgs was moved onto that line as well, moving Angers-Goulet down to the fourth line.
The Engineers dominated the first period, throwing an impressive 20 shots on net against UConn goaltender Garrett Bartus, but he was up to the task, making 20 saves. Instead, it was the Huskies that would take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, scoring their goal on an odd-man rush created by a bad transition from the Engineers.
RPI got a rough start to the second period, failing to follow up on the dominance of the first that had fans expecting that the game was still in hand despite trailing by a goal. The Huskies started turning the shot disparity around and ultimately took a 2-0 lead on a power play goal following an interference call against Pat Koudys.
Things finally got going less than a minute later. Jeff Foss whipped a head-man pass up to Alex Angers-Goulet, who streaked up the boards and came in on Bartus all alone, putting it home to make it 2-1 just 55 seconds after the second UConn goal. Later in the period, Bryan Brutlag scored on a rip from near the blue line that tied the score at two. Things seemed to be going well for the Engineers as the third period began.
But early in the third period, RPI would go down again, and it happened in much the same fashion as the first goal of the game. UConn broke out of its own zone very well, getting an odd-man rush and scoring on a shot that Merriam probably would want to have back, regaining the lead at 3-2. About four minutes later, the Huskies had their two-goal lead back after the Engineers failed to clear the puck. Another shot that Merriam probably should have gotten to popped the top of the net to make it 4-2. Coach-for-a-night Bryan Vines called timeout to try and stem the tide.
The second comeback, like the first one, began in short order. About a minute and a half later, the Engineers cut the deficit in half with a rebound goal scored by Helfrich, and the momentum definitely began to go in RPI's direction. It started to look like the tying goal was inevitable.
Then the energy was sucked out of the building in a hurry. Patrick Cullen and C.J. Lee crashed the net in search of that tying goal, and Cullen, carrying the puck, was upended by a defender taking out his legs. Cullen went flying through the air, striking Lee in the head with his skate, and Lee crumpled to the ice in a hurry. The game was delayed for almost 15 minutes as trainers and EMTs attended to Lee, who had been knocked out for a short time. As a precaution, Lee was put into a neck brace, placed on a backboard, and stretchered off the ice. The Field House was extremely quiet throughout the ordeal.
Once the teams got back to it, however, the Engineers proved that they hadn't lost their momentum. Just seconds after the game resumed - and indeed, only about a minute-and-a-half of game time after the Helfrich goal - the tying goal came from Chase Polacek, who put back a rebound off a Mike Bergin shot to bring the game level once again.
RPI took the lead on one of the worst giveaways you will ever see. With UConn holding the puck in their own zone and every Engineer but Angers-Goulet falling back, the Huskies promptly passed it directly to Angers-Goulet, who was standing directly in front of the crease. Before Bartus could react to the turnover, Angers-Goulet had already rifled it past him for an unassisted goal to put RPI up 5-4. But the Huskies weren't done. After an RPI giveaway in the neutral zone, UConn entered the zone one-on-one and scored on another shot York probably would have had, knotting things a third time, 5-5.
The response was relatively quick, and it was assisted by a pair of calls against UConn. The first was an interference call shortly after the ensuing center ice faceoff that put RPI on the power play, and Chase Polacek converted, threading the needle between Bartus and the post to put RPI back up 6-5. The second penalty came with less than 3 minutes left in the game, giving the Huskies little opportunity to come back. They did give the Engineers fits with the goaltender pulled - something isn't new for RPI this year - but the home team survived to advance to the title game after a wild, back and forth affair.
Merriam made 30 saves on the night, but many of the goals were relatively soft. It was reminiscent of his rough outing against Princeton in last year's Freakout.
Lee was taken to Albany Med, where a battery of tests were run, all thankfully negative.
The Engineers advanced to take on Bowling Green on Saturday. The Falcons had been 5-1 winners over Alabama-Huntsville in the first game of the tournament.
Bowling Green
Cullen/Polacek/Brutlag
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Helfrich
Tinordi/Higgs/Halpern
Rabbani/Rogic/Smith
Bergin/Foss
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Dolan
York
Lee was back at Houston Field House on Saturday night, having been diagnosed with a concussion but alert and otherwise fine. He was held out on Saturday and will be held out this coming weekend as a precaution, just to make sure there are no lingering effects - see the interview linked below.
With Lee out, Seth Appert needed to jumble the lines once again. Bryan Brutlag was moved to the top scoring line for the first time, and Marty O'Grady centered the second line in place of Joel Malchuk, who apparently also had his bell rung in the UConn game.
Allen York was always likely to play the second night, especially if the Engineers were playing for a title, but given Merriam's struggles, it was practically a sure thing.
The first period was a relatively placid and ultimately boring affair. Both teams had one power play, neither of which got anything going. BGSU led 5-3 in shots after the period, which underscores the lack of scoring chances either way.
The scoring started early in the second instead, as Tyler Helfrich put back a shot from Marty O'Grady to make it 1-0. Just over a minute later, Nick Bailen, playing against his former team, brought the puck up ice and whipped a wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle, finding the back of the net to give RPI a 2-0 lead.
