{"id":28478,"date":"2006-10-03T17:32:16","date_gmt":"2006-10-03T22:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2006\/10\/03\/200607-bowling-green-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:56:37","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:56:37","slug":"200607-bowling-green-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2006\/10\/03\/200607-bowling-green-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2006-07 Bowling Green Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
At the start of the 2005-06 season, I feared the worst for Bowling Green. After watching the team rally around senior goaltender Jordan Sigalet, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the year before, I thought that the Falcons might struggle a little for identity last year.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, I hate being right.<\/p>\n
The Falcons went from ninth place in the CCHA in 2003-04, to fifth at the end of the following season, Sigalet’s senior year … to last place last season. Of course, it wasn’t just a team identity that was missing; it was Sigalet himself, and his level of play.<\/p>\n
“We scored a lot of goals last year, but we could not keep them out of our goal,” said BGSU head coach Scott Paluch. “That’s our biggest challenge as we enter.”<\/p>\n
Incumbent goaltender Jimmy Spratt, a freshman last year, returns to the top position in net, according to Paluch, in spite of having the lowest save percentage of any returning CCHA netminder (.855).<\/p>\n
“I think after a little bit of a tough start in terms of numbers, [Spratt] worked extremely hard to get himself back to a form that gave us an opportunity to win games,” said Paluch.<\/p>\n
Readiness<\/b><\/p>\n
It would be an injustice to blame BGSU’s poor 2005-06 season solely on Spratt; the kid had plenty of help, and he wasn’t alone in net. Senior Jon Horrell kept Spratt company between the pipes, and there was a defensive corps — allegedly — in front of the Bowling Green net.<\/p>\n
But it wouldn’t be fair to blame the Falcon goaltending and defense for last year’s 18 league losses. Last year’s BGSU forwards are equally guilty.<\/p>\n
Yes, the guys who scored were often the guys who also turned the puck over, leading to many an opponent opportunity with an underprepared defense and a surprised goaltender.<\/p>\n
“There’s no question that turnovers and poor puck protection hurt our overall team defense,” said Paluch, who added that sometimes when things aren’t going right for a team, forwards will “grip the stick” and try to become heroes, “trying to save the game by themselves.”<\/p>\n