The Bowling Green hockey team has a new face behind the bench this year in head coach Scott Paluch.
“I’m very excited to be back in the league,” Paluch said. “The league has changed a little bit in terms of the league members from when I was playing here in the mid-80s.”
As a defensemen for the Falcons from 1984-88 Paluch tallied 61 points, the second-highest single-season total for a BG defenseman, while also serving as team captain. He earned All-American and All-CCHA first team accolades as a senior during the 1987-88 season.
Paluch completed his collegiate career with 169 points. He is BG’s all-time leading goal-scoring and point-producing defensemen. He is second all-time in the CCHA for goals scored by a defenseman with 48.
Paluch became the Falcons fifth head coach in 33 years when he joined the hockey staff on April 15, 2002.
“I am extremely excited to return to my alma mater,” Paluch said.
Prior to coming to BG Paluch was an assistant coach at Boston College. He helped lead the Eagles to four-consecutive Frozen-Fours from 1997-2001, and won the national championship in 2001.
“He came from a great program,” said forward Steve Brudzewski. “Everyone gives him a lot of respect.”
Before moving to Boston College with former BG head coach Jerry York, Paluch was an assistant coach at Bowling Green. Now, after being in the Hockey East for eight years Paluch is glad to return to the CCHA.
“[The CCHA] is a tremendous college hockey conference,” Paluch said. “When you can get through this conference successfully you’ve certainly set yourself up on a grand stage nationally.”
The Falcons were predicted to finish the season in 11th place out of 12 teams by the coaches and media, but Paluch doesn’t seem to think that number means very much.
“I told our team we’ll decide where we finish,” Paluch said. “It’s our decision, not the coaches putting a number next to a name or the media putting a number. We get to play the games and we get to coach the games, so we’ll decide.”
Paluch isn’t the only one who disagrees with the predictions.
“Our expectations are a lot higher than the polls,” Brudzewski said. “Paluch is a great guy. He’s a great motivational speaker. I’m real excited about this season.”
“Our biggest thing is we want to establish a culture with a work ethic here and we can go out and establish that and be amongst the league’s hardest working team in the country,” Paluch said. “That’s what we are trying to establish right away.”