Bowling Green cut the lead in half on the power play late in the period as sophomore Jordan Samuels-Thomas, the Falcons' top scorer, scored on an odd bounce that found its way behind York to make it 2-1.
The Falcons controlled play throughout the third period, and the longer time went by, it was becoming fairly obvious that the Engineers were going to need a third goal in order to be able to breathe easy. After both teams had only one penalty each in the first two penalties, both took three apiece in the third, including a pair of matching minors that set up four-on-four situations, but BGSU outshot RPI 13-5 in the third. With the 2-1 score holding into the final minute, Bowling Green pulled the goaltender and held the RPI zone, and once again, the inability to clear the puck came back to haunt the Engineers. Brutlag nabbed the puck with about 12 seconds left but couldn't get it out, turning it over to Brett Mohler, who found David Solway. Solway (who originally joined Nick Bailen in leaving Bowling Green before changing his decision upon a firm commitment from the school to its program) ripped a shot with less than 10 seconds left in regulation that beat York to tie the game - reminiscent of the Union game in Lake Placid and the Harvard game.
RPI was determined to get it back. Off the overtime faceoff, Chase Polacek had a scoring opportunity that drew a faceoff in the BGSU zone, and while the Falcons won that faceoff, they couldn't clear the zone as expected, and Polacek zipped the puck behind the defense to Bryan Brutlag, who scored to alleviate his error just 30 in-game seconds after Bowling Green had tied it to give RPI the overtime victory, 3-2, and their first RPI Tournament title since 2001.
Brutlag was named the MVP of the tournament for his two goals and one assist on the weekend. Also named to the all-tournament team was Allen York for his 24 save showing on Saturday, Nick Bailen (1 goal, 2 assists) and Jeff Foss (2 assists, +3) were the all-tournament defensemen, and Chase Polacek (2 goals, 1 assist) and Tyler Helfrich (2 goals) were all-tournament forwards. The only non-RPI player on the all-tournament team was Jordan Samuels-Thomas of BGSU (2 goals, 1 assist on the weekend).
Things get serious this week, as the Engineers depart on what is arguably the most difficult road weekend on the ECAC schedule - that is, of course, given that RPI and Union, unlike the rest of the league, don't have to worry about the newly dreaded weekend in the Capital District. Yale (8-1-0) is first on the docket this Friday, and while the Engineers are no longer the top defensive team in the nation after giving up 5 goals to UConn on Saturday (that's actually Union now), RPI will be the most difficult defense that the Bulldogs have faced to date. Brown (3-2-3) have proven that they are no slouches this season either, having forced high-ranking UNH and BU to have to come from behind in order to settle for ties in the last two weeks, and we saw at the end of last season what they are capable of. Points this weekend will be made of gold, because Yale and Brown are likely to be tough for other teams to beat in their building (much like Dartmouth).
This may be one of the biggest travel partner weekends in recent memory in the ECAC - it includes all three of the ECAC's ranked teams (more on that in a moment) with the fourth nearly ranked. With a big non-conference game at home against BU right around the corner the following weekend, these next two weeks could be a big coming out party for the Engineers if all goes swimmingly well.
Other junk - The tournament victory moved the Engineers up the ladder in the USCHO poll for the second consecutive week, drawing 231 votes to land as the 16th ranked team in the nation this week. #2 Yale (up one, beat Sacred Heart at home) and #13 Union (no change, idle) are the only other ECAC teams ranked this week. Once again, #2 Boston University (no change, tied Brown at home) is the only other opponent on the RPI schedule this year that is ranked this week, BU and Yale both received 901 votes (with one first place vote going to BU) to tie for #2. Other RPI opponents receiving votes this week were Dartmouth (21), Brown (15), Clarkson (2), Niagara (2), and Colorado College (1).
With the ECAC table getting very unbalanced - as usual, Princeton (due to their exam schedule), Harvard (due to the Beanpot and their exam schedule), Quinnipiac and Dartmouth (as travel partners) have an inordinate number of games played compared to most of the remainder of the league. So we've added the usual ranking by winning percentage to assist you in interpreting the ECAC table.
