There is an understandable level of excitement for BGSU athletics fans when their teams are scheduled against difficult opponents. A possible win will certainly be cemented in the high points of the season and maybe even the high points of the program.
Yet some of this excitement is stifled by confused expectations. When paired with an opponent from one of the best conferences in the nation, Falcon fans don’t know whether to be positive and risk letdown or pessimistic and hope for astonishment.
In the fanbase of BGSU hockey, a year-to-year high-powered opponent is Ohio State, and expectations remain high for the Falcons’ chances of winning every year.
From the Big Ten Conference (Big Ten), OSU is one of the more beatable teams and, while assured to be at least a good game, leaves room for a Falcon win.
There are many reasons the Ohio State series is so popular. Many hockey fans for Bowling Green have been or are currently followers of Buckeye hockey, similar to a Minnesota State fan following Minnesota. Why not go see both of your teams play on the same night?
Even more important, especially to the yearly series, is the tradition and quality of the game. While the record has been tilted heavily toward OSU recently (10-33-2-3 for BG since 2000), the history of the series has not been lost.
The all-time series is led by BG 94-79-9, dominated by numerous Falcon victories in the 70s, 80s and 90s. From 1971 until 2013, every game played was a conference, conference championship, or tournament matchup, adding extra meaning and maybe some despisal from both OSU and BGSU fans alike.
Now, the stakes are lower when the series comes about, yet you wouldn’t be able to tell by observing the game and reactions of the Buckeye and Falcon faithful. For Ohio State, the series serves as a baseline victory, a momentous learning experience driving them into the meat of their Big Ten season. For Bowling Green, it is a test of the team’s mettle, proof that a mid-major program can at least hang with, and hopefully beat, a team from one of the best conferences in the country.
Like every season, it is difficult to tell how competitive the matchup will be, more so this season when it is an earlier series (thankfully) and each team has only played four games. Ohio State has two sizably different series.
They took only one win in the American International University (AIC) weekend, a 3-3 overtime tie and a 5-2 win. Not a bad display; however, AIC was just above .500 in their conference (AHA) and regular season in 2023-24. They were essentially taken to and through overtime by a team that finished in the middle of a mid-major conference.
Yet they turned around and had a fantastic series against Wisconsin who finished second in the Big Ten last season and made a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes won a 2-1 overtime game on Friday, followed by a 2-1 regulation win on Saturday—low-scoring affairs but a great start to their conference season.
A main reason OSU beat Wisconsin twice and AIC once? Max Montes. The sophomore forward has scored a goal in every game so far and five on the season after accepting all scoring in the first game against Wisconsin. It’s surely a step forward after scoring only eight tallies in 23 games last season.
Blueliners Damien Carfagna and Aiden Hansen-Bukata have tied Montes in points but with helpers over scores. Junior Carfagna has one shorthanded goal and four assists this season. With the grad student Hansen-Bukata’s five assists, the defensemen have helped three-quarters of all Buckeye goals this season.
The closest comparison to OSU from a team BG has competed against this season would be Western Michigan. The style of play is similar, with less physicality and more scoring focus, but Ohio State uses their defensemen quite often in a half-ice offense. At the same time, WMU ran a breakaway strategy against BG and scores and assists with mainly forwards.
The OSU style plays to Bowling Green’s strengths, who, against the breakaway offense of WMU, had some problems in defensive transition. When coupled with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), a more settled and comparable offense to the Buckeyes, the Falcon defense was able to play quite well, killing off all three penalties and showing strength in an area that was exposed against WMU.
Nothing is a certainty, and adjustments made in practice and game time could be the difference in the game and the series. A major uncertainty for BG is the goaltender situation for the scarlet and grey.
In the two games against the orange and brown last season and in the four games to start this season, both goalies, Logan Terness and Kristoffer Eberly, have seen time.
2023-24 stat lines against the Falcons (Jan. 4-5, 2024):
Terness: 1-0 record, two goals allowed, 40 saves, .952 save percentage
Eberly: 1-0 record, two goals allowed, 23 saves, .920 save percentage
2024-25 stat lines overall (Oct. 11-12 and 18-19, 2024):
Terness: 2-0 record, three goals allowed, 54 saves, .947 save percentage
Eberly: 1-0-1 record, four goals allowed, 56 saves, .933 save percentage
So, based on the pattern, we will see both goalies, Terness on Friday and Eberly on Saturday. However, as pictured above, the difference is so marginal it really barely matters who gets the crease for OSU.
While it may be suspect which Ohio State goaltender we see which night, it is not suspect that sophomore netminder Cole Moore will get the net for the Falcons on one or (more probably)both games. Falcon Media Sports Network’s voice of Falcon hockey, Ben Corak, will have the broadcast of the classic matchup with Holden Ruck on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7:07 p.m. from Columbus and with Sam Morris on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7:37 p.m. from the Slater Family Ice Arena.
Tune in 15 minutes prior to puck drop for the Falcon Media Sports Network pregame on WBGU 88.1 FM.
