Bowling Green State University junior Ryan O’Hara. (BGSU Athletics)
By Ben Shanahan
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
The Bowling Green State University hockey team is set to take to the ice on October 8 to kick off the season, but there are plenty of new faces on this year’s squad.
As the Falcons travel to Pittsburgh for the season opener they will replace a dozen Falcons who graduated or entered the transfer portal during the offseason.
Those Falcons will be replaced with incoming freshmen and transfers, said interim head coach Curtis Carr, who spoke for suspended coach Ty Eigner during Central Collegiate Hockey Association media day activities on Monday.
“It is a fresh group for us. We have 12 new faces that are now part of our program. With fifth-year players in the last couple years, we have had a consistent group that we have been adding to slowly,” Carr said.
“Last year we had a big graduating class, so these new faces, I feel, have rejuvenated and given us excitement and added energy to practice and in our program as a whole.”
Adding excitement, in coach Carr’s opinion, is BGSU’s out-of-conference schedule, which sees teams like Robert Morris in their first series of hockey since restarting their program, plus the annual in-state battle between BGSU and Ohio State, to name a few.
“We are excited about our out-of-conference schedule with opponents like Ohio State, Western Michigan, Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, and obviously the team that will eventually be in the CCHA, Augustana, who we play week two to open up their home schedule.” said Carr.
One of those Augustana players Carr and the Falcons will have to game plan against is former BGSU goalie Zack Rose, who transferred to Augustana this offseason. Augustana coach Garret Raboin said Rose was a solid addition to his team.
“I think there are some different prongs with Zack,” Raboin said. “He has obviously been through college hockey.
“He has seen it all, from big games to big wins, and he has dealt with injuries, so I think he has matured through all of that, and we have two freshman goalies that are joining him.
“Zack is also a tremendous teammate, offering some stability, a veteran presence in the net, and also being there to mentor these young guys to show them what to expect in college hockey.”
Wozney, O’Hara top returnees
With a new flood of players into the Bowling Green program, Carr looks to depend on players such as junior defenseman Ben Wozney, who was named to the All-CCHA first team voted on by the coaches heading into this year.
“Even though Ben is going into his junior year, he is our most experienced defenseman. Every year, Ben has had a growth year,” Carr said,.
“When we recruited Ben, I remember him being out in British Columbia and seeing his offensive upside, and who he was as a person when we had him on a visit was outstanding.
“Last summer, Ben told us he kind of stayed off the ice and really focused on strength and conditioning. He came back 15 pounds heavier and has done the same this summer.
“He had a very good season for us last year and was rewarded by getting invited to the Seattle Kraken development camp, and since he has been back, he has been very good with lots of confidence, so we will see what he can do this year,” continued Carr.
On the offensive side of the puck, another junior the Falcons look to rely on is Ryan O’Hara, who had the most points last season of any of the returning players, earning 30 points on 11 goals and 19 assists in 36 games played.
“Ryan is a very confident kid. To kind of talk about Ryan as a person, his freshman year was the first year of COVID, and in the fifth-year players, Ryan had the option to go back to juniors, and we told Ryan that you can go back another year,” Carr said.
“We have fifth-year students returning that were not expected, but he told us he was ready to come and play without hesitation, showed lots of confidence, and had a great freshman year with us.
“Last year, we knew Ryan could put up numbers. He was a guy we circled for a breakout year, and he did. This summer, he came back and looked like he took another step in practice.
“He is confident with the year he had last year, skating really well, and took on a leadership role within the group, which he is naturally in now in his junior year. We see him continuing to be a go-to guy for us.”
The season is just three weeks away, but with head coach Ty Eigner and three players currently suspended due to a current investigation through the university, the message from Carr to his team in this unpredictable time is simple: be accountable for your actions.
“Control what you can control,” Carr said. “Make sure we are coming to the rink with positive energy and still focused on our daily objectives of getting better and trying to be the best team we can be.”