ECAC Standings
1. Dartmouth - 5-2-1 (11 pts)
2. Princeton - 5-2-0 (10 pts)
3. Yale - 4-0-0 (8 pts)
4. Quinnipiac - 3-3-1 (7 pts)
5. Brown - 2-1-1 (5 pts)
6. Union - 2-1-1 (5 pts)
7. Clarkson - 2-2-1 (5 pts)
8. RPI - 2-2-0 (4 pts)
9. St. Lawrence - 2-3-0 (4 pts)
10. Cornell - 2-4-0 (4 pts)
11. Harvard - 2-6-0 (4 pts)
12. Colgate - 0-5-1 (1 pt)
Adjusted Standings
1. Yale (1.000)
2. Princeton (.714)
3. Dartmouth (.688)
4. Brown (.625, 4 GP, +3 GD)
5. Union (.625, 4 GP, +1 GD)
6. RPI (.500, 4 GP)
7. Clarkson (.500, 5 GP)
8. Quinnipiac (.500, 7 GP)
9. St. Lawrence (.400, 5 GP)
10. Cornell (.333)
11. Harvard (.250)
12. Colgate (.083)
UConn at #17 RPI
RPI Holiday Tournament First Round - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/26/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 6, UConn 5
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
VIDEO
RECORD: 6-3-3 (2-2-0 ECAC, 4 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Chase Polacek, 2 G
2. F Alex Angers-Goulet, 2 G
3. F Bryan Brutlag, 1 G, 1 A
Bowling Green at #17 RPI
RPI Holiday Tournament Championship - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/27/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Bowling Green 2 (OT)
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
VIDEO
Reale Deals
1. F Bryan Brutlag, GWG
2. D Nick Bailen, 1 G
3. G Allen York, 24 saves
Upcoming games
03 Dec - at #2 Yale
04 Dec - at Brown
11 Dec - #2 Boston University
19 Dec - US Junior National Team (exhibition)
30 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
UConn
Lee/Polacek/Cullen
Helfrich/Higgs/O'Grady
Rabbani/Malchuk/Brutlag
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Halpern
Bergin/Foss
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Dolan
Merriam
The big news on Friday before the game was sophomore Bryce Merriam getting his first action of the season in net, but also of note were the jumbling of lines. Tyler Helfrich was moved off the top line for the first time this season with the hopes of helping to develop a bigger second line scoring threat. Higgs was moved onto that line as well, moving Angers-Goulet down to the fourth line.
The Engineers dominated the first period, throwing an impressive 20 shots on net against UConn goaltender Garrett Bartus, but he was up to the task, making 20 saves. Instead, it was the Huskies that would take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, scoring their goal on an odd-man rush created by a bad transition from the Engineers.
RPI got a rough start to the second period, failing to follow up on the dominance of the first that had fans expecting that the game was still in hand despite trailing by a goal. The Huskies started turning the shot disparity around and ultimately took a 2-0 lead on a power play goal following an interference call against Pat Koudys.
Things finally got going less than a minute later. Jeff Foss whipped a head-man pass up to Alex Angers-Goulet, who streaked up the boards and came in on Bartus all alone, putting it home to make it 2-1 just 55 seconds after the second UConn goal. Later in the period, Bryan Brutlag scored on a rip from near the blue line that tied the score at two. Things seemed to be going well for the Engineers as the third period began.
But early in the third period, RPI would go down again, and it happened in much the same fashion as the first goal of the game. UConn broke out of its own zone very well, getting an odd-man rush and scoring on a shot that Merriam probably would want to have back, regaining the lead at 3-2. About four minutes later, the Huskies had their two-goal lead back after the Engineers failed to clear the puck. Another shot that Merriam probably should have gotten to popped the top of the net to make it 4-2. Coach-for-a-night Bryan Vines called timeout to try and stem the tide.
The second comeback, like the first one, began in short order. About a minute and a half later, the Engineers cut the deficit in half with a rebound goal scored by Helfrich, and the momentum definitely began to go in RPI's direction. It started to look like the tying goal was inevitable.
Then the energy was sucked out of the building in a hurry. Patrick Cullen and C.J. Lee crashed the net in search of that tying goal, and Cullen, carrying the puck, was upended by a defender taking out his legs. Cullen went flying through the air, striking Lee in the head with his skate, and Lee crumpled to the ice in a hurry. The game was delayed for almost 15 minutes as trainers and EMTs attended to Lee, who had been knocked out for a short time. As a precaution, Lee was put into a neck brace, placed on a backboard, and stretchered off the ice. The Field House was extremely quiet throughout the ordeal.
Once the teams got back to it, however, the Engineers proved that they hadn't lost their momentum. Just seconds after the game resumed - and indeed, only about a minute-and-a-half of game time after the Helfrich goal - the tying goal came from Chase Polacek, who put back a rebound off a Mike Bergin shot to bring the game level once again.
RPI took the lead on one of the worst giveaways you will ever see. With UConn holding the puck in their own zone and every Engineer but Angers-Goulet falling back, the Huskies promptly passed it directly to Angers-Goulet, who was standing directly in front of the crease. Before Bartus could react to the turnover, Angers-Goulet had already rifled it past him for an unassisted goal to put RPI up 5-4. But the Huskies weren't done. After an RPI giveaway in the neutral zone, UConn entered the zone one-on-one and scored on another shot York probably would have had, knotting things a third time, 5-5.
The response was relatively quick, and it was assisted by a pair of calls against UConn. The first was an interference call shortly after the ensuing center ice faceoff that put RPI on the power play, and Chase Polacek converted, threading the needle between Bartus and the post to put RPI back up 6-5. The second penalty came with less than 3 minutes left in the game, giving the Huskies little opportunity to come back. They did give the Engineers fits with the goaltender pulled - something isn't new for RPI this year - but the home team survived to advance to the title game after a wild, back and forth affair.
Merriam made 30 saves on the night, but many of the goals were relatively soft. It was reminiscent of his rough outing against Princeton in last year's Freakout.
Lee was taken to Albany Med, where a battery of tests were run, all thankfully negative.
The Engineers advanced to take on Bowling Green on Saturday. The Falcons had been 5-1 winners over Alabama-Huntsville in the first game of the tournament.
