John Wagner returns to covering Bowling Green State University athletics, something he also did for The Blade from 2003-05. John has been involved with the Mid-American Conference and its schools for most of the past 30 years. He also covers the Mud Hens and professional baseball for The Blade.
A fews notes regarding the BG football team after attending Wednesday's practice. ...
First, at the end of practice Wednesday I saw sophomore WR Chris Gallon wearing a walking boot on his right foot.
Coach Dave Clawson said Gallon has a minor fracture of a bone in his foot and will not need surgery. Gallon will not return for the rest of spring ball, but Clawson said the injury should be healed in time for him to start getting ready for the season by June at the latest, and possibly May.
Outside of bumps and bruises, Clawson said there were no other injuries of note -- certainly no injuries that would keep a player out at the start of fall camp in August.
Second, BG announced Thursday that Shaq Hall has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team
rules.
Hall saw action in three games last season -- Rhode Island, Akron, Miami. While he did not have any tackles, he was credited with a quarterback hurry.
Finally, Bowling Green has received its first verbal commitment for the 2014 season as Brian Sanders of Cass Tech in Detroit pledged to BG late last month.
CHANGES: The RedHawks moved Kevin Morris from fourth-line center to third-line center and Cody Murphy from fourth-line left wing to third-line left wing. John Doherty moved to fourth-line left wing and Kevin Morris is the fourth-line center. ... Jimmy Mullin was injured and is not on line chart; Alex Gacek has taken his spot as the fourth-line right wing.
A few notes and links to get you ready for Sunday's NCAA Division I Midwest Regional hockey final to be played at the
Huntington Center in Toledo ...
The (Toledo) Blade
St. Cloud State took advantage of its good bounces to bounce Notre Dame from the tournament. Click here to read the story.
Miami uses a stifling defense -- and lots of blocked shots -- to shut out Minnesota State in Saturday's second semifinal. Click here to read the story.
Coach Mike Hastings warning that Miami was one of the best defensive teams in the country came through -- and Minnesota State lost to the RedHawks. Click here to read the story.
St. Cloud Times
St. Cloud State used a three-goal second-period barrage -- including a pair from freshman Joey Benik -- to beat Notre Dame. Click here to read the story.
South Bend Tribune
Notre Dame found out the difference between a first seed and a fourth seed in an NCAA regional is small. Click here to read the story.
Blue & Gold Illustrated
The momentum of the Fighting Irish's late-season run came to a screeching halt in its loss to St. Cloud State. Click here to read the story.
Here are the line charts for the second game of the NCAA
Division I Midwest Hockey Regional between Miami and Minnesota State at Toledo's Huntington Center ...
Here are the line charts for the first game of the NCAA Division I Midwest Hockey Regional between St. Cloud State and Notre Dame at Toledo's Huntington Center ...
A few notes, quotes and links from Friday's media sessions at the NCAA Division I hockey tournament to be played at the Huntington Center in Toledo ...
St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko was an assistant coach at Miami during the period current BG coach Chris Bergeron played there. He was asked about Bergeron and another of his former players, current Miami coach Enrico Blasi ...
"Chris was our captain. And I’ll tell you what … [he was] one of the best captains
I’ve been around. There have been a couple guys that I’ve know would be
coaches, and Bergeron was it. You just knew that once he was done with the pro
thing that he was going to make it. Now Rico, I didn’t think that would happen,
but he has made the statement that he is one of the best coaches in college
hockey. But, it tells you my age that former players are head coaches and doing
a fantastic job.
Notre Dame forward T.J. Tynan said the fact that the Fighting Irish missed the NCAA tournament last season gave he and his fellow upperclassmen a greater appreciate for making the tournament this year.
"As you get older, [you learn] that you only get so many opportunities to win championships and make
it to the tournament. And obviously, last year we didn’t make it. We had a good
run our freshman year, but we are really excited to be back and for our game
tomorrow."
Minnesota State's season started turning aroud about the time freshman Stephon Williams became the team's every-day goalie. Mavericks coach Mike Hastings talked about making the move to Williams.
"We
were batting about .865/.870 in the post before [the Denver] weekend. Again, all
successful teams have a certain catalyst that you have to build around -- in
baseball it’s pitching, in football it might be your quarterback. Well, in
hockey it’s between the posts. We were really trying to find ourselves, and I
thought we were doing a lot of good things even though we were 1-5.
