A little more than two years into head coach Chris Bergeron’s tenure, the University has shown the leader of its hockey program will be around for the foreseeable future.
Monday night, Director of Athletics Greg Christopher announced that Bergeron’s contract has been extended two years, to carry it through the 2017-18 season.
“Chris has Bowling Green hockey headed in the right direction,” Christopher said in a statement released by the Athletic Department. “There is still plenty of work to be done, but watching the strides our team has made off the ice, coupled with the on-ice improvement, it is clear we are building a championship culture.”
Bergeron inherited a program that went 5-25-6 during the 2009-10 season. With very little returning experience, the team improved to 10 wins in 2010-11, and improved to 14 wins last season, including two postseason series victories.
“It’s a very humbling thing for the whole staff … to have the school come and say, ‘We want you here,’” Bergeron said. “We believe this plan is working. To have outside people feel the same way, I’m very proud to be here. I just wanted to show everybody that this is how committed we are to [the program.]”
Injury update
Bergeron confirmed Tuesday that defenseman Jake Sloat suffered a broken leg during Sunday’s exhibition win against OIT.
While Bergeron did not put an exact timetable on his recovery, he said the earliest he would expect Sloat would be back in early 2013.
“Because of his hard work and determination [to get healthy], we’re not going to rule him out for the year,” Bergeron said. “But obviously there is going to be a certain amount of recovery time before he is able to do anything again.”
Additionally, freshman Brent Tate has been held out of practice because of a nagging back issue. Bergeron said that as of Tuesday, he did not expect Tate to be available to play this weekend against No. 10 Union.
On a more positive note, junior forward Bryce Williamson was cleared for contact Sunday, and he will be in the mix to play this weekend, Bergeron said.
After being held out of Sunday’s game for precautionary reasons, defenseman Jose Delgadillo is expected to be OK to play this weekend. He was held out after taking a puck off his foot during Saturday’s tie against Niagara.
The flying Dutchmen
Union College comes into this weekend as one of the top teams in the country.
Ranked No. 10 in the nation, the Dutchmen bring in one of the best all-around games in the country, featuring a stingy defense and an explosive offense.
Union won the Eastern College Athletic Conference last season, and made it all the way to the Frozen Four, where it lost to Ferris State.
Getting an elite non-conference team to come play at the BGSU Ice Arena is something that has people within the program excited.
“I think it’s outstanding,” Bergeron said. “I’m happy for our guys, for our school. I don’t know if the students on our campus realize how good Union hockey is, but we know. I’m glad [Union] is open to the discussion, and we’re looking forward to it.”
In addition to the buzz it should bring to the BGSU Ice Arena this weekend, the players are looking forward to testing themselves against an elite team early in the season.
“I think playing Union early, it’ll give the fans a taste of what we can do,” said defenseman Mike Sullivan. “It’ll help the freshmen get the jitters out early and I think it will show the returning guys that we’re comfortable playing against anyone in the NCAA.”
