One league point may not seem like much, but right now it’s a point the Falcon hockey team will take after earning a 2-2 tie in Columbus on Friday night against third-ranked Ohio State.
The tie ended a three-game losing streak to begin the season and came just one night after BG suffered an embarrassing 7-2 loss in their league opener at home to the Buckeyes in a game where OSU clearly dominated the play from the start.
“It was real important for us to come out and have a good strong game against a top team in the nation,” BG captain Don Morrison said. “It was definitely a real big step towards moving in the right direction and hopefully we can keep that momentum going into this next weekend.”
BG also snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Buckeyes, and it marked the first time coach Scott Paluch has been able to take points from the Buckeyes in his 10 games against them.
Paluch and his team will now look to build on that positive and sustain the momentum they have built up as they entertain Ferris State tonight in a home-and-home league series that will conclude on Saturday in Big Rapids, Mich. Both face offs are set for 7:05 p.m.
“It was important to grab a point in terms of it being a positive number on the weekend,” Paluch said of the two games against OSU. “But more importantly it was the way we bounced back and the attitude we showed from Thursday to Friday and how well we played. It showed a lot about our team and what our team is capable of doing.”
A big reason for the bounce back Friday related to a change on defense the Falcons made after Thursday night’s game at the Ice Arena. Instead of having everyone deep in the offensive zone like in the previous games when the Falcons had control of the puck, Paluch moved his forwards and defensemen further back while on the attack to prevent the odd-man rushes that had plagued the team in their first three games.
“I think our team has responded well to it,” he said. “We can still create a lot of great scoring chances and yet be pretty responsible in transition and on defense. Consequently it also allowed us to get some pretty good scoring chances from our high guys.”
The adjustment also made life a little easier on goaltender Jon Horrell who stopped 41-of-43 shots on Friday to help him earn Central Collegiate Hockey Association Goaltender of the Week honors. Jimmy Spratt started Thursday, allowing seven goals with many coming on shots he didn’t have much of a chance to stop.
“Our goals against has been a lot more team related in terms of us having a lot of breakdowns in those two losses to Boston College and Ohio State,” Paluch said. “Those breakdowns lead to a lot of backdoor goals and ones that quite frankly not a lot of goalies are going to stop.”
Mitch O’Keefe is one goalie who has been stopping pucks well, as he made 45 saves on 50 shots he faced for the weekend as Ferris (1-1-2, 0-2-2) earned two ties at Lake Superior State. The weekend also earned him the CCHA Rookie of the Week honors.
The Bulldogs are a young team all-around, but have a lot of returning players who have proven to be big-scorers for them in the past.
Forward Matt Verdone is leading the CCHA in goals scored with six as Ferris comes into the games averaging three goals a game, which is tied for sixth in the league.
Other key returnees for the Bulldogs are Mark Bomersback, Zac Pearson, Greg Rallo and Matt Stefanishion, who recorded a hat-trick in a 5-5 tie with BG last season.
“They’re a team that plays the game fairly similar to the way we play in terms of getting after it and finishing a lot of checks,” Paluch said. “They’re a quick team especially up front – they got a lot of guys that can jump and make plays and they’ll put pressure on you because of their foot speed. They’re one of the quicker teams in this league.”
BG continues to get production from their line of Mike Falk, Alex Foster and Jonathan Matsumoto who accounted for all four goals scored by BG on the weekend. Matsumoto leads the team with four goals this year as he had a goal and three assists on the weekend.
“It’s been amazing playing with Foster and Falk,” Matsumoto said. “I played with them at the end of last year and we’ve just carried that momentum from last year over to the beginning of this season.”