Bowling Green
Cullen/Polacek/Brutlag
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Helfrich
Tinordi/Higgs/Halpern
Rabbani/Rogic/Smith
Bergin/Foss
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Dolan
York
Lee was back at Houston Field House on Saturday night, having been diagnosed with a concussion but alert and otherwise fine. He was held out on Saturday and will be held out this coming weekend as a precaution, just to make sure there are no lingering effects - see the interview linked below.
With Lee out, Seth Appert needed to jumble the lines once again. Bryan Brutlag was moved to the top scoring line for the first time, and Marty O'Grady centered the second line in place of Joel Malchuk, who apparently also had his bell rung in the UConn game.
Allen York was always likely to play the second night, especially if the Engineers were playing for a title, but given Merriam's struggles, it was practically a sure thing.
The first period was a relatively placid and ultimately boring affair. Both teams had one power play, neither of which got anything going. BGSU led 5-3 in shots after the period, which underscores the lack of scoring chances either way.
The scoring started early in the second instead, as Tyler Helfrich put back a shot from Marty O'Grady to make it 1-0. Just over a minute later, Nick Bailen, playing against his former team, brought the puck up ice and whipped a wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle, finding the back of the net to give RPI a 2-0 lead.
Bowling Green cut the lead in half on the power play late in the period as sophomore Jordan Samuels-Thomas, the Falcons' top scorer, scored on an odd bounce that found its way behind York to make it 2-1.
The Falcons controlled play throughout the third period, and the longer time went by, it was becoming fairly obvious that the Engineers were going to need a third goal in order to be able to breathe easy. After both teams had only one penalty each in the first two penalties, both took three apiece in the third, including a pair of matching minors that set up four-on-four situations, but BGSU outshot RPI 13-5 in the third. With the 2-1 score holding into the final minute, Bowling Green pulled the goaltender and held the RPI zone, and once again, the inability to clear the puck came back to haunt the Engineers. Brutlag nabbed the puck with about 12 seconds left but couldn't get it out, turning it over to Brett Mohler, who found David Solway. Solway (who originally joined Nick Bailen in leaving Bowling Green before changing his decision upon a firm commitment from the school to its program) ripped a shot with less than 10 seconds left in regulation that beat York to tie the game - reminiscent of the Union game in Lake Placid and the Harvard game.
RPI was determined to get it back. Off the overtime faceoff, Chase Polacek had a scoring opportunity that drew a faceoff in the BGSU zone, and while the Falcons won that faceoff, they couldn't clear the zone as expected, and Polacek zipped the puck behind the defense to Bryan Brutlag, who scored to alleviate his error just 30 in-game seconds after Bowling Green had tied it to give RPI the overtime victory, 3-2, and their first RPI Tournament title since 2001.
Brutlag was named the MVP of the tournament for his two goals and one assist on the weekend. Also named to the all-tournament team was Allen York for his 24 save showing on Saturday, Nick Bailen (1 goal, 2 assists) and Jeff Foss (2 assists, +3) were the all-tournament defensemen, and Chase Polacek (2 goals, 1 assist) and Tyler Helfrich (2 goals) were all-tournament forwards. The only non-RPI player on the all-tournament team was Jordan Samuels-Thomas of BGSU (2 goals, 1 assist on the weekend).
Things get serious this week, as the Engineers depart on what is arguably the most difficult road weekend on the ECAC schedule - that is, of course, given that RPI and Union, unlike the rest of the league, don't have to worry about the newly dreaded weekend in the Capital District. Yale (8-1-0) is first on the docket this Friday, and while the Engineers are no longer the top defensive team in the nation after giving up 5 goals to UConn on Saturday (that's actually Union now), RPI will be the most difficult defense that the Bulldogs have faced to date. Brown (3-2-3) have proven that they are no slouches this season either, having forced high-ranking UNH and BU to have to come from behind in order to settle for ties in the last two weeks, and we saw at the end of last season what they are capable of. Points this weekend will be made of gold, because Yale and Brown are likely to be tough for other teams to beat in their building (much like Dartmouth).
This may be one of the biggest travel partner weekends in recent memory in the ECAC - it includes all three of the ECAC's ranked teams (more on that in a moment) with the fourth nearly ranked. With a big non-conference game at home against BU right around the corner the following weekend, these next two weeks could be a big coming out party for the Engineers if all goes swimmingly well.
Other junk - The tournament victory moved the Engineers up the ladder in the USCHO poll for the second consecutive week, drawing 231 votes to land as the 16th ranked team in the nation this week. #2 Yale (up one, beat Sacred Heart at home) and #13 Union (no change, idle) are the only other ECAC teams ranked this week. Once again, #2 Boston University (no change, tied Brown at home) is the only other opponent on the RPI schedule this year that is ranked this week, BU and Yale both received 901 votes (with one first place vote going to BU) to tie for #2. Other RPI opponents receiving votes this week were Dartmouth (21), Brown (15), Clarkson (2), Niagara (2), and Colorado College (1).
With the ECAC table getting very unbalanced - as usual, Princeton (due to their exam schedule), Harvard (due to the Beanpot and their exam schedule), Quinnipiac and Dartmouth (as travel partners) have an inordinate number of games played compared to most of the remainder of the league. So we've added the usual ranking by winning percentage to assist you in interpreting the ECAC table.
