The Falcon youth have played a big role in the season so far for BG, who are currently tied for sixth in the CCHA.
None have been bigger so far than freshman forward Rich Meloche and his four goals on the year.
This past weekend, Meloche scored two goals and tallied an assist in a big series against Miami.
He got an assist in Friday’s 4-1 win and scored the last two goals in Saturday’s game to bring the Falcons back from a 4-0 deficit to tie at 4-4. Aside from the two goals, he created many other opportunities and chances in the games like he has all year. Currently, his four goals are top on the team and he is third in points with five.
Forward Brett Pilkington talks about his teammate and how his willingness to learn has really helped his game.
“The biggest thing about Rich Meloche is he is willing to learn and doesn’t think he is better than anyone else,” Pilkington said. “He just wants to learn from everyone and become the best player he can be. You can tell that is happening through the first few weeks of the season here and the improvements he has made.”
Meloche is only 5’9, but plays like he is 6’4 and can be physical on the ice and create plays with his strength. He originates from Oakville, Ontario where he attended Loyola High School and played in the Ontario Provincial Junior “A” League.
In the league, he scored 105 points in only 49 games and led his team the Milton Merchants to the West Division title. He finished third in the league in points and had 49 goals along with 56 assists in helping his team to a record of 41-6-1. In addition, he made the league All-Star team and finished second in play-off scoring.
Meloche was able to score his first goal as a Falcon in the team’s first weekend of the season at Northern Michigan in a rally that fell short in the end. He and his teammates are coming together well as a team now along with creating more shots on net this year.
He commented on how he and his team want to be talked about around the league this year along with creating more offense. “We want to be a team this season that people talk about, as opposed to us hearing about other teams,” Meloche said. “The league this year is pretty defensive and we’ve played well enough to win most the games we’ve played this year. We know we have to keep getting better and creating plays like we have recently.”
Meloche and his teammates will take to the ice this Friday at the BG Ice Arena against Niagara at 7:05 p.m. Come check out this new talent and his teammates as they will look to keep progressing in their hunt for a CCHA title.
