By Ben Shanahan
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
Bowling Green State University hockey (5-11 overall, 3-5-1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) is set to play Ferris State (5-8-1, 3-5) Friday and Saturday at the Slater Family Ice Arena.
The Falcons and the Bulldogs is a rivalry series dating all the way back to December 15, 1978, with the Falcons edging out the series lead 79-66-14 and 46-32-6 in the Slater Arena.
Last season, Ferris State seemed to be Bowling Green’s kryptonite, facing off six times with Ferris State going 5-1 and concluding with the Bulldogs ending the Falcons’ season with a two-game sweep in the CCHA playoffs.
With tons of turnover in both locker rooms this past offseason, the Falcons look to avenge those losses in this weekend’s series.
“They still have some familiar names, some skaters and some forwards who have had some success in the CCHA, and they have some new guys who have been chipping in if you look at our league, and you prepare for them every weekend,” BGSU coach Ty Eigner said.
“Ferris State is like a lot of teams. I would be crazy to think it is going to go one way. I believe there are going to be two very tough games because that is what our league is.
“So we have to focus on what we do, and how we play in our system and structure is probably more important than what they do,“ continued Eigner.
One of those familiar players for Ferris is 6-foot-4 goaltender Noah Giesbrecht, who is undefeated against the Falcons in his career at 5-0.
This season, Giesbrecht has struggled out of the gate. In seven games, he has recorded a 5.25 goals against average and .838 save percentage.
“Noah did a really good job last year, especially against us. Ferris has a long history of great goaltending. He is another one in the long line,” Eigner said.
“It looks to me like he and Logan Stein have been splitting Friday and Saturday, so it depends if one guy has the hot hand or is better against curtain teams.
“We are going to anticipate seeing Giesbrecht one of the two days, and we need to play a certain way, whether it is Stein or Giesbrecht.
“Ferris State is a hard team to play against. They are physical and make you earn money regardless of who is on the net. We have to play well because we anticipate both goalies playing well.” Said Coach Eigner.
For the Falcons in net, it appears that both nights will see Cole Moore again in net as junior Christian Stoever still battles an injury, but Eigner says he is on the cusp of a return.
“He is really close,” Eigner said. “I almost feel like if it were the end of the year and not halfway through the year, Christian would be knocking on the door, saying I am ready to go.
“We just want to be cautious, and we believe our season has a long time ahead of us. We just want to look long-term to make sure he is good, but he is close to getting back.”
Puck drop is set for both nights at 7:07 p.m. with Friday’s theme set for the Holiday Game and Saturday’s fan favorite skate with the Falcons returning after the game.
