Research on Ice

Falcon Fanatic · Post by **Falcon Fanatic** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:56 pm

An article you may enjoy reading, just to get you in the mood for the upcoming season!!! WE'RE READY TO ROCK THE RINK BABY!!!!!!!!

Then And Again

From an historical perspective, no program has meant more to the CCHA than Bowling Green: the only club to have been part of each of the league's 33 storied seasons.

In the early days, with Ron Mason as both architect and coach, the Falcons slowly worked their way up the ladder. In 1977, Bowling Green earned its first NCAA playoff appearance, making it the first CCHA squad ever to do so. BG earned four more NCAA slots in the next seven years, culminating in the Falcons' first and only Frozen Four championship in 1984, when, under the direction of head coach Jerry York, the Falcons claimed an unforgettable 5-4 quadruple overtime victory over Minnesota-Duluth thanks to Gino Cavallini's heroic game-winning goal.

The tradition continued from there, with the Falcons earning five more NCAA births over the next six seasons, the last of which came in 1990. Yet while BG iced its share of competitive teams through the mid 1990's, including clubs which won 25 and 26 games respectively in 1995 and 1996, there had developed a growing sense back then that the program wasn't driving down the same path it once had. Its last winning season (17 victories) came in 1997, and come the summer of 2002, BG looked to former Falcon defenseman Scott Paluch to become its fifth head coach, and moreover, to help Bowling Green find a piece of its past.

Who better than Paluch to do so. A Chicago native, Paluch skated for the Falcons from 1985-1988, earning All-American status in his senior year. After a brief minor pro career (Peoria-IHL), he became a BG assistant for two seasons (1993 and 1994) before moving onto Boston College where he worked for York, who had become the Eagles' head coach in the summer of 1994.

Great things happened with York and Paluch behind the bench. Boston College made four straight Frozen Four appearances from 1998 through 2001, the last of which brought a national title to Chestnut Hill after the Eagles' thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over North Dakota.

Yet Falcon colors ran deep in Paluch's veins, which led him inexorably back to the Bowling Green battlefield.

"I always had it in my mind to come back here," says Paluch, "This is a special place, and playing here was a positive experience for me and so many others who played here. My wife (Amy Jo) also graduated from here, and I always wanted a chance to come back, and give something back. Every day I'm grateful to have the opportunity to coach here."

So far, Paluch's made his employers look good. In only three seasons, Bowling Green has gone from 8-25-3 in 2003 to 11-18-9 in 2004 and all the way to 16-16-4 in 2005, the last of which earned the Falcons home-ice in the first-round of the CCHA playoffs. But just as important, Paluch has completely retooled his team. In 2004, his top three scorers were all seniors (D'Arcy McConvey led the way with 25 points), whereas last year his top four offensive leaders were underclassmen, including freshmen Jonathan Matsumoto (Cumberland-Central Ontario Junior A) and Alex Foster (Danville-USHL), who led the club with 32 and 31 points respectively. The bedrock, of course, was senior netminder and Hobey Baker candidate Jordan Sigalet (16-12-3, 2.89 GAA).

In today's ever competitive college hockey landscape, the perception exits that building a winning program at places like Bowling Green will be even harder than it once was, what with schools like Boston University, Denver, Colorado College and Ohio State spending millions of dollars on brand new state-of-the-art facilities and having big-time recruiting budgets to boot. Paluch, however, doesn't necessarily see these as obstacles.

"For a long time, in the 1970's, 1980's and mid 1990's our program competed on a consistent basis, but then we slipped a bit, and we don't hide that fact," says Paluch, "but we also know we're not trying to create something that hasn't been done before. Ferris State won a league championship (in 2003), so the precedent's been set that a so-called smaller school can be successful in today's competitive climate, so from our standpoint, we feel we can compete and get the job done in the changing world of college hockey. We're trying to go after players we feel are the right fit," Paluch adds. "We can go head-to-head against other schools for some recruits, but in many cases, some of our players are ones not always being recruited by other schools. We're trying to find the right mix of players to get us back to where we need to be."

And when those recruits come to visit, Paluch and staff are working to ensure the 38 year-old Bowling Green Ice Arena is seen in the best light. "Of course the building was expanded to 5,000 seats back in 1989, and three years ago, we completed a major upgrade with an alumni lounge, coach's offices, and our weight training facility (all of which cost nearly $750,000 to build)," Paluch explains. "In that area, I don't think our program takes a back seat to many others. We're also now in the midst of a feasibility study which should be done by November to see what other improvements can be made, such as lighting, and moving from less bench seating to more chair-back style seats, and perhaps some premium seats as well. All these things have been and will continue to be important to our recruiting efforts."

