2008 Woodie Awards
BG's playoff run continues
Hockey in Miami tonight for CCHA second round
By: Ethan Magoc
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Sports
Playing in March is the goal of any college hockey team, though certainly no one expected it from a team that was picked to finish last in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association this season.
But the Falcons said from the beginning that they did not care about such expectations.
"People need to be coming to see us," said BG freshman Jake Cepis back in September. "We have a great team, a great bunch of guys and we're going to have a hell of a season this year."
BG has lived up to those words thus far.
They went 18-19-0 to finish around the middle of the pack in the CCHA, and recently clinched a thrilling first round playoff victory over Lake Superior thanks to an overtime goal by Cepis himself.
If BG has consistently had one problem finding success this season, however, it has been against the four top dogs in the conference - Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, and Notre Dame. The Falcons won only one game all season against these teams in 10 different tries.
Fortunately for BG, the loser of that one game will be hosting round two of the CCHA Playoffs this weekend in Oxford, OH.
"You're looking at a team that's leading the country in both goals scored and goals against," said BG coach Scott Paluch of the Miami Redhawks. "Yet we certainly realize that we've seen what we have to do to be successful against them like we did two months ago."
Paluch, of course, referred to BG's 4-2 victory over Miami on Jan. 4 that gave his team a huge confidence boost at the beginning of the regular season's second half.
Recent history is on the Falcons' side this weekend.
The last time they made it to the CCHA Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena, they had to get by Miami in 2000-01. They swept the Redhawks in current BG assistant coach Doug Schueller's senior season, winning both games 4-3.
Should the Falcons manage to score four goals in a game again this weekend, their chances of heading to Detroit look extremely promising. BG has yet to lose a game this season when they score four or more goals, sporting a 12-0-0 record including the playoffs.
But the Falcons said from the beginning that they did not care about such expectations.
"People need to be coming to see us," said BG freshman Jake Cepis back in September. "We have a great team, a great bunch of guys and we're going to have a hell of a season this year."
BG has lived up to those words thus far.
They went 18-19-0 to finish around the middle of the pack in the CCHA, and recently clinched a thrilling first round playoff victory over Lake Superior thanks to an overtime goal by Cepis himself.
If BG has consistently had one problem finding success this season, however, it has been against the four top dogs in the conference - Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, and Notre Dame. The Falcons won only one game all season against these teams in 10 different tries.
Fortunately for BG, the loser of that one game will be hosting round two of the CCHA Playoffs this weekend in Oxford, OH.
"You're looking at a team that's leading the country in both goals scored and goals against," said BG coach Scott Paluch of the Miami Redhawks. "Yet we certainly realize that we've seen what we have to do to be successful against them like we did two months ago."
Paluch, of course, referred to BG's 4-2 victory over Miami on Jan. 4 that gave his team a huge confidence boost at the beginning of the regular season's second half.
Recent history is on the Falcons' side this weekend.
The last time they made it to the CCHA Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena, they had to get by Miami in 2000-01. They swept the Redhawks in current BG assistant coach Doug Schueller's senior season, winning both games 4-3.
Should the Falcons manage to score four goals in a game again this weekend, their chances of heading to Detroit look extremely promising. BG has yet to lose a game this season when they score four or more goals, sporting a 12-0-0 record including the playoffs.
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