ECAC Standings
1. Dartmouth - 5-2-1 (11 pts)
2. Princeton - 5-2-0 (10 pts)
3. Yale - 4-0-0 (8 pts)
4. Quinnipiac - 3-3-1 (7 pts)
5. Brown - 2-1-1 (5 pts)
6. Union - 2-1-1 (5 pts)
7. Clarkson - 2-2-1 (5 pts)
8. RPI - 2-2-0 (4 pts)
9. St. Lawrence - 2-3-0 (4 pts)
10. Cornell - 2-4-0 (4 pts)
11. Harvard - 2-6-0 (4 pts)
12. Colgate - 0-5-1 (1 pt)
Adjusted Standings
1. Yale (1.000)
2. Princeton (.714)
3. Dartmouth (.688)
4. Brown (.625, 4 GP, +3 GD)
5. Union (.625, 4 GP, +1 GD)
6. RPI (.500, 4 GP)
7. Clarkson (.500, 5 GP)
8. Quinnipiac (.500, 7 GP)
9. St. Lawrence (.400, 5 GP)
10. Cornell (.333)
11. Harvard (.250)
12. Colgate (.083)
UConn at #17 RPI
RPI Holiday Tournament First Round - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/26/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 6, UConn 5
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
VIDEO
RECORD: 6-3-3 (2-2-0 ECAC, 4 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Chase Polacek, 2 G
2. F Alex Angers-Goulet, 2 G
3. F Bryan Brutlag, 1 G, 1 A
Bowling Green at #17 RPI
RPI Holiday Tournament Championship - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/27/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Bowling Green 2 (OT)
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
VIDEO
- Goals (no audio)
- Full game (RPI TV)
- C.J. Lee interview (Schenectady Gazette)
- Post game interviews (Schenectady Gazette)
Reale Deals
1. F Bryan Brutlag, GWG
2. D Nick Bailen, 1 G
3. G Allen York, 24 saves
Upcoming games
03 Dec - at #2 Yale
04 Dec - at Brown
11 Dec - #2 Boston University
19 Dec - US Junior National Team (exhibition)
30 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
RPI Holiday Tournament, By The Numbers
Want to know how much RPI should be favored in this tournament? Just look at how the numbers break down by national ranking.
Team Offense (goals per game)
35. UConn - 2.60
39. RPI - 2.55
55. Bowling Green - 2.07
56. Alabama-Huntsville - 2.00
Team Defense (GAA)
1. RPI - 1.82
40. Bowling Green - 3.36
51. UConn - 3.60
56. Alabama-Huntsville - 4.25
Power Play
11. Alabama-Huntsville - 23.1% (15/65)
31. RPI - 16.9% (11/65)
33. UConn - 16.3% (8/49)
56. Bowling Green - 7.2% (5/69)
Penalty Kill
17. UConn - 86.3% (44/51)
31. RPI - 82.5% (52/63)
44. Alabama-Huntsville 76.8% (53/69)
48. Bowling Green - 75.9% (63/83)
Those are some pretty weak offenses - not that RPI's offense is terribly decent, but the defensive advantage that they hold should be enough to stifle the other offenses in the tournament, at least enough to score a few goals. The team the Engineers face on Saturday is going to have an especially anemic offense.
What RPI should be keeping an eye on during this tournament is the showdown in New Haven next Friday. As we mentioned yesterday, the hype with Yale is the nation's best offense, but RPI counters with the nation's best defense (at least, for now). The game may well revolve around how well the Engineers' fair offense manages Yale's mediocre defense. RPI has to learn how to score on mediocre defenses, and this weekend's games will certainly provide the opportunity to practice.
This may be the weekend when we finally see Bryce Merriam get some action between the pipes as well, to help ensure that Allen York is healthy for a key ECAC road weekend.
There's no reason to be sitting back, though. We've seen the Engineers facing some weak tournament fields in the past only to come up empty. UConn tied #10 Maine and #13 Union earlier this year. Bowling Green has a victory over #11 Notre Dame. Alabama-Huntsville has only one victory this season, but it was against #20 Ferris State. RPI needs to be on high alert for the letdown upset this weekend.
Team Offense (goals per game)
35. UConn - 2.60
39. RPI - 2.55
55. Bowling Green - 2.07
56. Alabama-Huntsville - 2.00
Team Defense (GAA)
1. RPI - 1.82
40. Bowling Green - 3.36
51. UConn - 3.60
56. Alabama-Huntsville - 4.25
Power Play
11. Alabama-Huntsville - 23.1% (15/65)
31. RPI - 16.9% (11/65)
33. UConn - 16.3% (8/49)
56. Bowling Green - 7.2% (5/69)
Penalty Kill
17. UConn - 86.3% (44/51)
31. RPI - 82.5% (52/63)
44. Alabama-Huntsville 76.8% (53/69)
48. Bowling Green - 75.9% (63/83)
Those are some pretty weak offenses - not that RPI's offense is terribly decent, but the defensive advantage that they hold should be enough to stifle the other offenses in the tournament, at least enough to score a few goals. The team the Engineers face on Saturday is going to have an especially anemic offense.