Indeed they are. Yet building improvements aside, junior coaches throughout the U.S. and Canada are particularly impressed with Paluch and company's keen eye for talent.
"Scott has a great staff," says Cedar Rapids RoughRiders' coach/GM Mark Carlson, "and I respect the fact that they very often don't follow the pack. A great example is Brandon Svendsen. On many nights last year, he was our best player. He works hard, is a great skater and has a huge heart, and yet it seemed he wasn't getting a lot of D-I interest. Well, the minute Bowling Green saw him, they didn't hesitate," Carlson continues, "they jumped right on him, and I give them credit for that."

Brandon Svendsen:
PROFILE:
Birthday: Apr 11, 1985
Hometown: Roseville, MN
Position: F
Height: 5-11
Weight: 170
D-I: Bowling Green (CCHA/2005)

REGULAR SEASON
YEAR TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW SHOTS SPCT
2004/2005 Cedar Rapids 60 19 26 45 +17 27 5 3 4 136 .140
PLAYOFFS
YEAR TEAM GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW SHOTS SPCT
2005 Cedar Rapids 11 4 4 8 +8 2 1 0 1 26 .154

"And it's not just guys like Brandon," Carlson adds. "How about someone like (20 year-old forward) Brian Bales of Sioux City. These two are hard working players and I see them as both being top-end freshmen in the CCHA next year."

Next year, Carlson and his defending USHL champion RoughRiders will have yet another BG recruit in the fold: forward Jacob Cepis, who played last year for the NAHL's Cleveland Barons.

Jacob Cepis
PROFILE:
Birthday: Dec 21, 1987
Hometown: Parma OH
Position: F
Height: 5-7
Weight: 150
D-I: Bowling Green (CCHA/2006)

REGULAR SEASON
YEAR TEAM GP G A PTS PIM PP SH GW
2004/2005 Cleveland 56 22 27 49 24 5 0 3

"I can't wait for this kid to hit the ice," says Carlson, "he's a very exciting player who really knows how to make things happen."

Not only is Cepis a key recruit, he's also an Ohio native, which is another facet to Paluch's long-range plan. "Ohio's made great strides in developing players," Paluch says, "and for us, being one of three D-I schools in the state (along with Miami and Ohio State), we want to compete for those home grown kids and get them into our program. That's important to helping our fan base."

Though it all, Paluch has tried to keep one thing in mind.

"Right from when I got here, I wanted to create an environment where we were first and foremost a hard working team," Paluch says, "if we're going to be labeled, I want hard work to be that label. To do that, it has to be a seven-day process, whether it's on the ice, in the weight room, dry land training, or whatever it needs to be. No matter what, a good work ethic is a major part of who we are, and what we need to be."

Should the climb continue, Falcon fans may find history repeating itself sooner than they think.

News and Notes:

Here's a look at Bowling Green's next two recruiting classes:

2005:

G Jimmy Spratt ('85/6-1, 185, Sioux City-USHL)
D Jonathan Ralph ('84/6-1, 190, Sioux City-USHL)
D Russ Sinkewich ('85/6-3, 198, Lincoln-USHL)
D Kevin Schmidt ('86/6-1, 182, St. Mikes-OPJHL)

F Brandon Svendsen ('85/5-11, 170, Cedar Rapids-USHL)
F Justin Liut ('85/6-1, 210, Texas-NAHL)
F Brian Bales ('85, 5-9, 180, Sioux City-USHL)
F Todd McIlrath ('86/5-9, 175, Indiana-USHL)

2006:

D Tim Maxwell ('84, 5-11, 170, Maine-HE) A transfer eligible in 2006
F James Perkins ('87/5-8, 165, Calgary Canucks-AJHL)
F Jacob Cepis ('87/5-7, 155, Cleveland/Cedar Rapids-2006)

Bowling Green has some interesting bloodlines: Justin Liut is the son of former BG goaltender Mike Liut, while current forward Alex Foster is the son of one-time Detroit Red Wing Dwight Foster.

Paul Shaheen
ROI (Research On Ice)
'The stars of tomorrow..play here today.'

MiamiBando · Post by **MiamiBando** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:50 pm

Kick butt year me thinks.... I hope you beat everyone... save Miami.

Falcon Fanatic · Post by **Falcon Fanatic** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:13 pm

MiamiBando wrote:Kick butt year me thinks.... I hope you beat everyone... save Miami.

I hope we beat Miami 4 times this year!!!

DROP THE PUCK!!!!