"The one
thing we were looking for is someone who would give us an opportunity, when
they went out there every night they would stop the ones that they should, and
maybe steal a couple they shouldn’t. It was after that that weekend that the
young men up here have described that we played Denver, that Monday, and looked at Steff,
and said, 'Steff, you’re going to go this weekend.' I usually don’t
tell our guys until Thursday or Friday, I looked at Steff and said, 'It’s your
opportunity' and he had a great week. Then, when we ended up sweeping Wisconsin, not only did he gain some
confidence from that, but I think our guys did too"
Miami's roster is dominated by underclassmen -- there are 11 freshmen and seven sophomores on the 26-man roster. One of the freshmen, Riley Barber, talked about the adjustment he and his fellow freshman had to make in their first season in the program.
"It’s been a blast, but it’s also been a lot of work. I think my freshman class
has really bought into the system here and coach Rico [Blasi’s] ideas. I think
sometimes we are a little too young to realize the difference between a big
game, and I think we just go out there and play and that really helps us.
"You play less games in college, so I think each game has an emphasis on it. Every
play, you can’t take any plays off. You have to be strong in penalty kills and
have a real strong sense of the game coming up. And definitely in all areas of
the game, just be more focused, I’d say."
Here are a few stories and links from The Blade for those who want to know more about the teams in the Huntington Center this weekend ...
An interesting combination of hockey teams arrived at the Huntington Center Friday for the NCAA Division I Midwest regional tournament.
The four-team grouping included two teams from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in Miami and Notre Dame, and two teams from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in Minnesota State and St. Cloud State.
What made it even more interesting is the direction the four teams are heading. Miami is leaving the CCHA for the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference, while Notre Dame is moving to Hockey East.
St. Cloud State will join Miami in the NCHC, while Minnesota State will stay in the WCHA. Bowling Green will join the Mavericks in the 10-team WCHA starting next season.
I asked all four coaches about the movement, the demise of the CCHA and the reconstructed WCHA.
ST. CLOUD STATE COACH BOB MOTZKO: "I've got a
couple thoughts on it. First, we have a gentlemen’s agreement in college hockey
in your league that when you get outside of your league play, you don’t
share secrets to the opposing players. Well, after the breakup of the WCHA, there are a lot of enemies because we’ve got every report you
can imagine about Notre Dame and I’m sure Notre Dame got every report from our
league about us. So there’s some bitter people and bitter feelings about what
happened in the West.
"The WCHA is such a storied, historied league. Maybe I’m
just too old-fashioned, and maybe I’ll figure it out one day, that we are going in
a different direction that’s going to be better for college hockey. We’re going
to have to wait and see, but I don’t think it’s crystal clear right now. It’s
spooky which direction we’re heading in the West and the breakup, because you
had the WCHA and the CCHA -- two magnificent hockey conferences. In our conference
it was sold-out buildings, 37 national championships, Hobey Baker winners. Our tournament was one of the most successful
tournaments. Now we’re all going to try and duplicate that. And maybe it will
happen.
"Let’s hope that in a few years that I’ll be one of those guys that says 'Aha! I get it! It was good for college hockey!' It happened in football years
ago. The old Southwest Conference was a great football conference but they all
went their own directions and survived. And maybe we’re going to be like that
too. But it’s sad to know that that league is breaking up. And I think the
CCHA -- I was in that league for six years. It’s where I got my start in coaching.
It was such a great league, to know that it is no more [is sad]."
NOTRE DAME COACH JEFF JACKSON: "I really
felt it after the [CCHA championship] game, you know? It’s kind of sad to see that
championship -- it’s actually dwindled over the last couple of years in terms of
attendance. I remember in the ‘90s that building was jam-packed and in the
‘80s, too. It was such a big event. It really made our conference special. We were
one of the first leagues to go to an NHL venue; we were the first league to
have a TV contract. Bill Beagan of the CCHA as the first commissioner really
opened the door for college hockey in many ways and certainly the CCHA. It was
a great conference. ...
"It was
really the epitome of what college hockey was all about, where a team from the
GLIAC or the MAC could play for a championship against Big Ten schools. So it’s
disappointing. I mean, my whole career was based on the CCHA and I’m going to
miss the opportunity to play in some of those venues and the relationships that
you establish with people at some of those schools is going to be a little bit
harder to continue."
