BOWLING GREEN — The Bowling Green State University hockey team compartmentalizes its season into eight-game segments.
That first segment for BG was quite the test.
The Falcons struggled in their first eight contests, going 2-6 to start the 2022-23 season. Facing a difficult slate in Northern Michigan, Michigan State, Western Michigan, and Minnesota State, Bowling Green was without a few key players. Goalie Zack Rose, as well as defensemen Anton Malmstrom and Eric Parker, missed time because of injury.
Just how much of a mountain did the Falcons face? Bowling Green’s strength of schedule is 14th in Division I, according to College Hockey News. The Falcons lost six games in a row in a stretch that included two ranked opponents (then-No. 18 Western Michigan, then-No. 8 Minnesota State) and Michigan Tech, which is ranked No.19 in the current poll.
“You're playing good teams on the road and you're not a hundred percent healthy, and then you don't play great, either,” BG coach Ty Eigner said. “The other team plays really well and you don't play great. That's not a recipe for success, but to our guys’ credit, they stayed with it.”
The injury situation has improved. Malmstrom, who led Bowling Green with 60 blocked shots last season, and Parker, an all-Central Collegiate Hockey Association rookie team selection, have since returned. Rose practiced two days in a row this week, Eigner said.
Bowling Green has positioned itself in a tie for second place in the CCHA, having won four consecutive games. The Falcons (6-8-0, 5-5-0) and Minnesota State each have 17 points behind Michigan Tech (9-3-3, 5-2-3).
The Falcons to Lake Superior State for a conference matchup at 7:07 p.m. on Friday in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the first game in a two-game weekend set.
“Obviously, we got off to a little bit of a slow start, but we had some tough opponents and I think as a team, we took that, we grew from that,” forward Chase Gresock said. “Learning from your losses is one of the only things you can do. You can learn from your losses and then you can move on to the next game and get better.”
Eigner noted that since the Falcons’ series at Minnesota State, Bowling Green has created more scoring chances for itself. Through the Falcons’ first eight games, Bowling Green averaged 2.5 goals per game. Over the course of the past six contests, the team has averaged 3.5 goals per game.
In CCHA games, Bowling Green has averaged 26.79 shots on goal. Austen Swankler is third in the CCHA with eight goals, Ethan Scardina has scored six, and Ryan O'Hara and Nathan Burke have each tallied five.
“I think it's just all coming together,” Swankler said. “We have a lot of guys who care and care for each other and I think it's all adding up. And eventually, you're going to see us make it to the top, whether it's in CCHA or just in college hockey in general.”
Bowling Green is at its best when the Falcons can create second-chance opportunities off the forecheck, Eigner said.
“We got to get back and break out clean and we've got to make good decisions in the neutral,” he said. “And then if we can't get to our forecheck — we're a forecheck team and we're an effort-based team — and when we don't do that, we don't get a lot of offense. We don't get rewarded for it. And when we do do that, we're hard to play against. We spend more time in the offensive zone, and then that's a positive for us.”
After the Falcons’ weekend at Lake Superior State, they return home for a difficult stretch against No. 11 Minnesota State and No. 17 Ohio State.
“We've talked about those are the good teams [Minnesota State and Ohio State],” Gresock said, “we're going to have to beat if we want to get to where we want to be at the end of the year, in the league and at the national tournament.”
First Published December 1, 2022, 11:01 p.m.