What RPI should be keeping an eye on during this tournament is the showdown in New Haven next Friday. As we mentioned yesterday, the hype with Yale is the nation's best offense, but RPI counters with the nation's best defense (at least, for now). The game may well revolve around how well the Engineers' fair offense manages Yale's mediocre defense. RPI has to learn how to score on mediocre defenses, and this weekend's games will certainly provide the opportunity to practice.
This may be the weekend when we finally see Bryce Merriam get some action between the pipes as well, to help ensure that Allen York is healthy for a key ECAC road weekend.
There's no reason to be sitting back, though. We've seen the Engineers facing some weak tournament fields in the past only to come up empty. UConn tied #10 Maine and #13 Union earlier this year. Bowling Green has a victory over #11 Notre Dame. Alabama-Huntsville has only one victory this season, but it was against #20 Ferris State. RPI needs to be on high alert for the letdown upset this weekend.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Know Your Enemy: Bowling Green
Last week we touched on a team in Atlantic Hockey that was limping along in their recent history. Today, in part seven of "Know Your Enemy," we discuss a program that has perhaps the most striking night and day history you'll ever see, a program that has reached the highest of the highs but has descended to the lowest of lows. They're also the only one in our series who the Engineers may not actually see this season - the only "potential" enemy on the schedule.
Bowling Green
Nickname: Falcons
Location: Bowling Green, OH
Founded: 1910
Conference: CCHA
National Championships: 1 (1984)
Last NCAA Appearance: 1990
Last Frozen Four: 1984
Coach: Chris Bergeron (1st season)
2009-10 Record: 5-25-6 (4-18-6-5 CCHA, 11th place)
Series: Tied, 8-8-1
First Game: January 2, 1970 (Troy, NY)
Last RPI win: January 18, 2002 (Troy, NY)
Last BGSU win: January 20, 2001 (Bowling Green, OH)
2010-11 game: November 27, 2010 (Troy, NY - potential)
Key players: F David Solway, sr.; F Jordan Samuels-Thomas, so.; F Bryce Williamson, fr.; F Andrew Wallace, fr.; D Andrew Krelove, sr.; G Nick Eno, sr.
One of only a handful of former national champions with only one to their name - Harvard and Northern Michigan are the only other ones - Bowling Green State University was a beast during the 1980s, but are now in one of the toughest positions in all of college hockey: threatened with the loss of their program. No former national champion has ever later gone on to drop hockey altogether, and though much of the immediate danger of this actually happening has passed, the program is still dealing with some of the fallout of the news last year that hockey may have been on the chopping block.
Varsity hockey at BGSU began in 1969, when the Falcons played their first two seasons in Division III's MCHA before becoming a charter member of the CCHA in 1971. Bowling Green was immediately one of the best teams in the new conference, finishing third in its first season and winning the league title in 1973. The following season, Ron Mason would come to BGSU from Lake Superior State, where he had guided the Lakers to an amazing record of 129-47-8 record over seven seasons. Mason became known at LSSU, he would begin to build what would become his legendary status at BGSU.
The Falcons remained CCHA contenders early in Mason's tenure, but he would take them even higher. They would finish first in the regular season for the first time in 1976, and won the first of three straight CCHA championships in 1977, reaching the Frozen Four for the first time in 1978, just nine seasons into their varsity hockey existence. Mason left in 1979 for Michigan State having secured six 20-win seasons in as many tries, and guiding the Falcons to back-to-back 30-win seasons in 1978 and 1979, a very impressive feat for that day and age.
Mason had been a legend in the making, and he was replaced by yet another legend in the making - Jerry York. York had been coaching at Clarkson for seven seasons when the BGSU job became available, and it was under York that the Falcons would reach their greatest heights. The team claimed the storied MacNaughton Cup in each of the only three years it was awarded in the CCHA (Michigan Tech, the award's trustee, left the WCHA for the CCHA from 1981 to 1984) as the regular season champions, and in 1984, BGSU rose to the very top of the college hockey world, knocking off BU and their old coach Ron Mason's Michigan State before playing the longest national championship game in the history of the Frozen Four - a 4 overtime thriller in Lake Placid that ended when BGSU's Gino Cavallini netted the game winner against Minnesota-Duluth to claim the title.
York would guide BGSU to another CCHA regular season title in 1987, a CCHA championship in 1988, and four straight NCAA appearances from 1987 to 1990, but the Falcons would not reach those heights again. They were one-and-done in each of their NCAA appearances, and despite York's 9 straight 20-win seasons from 1981 to 1990, the party was definitely over in Bowling Green. The Falcons would limp through four losing seasons in York's final four seasons, and he left for his alma mater, Boston College, in 1994 - like Mason, leaving BGSU for a job which would make him even more legendary. Mason and York are now 1-2 in most wins by a coach in college hockey.
Buddy Powers, who was, at the time, behind the bench in Troy, was BGSU's choice to replace York in 1994. Powers had taken the Engineers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their national championship in 1985 and had built the core of the team that would claim the ECAC title in 1995. Powers showed promise in his first two seasons, guiding the Falcons to back-to-back 20-win seasons and a 2nd place regular season showing in 1995, but things would drop off fairly quickly. The Falcons finished 11th in the CCHA in 1998, failing to reach 10 wins for the first time in school history. Powers would be at the helm for four more losing seasons before leaving the school in 2002.
