Last weekend, BGSU hockey (5-4-3, 5-2-3) split its weekend series against the St. Thomas Tommies (5-6-2, 2-2-1) via a 3-2 overtime victory on Friday night, followed by a 6-2 defeat on Saturday night at UST’s Lee and Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota.
This weekend, BGSU will host the Princeton Tigers (5-2-0, 2-2-0) at the Slater Family Ice Arena for a Thanksgiving weekend showdown on Nov. 28 and 29.
During BGSU hockey’s weekly press conference held on Nov. 25, head coach Dennis “Willi” Williams discussed his team’s upcoming schedule, the importance of staying focused during a weekend full of distractions, the importance of blocking shots, and the idea behind the team’s consistent use of different lineups.
Here are the Falcon Four takeaways from the press conference:
Back-to-back home series
The Falcons have two series remaining before the CCHA winter break, as they face Princeton this week, followed by Northern Michigan (0-14-0, 0-6-0) on December 5 and 6.
Both of these series will be held at BGSU’s Slater Family Ice Arena, allowing the Falcons to have back-to-back home series heading into the break.
“I absolutely love it,” said Williams. “I don’t have to go on the road for 14 days, so it’s awesome.”
While the student support might be less than average for this weekend’s series due to students being home for Thanksgiving break, BGSU should still expect a lot of fan support at the Slater.
“This weekend, we know the students are gone, we have a great support base here in the community and the surrounding area, so we look forward to having two really good matches coming up, two really good games against Princeton,” said Williams.
Staying Focused
The life of a Division I hockey player is extremely busy and filled with potential distractions.
That is no different this weekend with Thanksgiving.
“Guys have to stay focused this weekend, lotta distractions with Thanksgiving and a lot going on,” said Williams.
The distractions will continue next weekend as the series against Northern Michigan comes in between the final week of classes and finals week at BGSU.
“Then next weekend you’ve got exams kicking in,” continued Willi.
“We want our guys to know when they’re at the rink, we always say, you’re in a meeting or at a meeting, I don’t need you at meetings when you’re here (the rink). I need you to be in meetings and at practice, and then check out and go be a student and enjoy some free time.”
Blocking shots
While much fanfare and media coverage are given to the players scoring the goals, little attention is given to the players who are blocking shots and playing sound defense.
For the Falcons, that player is sophomore defenseman Ivan Korodiuk, who leads the team in blocked shots and recorded a total of five over the weekend series against St. Thomas.
“You gotta eat pucks,” said Willi.
That’s a stat that is a courageous stat,” explained Willi. “Most people just go to the goals and assists, but, really, at the end of the day, you win games because of players that are able to get in front and block a shot.”
“Ivan’s a big, strong, steady defenseman, when he plays a real simple game, moves pucks, stays inside the dots, physical, eats pucks, he’s very effective.”
Lineup changes
While every team makes slight lineup changes throughout a season, Bowling Green has become known for making consistent adjustments game to game during coach Williams’ tenure.
“I don’t think there are many teams that switch lineups from Friday to Saturday, I would probably bet, in college hockey more than we do,” said Williams.
Willi’s strategy allows Bowling Green to consistently play fresh players.
“We dive into not only the video but the analytics and trying to put together healthy guys vs if a guy might be at 90 percent or a little tired, we weigh in 100 percent guys,” said Willi.
While it doesn’t match the norm of college hockey, Williams believes it’s a testament to his team’s depth over multiple positions.
“I also understand how taxing games are, and if we have fresh guys ready to go and there’s not much between them, then I feel we have depth in those positions to go with the fresh guy.”