MINNESOTA STATE COACH MIKE HASTINGS: "First of
all, we’re still going to end up focusing on what is the WCHA up until this
point and until we move into this next stage next year. But from my standpoint
and in talking about Bowling Green right away, you go ahead and you look at the
progress that coach Chris Bergeron has made at that program in his short time there,
and you look at the history of NCAA championships with Northern Michigan and
Lake State -- programs that are going to be made up in the new WCHA. Final four
appearances by Bemidji State -- that’s something that I look at. ...
"We’re going to deal
with what we’re dealt, and there’s certain decisions that we control and we try
to talk about those every day and then there are certain decisions that don’t.
We’ll move on to that -- we’re very proud of being part of the WCHA and what it is
now and what it’s going to be tomorrow. Because you go on and look at history,
and I think the WCHA has a pretty proud, rich history. And we’re going to try
and continue to build on that in the new WCHA, and that’s no disrespect to the
other leagues or the Big Ten. The game that we’re playing is pretty special.
There’s a lot of good hockey players out there and we’re excited about where
we’re at and where we’re going and the programs we’re going to be associated
with down the road."
MIAMI COACH ENRICO BLASI: "[The CCHA] is a place where Miami University grew up in college hockey. It’s
very special to us; they gave us an opportunity at a time when we were still a
club sport. There were a lot of years where we took quite a beating and nobody
felt sorry for us at that point. But it is still something that is very special
and it’s because of the CCHA that we’re where we are at as a program. And we
owe those individuals who made a decision back in ’79-‘80 that allowed Miami to start a D-I program, and here we
are today.
"It’s sad, but at the same time I think everyone knows that college
athletics is changing every day. Whether it’s football, basketball -- hockey is no
different. We just have to move on … we aren’t going to forget, we aren’t getting
rid of any CCHA banners or anything like that. It’s part of our history and
part of our program. At the same time we are excited about moving forward as
well."
Miami and Notre Dame –- two members of the Central Collegiate
Hockey Association along with Bowling Green -– are among the four Division I
hockey teams coming to Toledo this weekend to play in the NCAA Midwest Regional
hosted by the Huntington Center.
Notre Dame, which won the CCHA tournament title, is the top
seed for the regional and will play fourth-seed St. Cloud State on Saturday
starting at 1:30 p.m. Miami, the CCHA’s
regular-season champ, is seeded second and will take on third-seeded Minnesota
State in the second semifinal at 5 p.m. that day.
The two semifinal winners will meet in the regional
championship game on Sunday beginning at 4 p.m. in a game that will be
televised on ESPNU.
Here is a closer look at the four teams that will coming to the Huntington Center this weekend.
NOTRE DAME
Coach: Jeff Jackson (seventh season)
Record: 25-12-3
League record: 17-8-3-2 CCHA (second)
Tournament finish: Defeated Michigan in CCHA championship
Current streak: Six-game winning streak and nine-game
unbeaten streak (7-0-2)
Top forwards: Anders Lee, Jr., 19 goals-18 assists=37
points; Bryan Rust, Jr., 15-18=33; Jeff Costello, Jr., 10-18=28; T.J. Tynan,
Jr., 10-17=27.
Top defensemen: Robbie Russo, Soph., 5 goals-18 assists=23
points; Sam Calabrese, Sr., 1-19=20;
Goalie: Steven Summerhays, Jr., 1.96 goals-against average,
.921 save percentage.
Notes: The Fighting Irish will be making their sixth appearance in the NCAA tournament, with five of those coming since Jackson has taken over as head coach. ... Notre Dame's winning streak includes four victories over the Falcons, including the final two regular-season games and a two-game sweep in the second round of the CCHA playoffs. ... Jackson led Lake Superior State to NCAA titles in 1992 and '94. ... Under Jackson, Notre Dame has reached the Frozen Four in both 2008 and 2011.
MIAMI
Coach: Enrico Blasi (14th season)
Record: 24-11-5
League record: 17-7-4-4 CCHA (first)
Tournament finish: Lost to Michigan in CCHA semifinals
Current streak: Had won 12 of last 16 games before loss to
Wolverines
Top defensemen: Matthew Caito, Fr., 5 goals-16 assists=21
points;
Goalies: Ryan McKay, Fr., 1.37 goals-against average, .948
save percentage; Jay Williams, Fr., 1.94 goals-against, .924 save percentage.