Since 1997, Powers' third season in Bowling Green, the Falcons have finished with a record at .500 only once, in 2005, and have never finished above .500. Over the past nine seasons, BGSU has finished either last or next to last in the CCHA six times, and has amassed a CCHA playoff record of 2-19 during that stretch.
Things got worse in 2009. A budget shortfall at the school led to the scrapping of a planned renovation on BGSU's rink. Shortly thereafter, word came down that the program itself might have become the next victim. Some players, concerned about the future of the program, chose to transfer - including Nick Bailen, who played for the Falcons in the 2008-09 season and will be a sophomore at RPI this season. Head coach Scott Paluch then left the program to take a position at USA Hockey. Things looked grim, and in 2010, under interim coach Dennis Williams, BGSU won only 5 games all season, by far their lowest total in program history.
Chris Bergeron, a long-time assistant at Miami, now has the task of righting the ship in Bowling Green, and it will not be easy. Although alumni funding and fundraising has helped raise the money needed to keep the program going, Bergeron will need to start bringing in the kinds of talent that have been missing at BGSU for nearly 20 years to get this program on its feet again. In the meantime, however, there's a big hole for the Falcons to climb out of. Remember last week when we mentioned that only one team besides UConn scored at a clip below 2.00 goals per game? Bowling Green was that other team, managing a pace of only 1.97. Their defense was even worse than that of the Huskies, as the Falcons had a team GAA of 3.83, though that can at least be partially explained by the fact that BGSU plays in a more difficult conference. The Falcons were fourth in the nation in penalty minutes per game, and dead last in penalty killing, snuffing out less than 3 in 4 of their opponent's power plays. Their own power plays were equally dreadful, scoring on only 11.7% of their man advantages, 56th in the nation out of 58. In short, nothing worked last year for BGSU.
There's not really anywhere else to go but up for the Falcons, but it does get worse. Six of their eight highest scorers - on a team with very little scoring - were seniors. Samuels-Thomas did lead the team in scoring last year with 11 goals and 14 assists, while Solway was third with 5 goals and 13 assists, but it's difficult to see where else the scoring might be coming from. There's probably going to need to be a huge contribution from the freshmen (along the line of Samuels-Thomas' freshman campaign last year), especially Williamson and Wallace, if things are going to improve.
Defensively, senior goaltender Nick Eno is a Buffalo draftee, but Eno has never put up numbers like he had in his freshman year, which weren't much to write home about: 2.79 GAA and .905 save percentage. Unless freshman Wyatt Galley is ready to step in and be the man in Bowling Green, things don't look promising in net, either.
Most RPI fans will probably be hoping for a matchup with BGSU, if only because it would mean avoiding a matchup with Alabama-Huntsville, who the Engineers have two confirmed games against the following month. The strategy for dealing with the Falcons would be remarkably similar to the strategy for the Huskies - the ability to get up for this game would be key with the student section empty for the tournament. Unless BGSU's freshmen turn out to be some kind of super class, this is also a game RPI would have to win decisively if they are going to be vying for bigger and better things down the road.
Bowling Green
Nickname: Falcons
Location: Bowling Green, OH
Founded: 1910
Conference: CCHA
National Championships: 1 (1984)
Last NCAA Appearance: 1990
Last Frozen Four: 1984
Coach: Chris Bergeron (1st season)
2009-10 Record: 5-25-6 (4-18-6-5 CCHA, 11th place)
Series: Tied, 8-8-1
First Game: January 2, 1970 (Troy, NY)
Last RPI win: January 18, 2002 (Troy, NY)
Last BGSU win: January 20, 2001 (Bowling Green, OH)
2010-11 game: November 27, 2010 (Troy, NY - potential)
Key players: F David Solway, sr.; F Jordan Samuels-Thomas, so.; F Bryce Williamson, fr.; F Andrew Wallace, fr.; D Andrew Krelove, sr.; G Nick Eno, sr.
One of only a handful of former national champions with only one to their name - Harvard and Northern Michigan are the only other ones - Bowling Green State University was a beast during the 1980s, but are now in one of the toughest positions in all of college hockey: threatened with the loss of their program. No former national champion has ever later gone on to drop hockey altogether, and though much of the immediate danger of this actually happening has passed, the program is still dealing with some of the fallout of the news last year that hockey may have been on the chopping block.
Varsity hockey at BGSU began in 1969, when the Falcons played their first two seasons in Division III's MCHA before becoming a charter member of the CCHA in 1971. Bowling Green was immediately one of the best teams in the new conference, finishing third in its first season and winning the league title in 1973. The following season, Ron Mason would come to BGSU from Lake Superior State, where he had guided the Lakers to an amazing record of 129-47-8 record over seven seasons. Mason became known at LSSU, he would begin to build what would become his legendary status at BGSU.
