Out with the old, in with the new; the Dennis Williams era is officially here.
The new Bowling Green State University hockey head coach talked with the media at the newly renovated Slater Family Ice Arena on Wednesday morning, just two days out from the start of the season. Here are the major takeaways from the event:
It’s a new era in Bowling Green
One of William’s first statements in his media availability was that it is officially a new era of Bowling Green hockey – one that does not look to the past.
“I didn’t watch anything [from last year], to be quite honest. Last year is last year; it’s done with, we move forward. No different than next year when we come back; it’s a clean slate,” Williams said to the media.
The message is the same that he has echoed to the team since arriving in Northwest Ohio.
“I always tell our players, ‘The goals don’t come with you, the assists, the save percentage; nothing comes with you. If you weren’t happy with ice time or playing time or results team-driven, then the good thing is we have to start from scratch, we have to build off it,'” Williams said. “The whole group has been really good, diligent, active and building together. The excitement they’ve brought every day, like I said, I think shows the true character of that group that’s in that locker.”
Although the team is focused on the future, they have not forgotten that they have been eliminated in the first round of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) the past three seasons.
“I think they have a lot to prove,” Williams said. “They want to prove a lot from the past and show that they’re a team that can compete in the CCHA.”
The Falcons are embracing a new, grittier identity
After Williams stepped away from the microphones, one thing was crystal clear: The Falcon’s identity will revolve around relentless and gritty energy and effort.
“I think at the end of the day, our strength we are going to rely on is our identity, our relentless approach to everything we do. We’re not going to waste time on the ice in practice; we’re not going to waste time in the games. We want to be hard on pucks, fast on pucks; shift times are going to be important,” Williams said. “So, we’ve instilled an approach that every day we come to the rink, we got to get better. We don’t have time to take off; we’re not a 25-win team right now. We have to earn everything we get, and we are going to earn it because that’s going to be our approach; nothing’s given to us.”
While Williams did not give a clear answer on what he thought was going to be Bowling Green’s specific strengths on the ice, he did state what he believed the team’s current strength is.
“I think if you look at the character of our group, the leadership of our group, the depth, I think the willingness to learn, they’re care for each other; that’s probably our strength right now,” he said.
In the case that anyone is questioning the new identity of the team, Williams had a very direct message for the BGSU fans.
“I think what you’re going to see is a relentless group that is very driven,” he said. “Knowing that we’re going to have some trials and tribulations throughout it; the season’s sometimes long, and you’re going to have some highs and lows, but the one thing with this group, what I’ve found, is they’ve kept it even-keel. They’ll empty the tank; there’s no quit. We won’t quit on games…No matter the score, up 5-1, down 5-1, we go to that final buzzer, we have a job to do, we have to perform, and how we can perform is with our work ethic, our tenacity.”
Everyone will have to earn playing time
Seniority is often a major advantage for experienced players or upperclassmen – something that is commonplace across numerous sports.
However, Williams made it clear that all 31 players will have to compete for and earn playing time on the ice.
“To me, there’s no seniors, juniors, freshmen, sophomores; we’re just one group. That’s how we’ve approached practice. Out there, I’m not invested in anybody right now yet. It’s their play in terms of who I’m going to vest in,“ Williams said. “You have to earn everything you get here, and we’ve said that from day one. I believe in that model; nothing is given, you have to earn everything out there.“
This approach applies to the closely contested battle between senior goalie Christian Stoever and sophomore goalie Cole Moore for the starting spot in front of the net.
“For me, the plan is performance-based; you play, you’re in,“ Williams said. “Much like I’ve told everybody, you earn everything you get. I’m in a performance-based job profession; we play the game to win hockey games. So, no different than everybody, we try to treat it all the same.“
Although there will be difficult decisions throughout the season, Williams wants the team to make his job hard.
“We’re going to put the best team, I feel, out there. It’s their job to make my job difficult. If I have to make easy decisions, we haven’t done enough during the week,“ he said. “At the end of the day, it is our job to hopefully, at the end of the week, really have to think about who we’re putting in and why we’re putting in.“
The large returning group is a major strength
While we have yet to see the team perform on the ice, one thing is certain: The massive group of returners will be one of the biggest strengths and advantages for the Falcons.
With the transfer portal being such a prevalent and important part of modern collegiate athletics, it is extremely noteworthy that Bowling Green did not have a single player transfer, yet alone enter the transfer portal, in an offseason where the team transitioned between head coaches.
“I’ve said from the get-go, it’s a special group because of that [the amount of returning players]. We’ve talked about before, in the offseason, the coaching change; it’s easy, open transfer portal out there for them, but the fact that they stayed together really excites me about working with them.“
Along with 25 players returning from last season, there has also been significant buy-in from the group even before they have played a meaningful game together.
“For me, it was all about earning trust. I already told them, ‘If someone tells me you can trust me, don’t trust them.‘ You got to earn trust; you don’t just tell someone or give them an indication that you can trust me. So, since we’ve gotten together, back in early September, it’s the feeling our process of earning our trust back and forth.“
Williams also discussed the importance of building connections with his players and being there as a support outlet.
“When I’m on the ice, I’m dialed in. Off the ice, I’m pretty laid back. I have a lot of guys come in that just want to talk or ask questions, and I think that’s really important that there’s that open-door policy,“ he said. “One thing I’ve always tried to do is make sure my door’s not shut during times when they’re having team lunch; they have to see our coaching staff. It’s not just shut the door and, you know, we’ll see you the next day. I truly hope I continue to earn their respect and trust and know that my best interest is in them, first as a person and then as an athlete, and then from there.“
This season’s leaders announced
Before Williams’ media availability, the team revealed this season’s captains – graduate student Ethan Scardina, senior forward Ryan O’Hara, junior defenseman Dalton Norris and graduate student forward Ville Immonen.
Williams had a lot of praise for the leaders on the team, especially the newly named captains.
“Leadership, really excited about,“ Williams said. “The whole group has been really good; that’s what makes it difficult. So, this has taken me about 14 days to come to this decision. The amount of names I wake up everyday kind of thinking new ways or new people that have done a great job for us.“
Williams made an effort to highlight the leadership of Scardina and O’Hara.
“I say one of the big things for them is obviously we have a lot of roster spots right now, a lot of rostered players on our team, and they were the first two to give up their stalls right away and sat in the middle on chairs for the longest time and had no problem doing that,“ he said. “How often do you see seniors in a lot of sports think, oh, this is my stall; I’ve been here for four years. But they were willing to let the freshmen get in there, and that’s what we talk about: building a team nucleus.“
Time will help Williams and the team
While much of what Williams shared at the press conference may sound promising, it may take time for the Falcons to fully click this season. With this may come some growing pains for the team.
“I’m sure they were probably sick and tired of me blowing the whistle. But we’re not going to do a drill without proper purpose to it and getting what we want out of it. We come up with a practice plan, and I don’t think I’ve kept it because I’m not a timed coach,“ Williams said. “So, if we have an eight-minute drill, let’s just say, a lot of coaches put in, they do it for eight minutes, and they move on. If it takes us 20 minutes to get it right, it’s going to take us 20 minutes; I don’t believe in going to the next drill until we can make sure that we’ve honed in on that skillset that we’re working on that day.“
However, time will only help Williams and the Falcons.
“They want to do everything right. But you’re not going to do it right; the ice is not good out there right now,“ Williams said. “They want to perform at the highest level. For me, now, I always tell them, ‘You don’t need to keep asking questions; we’re going to learn as we go now off it.”