Notes: The RedHawks are making their ninth NCAA tournament
appearance and are in the tournament for the eighth year in a row. … Blasi was named CCHA coach of the year, while sophomore center Austin
Czarnik was voted the league’s player of the year and freshman Riley Barber was
the CCHA rookie of the year. … This year marked Miami’s third CCHA
regular-season title. … The RedHawks have won 20 games for the eighth year in a
row. …. Alma mater of Chris Bergeron, the current Bowling Green coach who also served as an assistant coach under Blasi.
MINNESOTA STATE
Coach: Mike Hastings (first season)
Record: 24-13-3
League record: 16-11-1 WCHA (sixth)
Tournament finish: Lost to Wisconsin in WCHA quarterfinals
Current streak: Had won three of four before loss to
Wisconsin
Top defensemen: Zach Palmquist, Soph., 7 goals-18 assists=25
points; Josh Nelson, 5-9=14; Jon Jutzi, 1-8=9.
Goalie: Stephon Williams, Fr., 1.96 goals-against average,
.925 save percentage.
Notes: The Mavericks are making just their second appearance
in the NCAA tournament, with the other coming in 2003. … Coach Mike Hastings
was voted WCHA coach of the year in his first season at the school. … Goalie
Stephon Williams was named the WCHA’s freshman of the year and also was named
the league’s goaltending champion. … Minnesota State is one of the four WCHA
teams that will remain in the league next season. Bowling Green will join this
conference next year, as will four other CCHA schools and current independent
Alabama-Huntsville.
ST. CLOUD STATE
Coach: Bob Motzko (seventh season)
Record: 23-15-1
League record: 18-9-1 WCHA (first)
Tournament finish: Lost to Wisconsin in WCHA semifinals
Current streak: Had won five of last seven games before loss
to Badgers
Top forwards: Drew LeBlanc, Sr., 13 goals-37 assists=50
points; Nic Dowd, Jr., 14-25=39; Jonny Brodzinski, Fr., 21-11=32; Kalle Kossila,
Fr., 15-17=32; Ben Hanowski, Sr., 16-13=29.
Top defensemen: Nick Jensen, Jr., 4 goals-26 assists=30
points; Andrew Prochno, Soph., 5-21=26; Ethan Prow, Fr., 3-11=14; Kevin Gravel,
Jr., 1-9=10.
Goalie: Ryan Faragher, Soph., 2.29 goals-against average, .914
save percentage.
Notes: The Huskies are making their ninth appearance in the
NCAA tournament, and their eighth since 2000. This is their fourth appearance
under Motzko. … St. Cloud State claimed its first-ever Western Collegiate
Hockey Association title this season. … Senior forward Drew LeBlanc was named
WCHA player of the year as well as the league’s student-athlete of the year. …
Junior Nick Jensen was selected as the WCHA’s defensive player of the year. … St. Cloud State will leave the WCHA to join
the National Collegiate Hockey Conference next season.
The Huntington Center in Toledo will
host the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Hockey Tournament. Two first-round games
will be played on Saturday, March 30, starting at 1:30 and 5 p.m., while the
regional championship will be played on Sunday, March 31, starting at 4 p.m.
The winner will advance to the 2013
Frozen Four, which will be played April 11-13 at the Consol Energy Center in
Pittsburgh.
What four teams will come to Toledo?
Good question. We’ll find out for sure on Sunday, March 24 when ESPNU
broadcasts the NCAA’s selection show starting at 9 p.m.
Here are a few possible answers ...
USCHO.com posts a weekly
"Bracketology" blog that explain who it thinks will play against whom
at what sites. Click here to view this week’s bracketology post. Click here to
view the bracketology post from Friday, after the quarterfinal games of the
WCHA playoffs.
Geoff Discher of Examiner.com put together his final set of
pairing predictions for the tournament, and you can read them here. If you compare the two
sets of pairings, you will notice that there is not complete agreement even
with current information.
Currently only all-session tickets
(ticket packages for all three games) are being sold at $75 for adults and $65 for students. These tickets can
be purchased at the Huntington Center box office, the BGSU box office, or at Ticketmaster outlets.