The Falcons remained CCHA contenders early in Mason's tenure, but he would take them even higher. They would finish first in the regular season for the first time in 1976, and won the first of three straight CCHA championships in 1977, reaching the Frozen Four for the first time in 1978, just nine seasons into their varsity hockey existence. Mason left in 1979 for Michigan State having secured six 20-win seasons in as many tries, and guiding the Falcons to back-to-back 30-win seasons in 1978 and 1979, a very impressive feat for that day and age.
Mason had been a legend in the making, and he was replaced by yet another legend in the making - Jerry York. York had been coaching at Clarkson for seven seasons when the BGSU job became available, and it was under York that the Falcons would reach their greatest heights. The team claimed the storied MacNaughton Cup in each of the only three years it was awarded in the CCHA (Michigan Tech, the award's trustee, left the WCHA for the CCHA from 1981 to 1984) as the regular season champions, and in 1984, BGSU rose to the very top of the college hockey world, knocking off BU and their old coach Ron Mason's Michigan State before playing the longest national championship game in the history of the Frozen Four - a 4 overtime thriller in Lake Placid that ended when BGSU's Gino Cavallini netted the game winner against Minnesota-Duluth to claim the title.
York would guide BGSU to another CCHA regular season title in 1987, a CCHA championship in 1988, and four straight NCAA appearances from 1987 to 1990, but the Falcons would not reach those heights again. They were one-and-done in each of their NCAA appearances, and despite York's 9 straight 20-win seasons from 1981 to 1990, the party was definitely over in Bowling Green. The Falcons would limp through four losing seasons in York's final four seasons, and he left for his alma mater, Boston College, in 1994 - like Mason, leaving BGSU for a job which would make him even more legendary. Mason and York are now 1-2 in most wins by a coach in college hockey.
Buddy Powers, who was, at the time, behind the bench in Troy, was BGSU's choice to replace York in 1994. Powers had taken the Engineers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their national championship in 1985 and had built the core of the team that would claim the ECAC title in 1995. Powers showed promise in his first two seasons, guiding the Falcons to back-to-back 20-win seasons and a 2nd place regular season showing in 1995, but things would drop off fairly quickly. The Falcons finished 11th in the CCHA in 1998, failing to reach 10 wins for the first time in school history. Powers would be at the helm for four more losing seasons before leaving the school in 2002.
Since 1997, Powers' third season in Bowling Green, the Falcons have finished with a record at .500 only once, in 2005, and have never finished above .500. Over the past nine seasons, BGSU has finished either last or next to last in the CCHA six times, and has amassed a CCHA playoff record of 2-19 during that stretch.
Things got worse in 2009. A budget shortfall at the school led to the scrapping of a planned renovation on BGSU's rink. Shortly thereafter, word came down that the program itself might have become the next victim. Some players, concerned about the future of the program, chose to transfer - including Nick Bailen, who played for the Falcons in the 2008-09 season and will be a sophomore at RPI this season. Head coach Scott Paluch then left the program to take a position at USA Hockey. Things looked grim, and in 2010, under interim coach Dennis Williams, BGSU won only 5 games all season, by far their lowest total in program history.
Chris Bergeron, a long-time assistant at Miami, now has the task of righting the ship in Bowling Green, and it will not be easy. Although alumni funding and fundraising has helped raise the money needed to keep the program going, Bergeron will need to start bringing in the kinds of talent that have been missing at BGSU for nearly 20 years to get this program on its feet again. In the meantime, however, there's a big hole for the Falcons to climb out of. Remember last week when we mentioned that only one team besides UConn scored at a clip below 2.00 goals per game? Bowling Green was that other team, managing a pace of only 1.97. Their defense was even worse than that of the Huskies, as the Falcons had a team GAA of 3.83, though that can at least be partially explained by the fact that BGSU plays in a more difficult conference. The Falcons were fourth in the nation in penalty minutes per game, and dead last in penalty killing, snuffing out less than 3 in 4 of their opponent's power plays. Their own power plays were equally dreadful, scoring on only 11.7% of their man advantages, 56th in the nation out of 58. In short, nothing worked last year for BGSU.
There's not really anywhere else to go but up for the Falcons, but it does get worse. Six of their eight highest scorers - on a team with very little scoring - were seniors. Samuels-Thomas did lead the team in scoring last year with 11 goals and 14 assists, while Solway was third with 5 goals and 13 assists, but it's difficult to see where else the scoring might be coming from. There's probably going to need to be a huge contribution from the freshmen (along the line of Samuels-Thomas' freshman campaign last year), especially Williamson and Wallace, if things are going to improve.
Defensively, senior goaltender Nick Eno is a Buffalo draftee, but Eno has never put up numbers like he had in his freshman year, which weren't much to write home about: 2.79 GAA and .905 save percentage. Unless freshman Wyatt Galley is ready to step in and be the man in Bowling Green, things don't look promising in net, either.
Most RPI fans will probably be hoping for a matchup with BGSU, if only because it would mean avoiding a matchup with Alabama-Huntsville, who the Engineers have two confirmed games against the following month. The strategy for dealing with the Falcons would be remarkably similar to the strategy for the Huskies - the ability to get up for this game would be key with the student section empty for the tournament. Unless BGSU's freshmen turn out to be some kind of super class, this is also a game RPI would have to win decisively if they are going to be vying for bigger and better things down the road.
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