Falconfreak90 · Post by **Falconfreak90** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:53 pm

What a great article, FF!!

Coach Paluch & staff have done a great job moving the program in the right direction. Count on the Freaks being at 3-4 games this coming season!

GO ICERS!!!!

BGFan · Post by **BGFan** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 9:04 am

Only 3 or 4?

You need a priority adjustment!!

Falcon Fanatic · Post by **Falcon Fanatic** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 9:13 am

BGFan wrote:Only 3 or 4?

You need a priority adjustment!!

What he said!!!

Falconfreak90 · Post by **Falconfreak90** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:43 pm

Falcon Fanatic wrote:
BGFan wrote:Only 3 or 4?

You need a priority adjustment!!
What he said!!!

Aw, that isn't fair!!!!

We try to get up there as much as possible in the winter months.

We'll shoot for more. Anything to annoy BGFan.

Falcon Fanatic · Post by **Falcon Fanatic** » Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:19 pm

Falconfreak90 wrote:Anything to annoy BGFan.

You're my hero!!!

Rightupinthere · Post by **Rightupinthere** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 12:29 pm

That was one heck of an article.

I initially had my reservations about Puch's hiring. I was bad and compared him to York. That's like comparing myself to my grandfather - who could walk on water. It was unfair.

He has been an excellent hire. We are very fortunate to have him here.

I'm going to try to make it back for several games. We'll see. I would LOVE to get section A back and fired up. I would also like to get an Alumni game together at the same time (like what was brought up last year).

Bleeding Orange · Post by **Bleeding Orange** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:55 pm

This was such a looooong article that although I first saw it a week ago, this was the first chance I had to read all of it. As I read through it, two thoughts occurred to me:

(1) I am (as always) so proud to have a person the caliber of Pooch at the helm of this program. Most people from other schools are proud of their school's sports simply because they went there. We all have the EXTREME luxury of being proud not only of our institution, but the people like Paluch and his entire coaching staff who are running our athletic programs. We are luckier than I think we all realize most of the time. Even if we never do win a national title under Pooch, I am proud to have him associated with our program. Character is what collegiate athletics are all about, in my opinion.

(2) I am so, SO, SOOOOOOO happy that I get to see three games (two home) while I am back in Ohio for winter break! I am very, very lucky that UofA has a long winter break that allows me to see the Merimack (I think) and Ohio A&M series. There is no doubt in my mind that my dad and I will be driving to Columbus for the road game in that series and I am going to laugh my ass off in his face when BG SMOKES his Buckeyes! 8) Well, one can hope, anyways.

I look forward to seeing all of you at these games. If you don't know me, I'll probably be the one wearing a hockey sweater with a cactus on it.

Please stop and kick me.

Jacobs4Heisman · Post by **Jacobs4Heisman** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 2:46 pm

I was planning on stopping and kicking you just on principle.

Gimme a call and I'll head to Columbus CC with you. I've been looking for a good reason to get into a hockey fight lately.

Bleeding Orange · Post by **Bleeding Orange** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 5:49 am

Jacobs4Heisman wrote:I was planning on stopping and kicking you just on principle.

Gimme a call and I'll head to Columbus CC with you. I've been looking for a good reason to get into a hockey fight lately.

And there is no better place than C-bus to get into a good hockey fight you can win. Dumbest hockey fans ever. They all seriously think they are at a football game. It is too, too funny if you've never experienced it.

Mark that date on your calendar - everyone. We need to show ValueCity what hockey is all about!

And J4H, no wearing Michigoon crap to OSU.

McConvey · Post by **McConvey** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 4:47 pm

Bleeding Orange wrote: And J4H, no wearing Michigoon crap to OSU.

OSU fans are even ignorant when it comes to that!!

One Halloween I was not using my brain and wore a Michigan hockey jersey on High St. (Don't ask why I had the Michigan jersey, its just easier that way. It was the white jersey with the big 'M' on the front).
Several drunken students passed me on the sidewalk and shouted at me (no surprises there) but roughly 75% of them though I had on a Minnesota jersey!!! I kid you not!
Now I grant you, I probably do have a touch of the accent from up there (you betcha!) but last time I checked the 'M's are shaped differently and the schools have different colors.

So unless it actually says 'Michigan' across the front, they'd probably never know the difference.

BGDrew · Post by **BGDrew** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:48 pm

I almost got in a fight with some frat guys when I went to the hockey game last year at tOSU. Some guy took a swing, missed, and fell to the ground. Some guys looked at him and started cracking up and I left before he got back up, I saw no point in getting in a fight with a dumbass, they have nothing to lose.