OK, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. And I woke
up too early. And I ... you get the message. I'm grumpy ... and so are you,
judging by my e-mails and tweets.
So let's have a grump-off. Good luck ...
I received an e-mail
blaming my parents for Toledo’s Naama Shafir not being named Mid-American
Conference women’s basketball player of the year. My parents?
Sure: My parents met, they had me, and I was to blame … Hahaha. Really funny. I guess.
For those of you blaming The Blade’s
BG writer for a Toledo player not getting the award, I have one word for you:
Wrong. I voted for Shafir at the top of my ballot. What’s more, we were allowed
to vote for second and third as well … and my second vote went to Crystal Bradford of Central Michigan,
with my third going to Courtney Osborn of
Miami. I didn’t even give a vote to the eventual winner, Akron’s Rachel Tecca. So there.
I'm tired of people
sending me messages that say BG made a “terrible decision” to give men’s
basketball coach Louis Orr the final year of his contract. Here’s
the problem: Many people view it as a basketball-only decision, and the
more I’ve thought about it, the less I agree. I think all of the
circumstances surrounding the program and the school played a role.
OK, consider this: You own a car, but you’re not totally satisfied with it
and you want to buy a new one. You still owe some money on your car, and the
car dealership won’t help you with the payment. What’s more, the new cars you
are looking at will be MUCH more expensive than the car payment you are already
making. And to add insult to injury, your boss just told you that pay cuts are
in the works for your business.
Still going to buy that new car?
Yes, it’s crass to compare a human being, a coach, to a car, so my apologies
to Coach Orr for that. But I hope you understand the point: This decision isn’t
happening in a vacuum.
One thing I have heard a lot is that people think the Bowling Green men’s
basketball program will “fall further behind” other schools in the MAC? To
which I say: Really? If this were the MAC of 15 years ago, maybe. But the MAC
had just one NCAA team, only one NIT team (and a SIXTH seed at that!), and only
two CIT teams. Bowling Green was in the CIT last season. ...
Speaking of coaching
changes, two MAC schools (Ball State and Buffalo) have changed coaches. I
had one reader ask if I thought there would be others. I don’t,
mainly because I don’t think any other school is in a position where
change is imminent.
By that I mean the teams that are most likely to change –- current bottom-dwellers such as Miami and Northern Illinois would be two examples -– have recently made
a change. Miami’s John Cooper has
only had one season, and NIU’s Mark
Montgomery has only had two. I’d be surprised if those programs made
changes. Akron may lose Keith Dambrot,
but that would be Dambrot’s decision to move up the ladder, not the school’s
choice.
The only coach who might still be feeling heat is Rob Senderoff at Kent State. The Golden Flashes have been good
recently, but not good enough for a suddenly spoiled fan base that expects NCAA
tournament runs and isn’t even getting NCAA tournament bids.
By the way, in reading about the Ball State basketball situation I came
across this story where Dambrot said he felt only three MAC programs were “fully
invested” in basketball. Guess what three schools that would be? Then click
here to read the story where Dambrot explains his answer.
If you’re surprised by Buffalo’s move to fire coach Reggie Witherspoon, click here to read a column on the move by the
Buffalo News.
One question from an
intelligent reader (Thank you, Sam!) asked if I felt Toledo would receive
an at-large bid to the NCAA women’s tournament. Sam laid out a
well-reasoned platform for why he thought the Rockets deserved a bid, then
asked my opinion.
Sam, the bad news is that I would be surprised if the Rockets received an
at-large bid. Yes, I know the record is good (27-3) and the RPI is worthy (45,
at last glance).
But the strength of schedule is bad (202, at last glance) and truthfully
there’s no excuse for that: Central Michigan’s strength of schedule is 55, and women’s
basketball coaches around the country knew entering the season how talented the Chippewas would be. Is
it easy for a good team like UT to play a tougher schedule? Of course not,
because it would mean more road games against top-notch opponents. But the
alternative is the current situation: Wondering if the team had done enough to
earn an at-large bid, knowing in your heart of hearts that it hasn’t.
Want to share your grumpiness? Click on the "Post a
Comment" area below and voice your opinions. Keep it clean, keep it civil,
and it will be all good. Add your thoughts NOW!
