BGSU hockey (4-3-3, 4-1-3) swept the Ferris State Bulldogs (2-10-0, 1-5-0) via 9-5 and 5-2 victories during last weekend’s series at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
This weekend, the Falcons will travel to St. Paul, Minnesota, to face the St. Thomas Tommies (4-5-2, 1-1-1) at UST’s brand-new Lee and Penny Anderon Arena.
During BGSU hockey’s weekly press conference held on Nov. 18, head coach Dennis “Willi” Williams discussed his team’s physicality, the team’s success offensively against Ferris State, their upcoming series against St. Thomas, and the recent award winners for the Falcons.
Here are the Falcon Four takeaways from the press conference:
Physicality
Ever since Williams took over as head coach for the Falcons last season, Bowling Green’s game has consistently carried a physical tone.
This tone was on display this weekend as the Falcons delivered crushing body checks throughout both games.
“I thought both teams played hard and heavy,” said Williams.
Williams continued by emphasizing the importance of physicality and the mindset he wants his players to have.
“If you don’t want wanna play physical, make sure you hang onto the puck. Otherwise, you gotta go get it,” said Williams. “I always say to our guys, when we don’t have the puck, we should be arriving at the puck in a bad mood.”
“We need to play physical, we need to play hard, we need to play heavy, we need to play tough, and we gotta make sure we’re doing a good job of making it difficult for teams coming on the inside and defending from the inside out.”
Everyone gets three points.
BGSU scored a total of 14 goals with 18 different Falcons contributing at least one point over the course of the team’s series against Ferris State last weekend.
“A lotta guys got points so I think that’s really good,” said Williams.
“When guys are able to get, whether it’s a plus in the game or an assist or secondary assist, you play the game to win, but from an individual standpoint, it feels good to get a point and multiple points,” added Willi. “It’s no different in basketball or football, where players want receptions and touchdowns.”
While coach Williams is happy to see multiple players on his team contribute to the winning effort, Willi reiterates that at the end of the day, winning and collecting points towards the CCHA standings is the end goal.
“We (the coaching staff) always say to our guys, we’re going into every game where we want everybody to get three points, that’s what you get for a win, and no matter what happens, if you get two assists, at the end of the day we all get three points, and that’s really our focus.”
St. Thomas
This weekend, BGSU will travel to St. Paul, Minnesota, to take on the St. Thomas Tommies.
“They’re well coached, Rico (UST head coach Rico Blasi) does a great job with this team. It’s gonna be tough,” said Williams about his team’s upcoming opponent. “Every game’s tough, doesn’t matter, last weekend was tough.”
In terms of what coach Williams wants to see out of his team, fans shouldn’t expect a highly entertaining product like last weekend.
“We’re gonna have to go on the road, play a quiet, sound game. It’s okay to sometimes play a boring game on the road,” said Willi. “As I always say, we’re not there to sell their tickets. We’re there to get three points and get back in focus for Saturday.”
“It’s gonna be another good challenge, and I know our guys will put their best effort forward, but that doesn’t guarantee us a win; it just gives us an opportunity.
Award Winners
BGSU hockey had two players win CCHA weekly awards following the team’s sweep of Ferris State, with freshmen forwards Noah Morneau and Dominik Rymon earning the CCHA Forward of the Week and CCHA Rookie of the Week awards, respectively.
“It’s great, they deserve it,” said Williams. “Anytime players can get, I don’t know if I’m gonna focus on it, but it’s nice accolades and for those guys that play the game right and did a nice job of helping us and contributing.”
Morneau and Rymon, along with their linemate senior forward Quinn Emerson, combined for six goals and 16 points over the weekend as a line.
“I think it’s really a testament of the line and the group playing together,” said Williams.
