This year’s hockey season is about to start for the Falcons and it will be a season in which an old name from the past will emerge again.

Bryan Dobek will be a sophomore forward on the team this year and is the son of Bob Dobek, who is one of the top Falcon hockey players of all time.

“It’s very cool to be playing here and in another respect kind of crazy because of all the things he has done here,” Dobek said. “I’m looking to try and follow in his footsteps here as a second generation player and it’s very cool in that aspect to carry on the Dobek name here at BG.”

Before coming to Bowling Green, Dobek played for the Chicago Freeze of the NAHL where he produced 27 points in 55 games. He was also on a team that won the Michigan State Midget Major AAA Championship in 2000 that advanced to nationals.

He is from Escondido, Calif. where he attended San Pasqual High School lettering a year in golf and also attended Livonia Stevenson High School in Michigan.

Not many schools were looking at Dobek due to him playing for the Freeze and being ineligible to play. Bowling Green kept after him though and he decided it was the place for him.

Dobek’s dad played for the Falcons from 1972-75 and in that time he accomplished many feats.

The elder Dobek, still holds two single-season team records in goals with 44 and assists with 58. He is third for single-season points with 86 and his five hat-tricks in 73-74 is still a single-season high. His 94 career goals ranks him tenth, 134 assists ranks him eighth, and 228 career points ranks him eighth in Falcon history. In 1976, he was a member of the United States Olympic team.

“Bryan’s dad was one of the best players to ever play here at Bowling Green,” said Coach Scott Paluch. “He was one of the classiest players to come through here and definitely a big part of Falcon hockey history.”

After red-shirting last season due to being ineligible, Dobek will be back for the upcoming season and is going to be a player that the team expect to produce when needed.

“He gained a lot of experience being able to practice with us last year and has a great skill package that he brings to the table for us,” Paluch said. “We need someone like Bryan to step up for us and we feel he can do that for us this season.”

Dobek also knows that the experience gained from sitting out last year and getting to practice with the team will help him out this season.

“It was good I sat out last season and got to know the system that coach Paluch runs, along with getting to work with the team without it costing me a year,” Dobek said. “The program is definitely on the upside right now and I’m excited about playing this season and what the future holds for me here.”

In the Falcon Face-off this past weekend, Dobek scored a goal for his team in the showdown part of the skills competition and showed a lot of promise in the game. He and his team will take on Windsor in exhibition play this Friday night at the Ice Arena with the face-off at 7 p.m.