Rob Blake is considered one of the best defensemen to ever play the game of hockey, and for three years he graced the ice sporting the white and orange for the Bowling Green State University Falcons. Rob Blake, born December 10, 1969 in Simcoe Ontario, started playing for the Falcons during the 1987 – 1988 season recording 13 points and 88 penalty minutes in 43 games. At the end of his freshman season, Rob was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) 70th overall.
He went on to play for the Falcons another two years scoring 32 points his sophomore year and 59 points his junior year before moving on to the NHL. During his three years playing for the Falcons, Blake recorded 104 points in 131 games and was named to the CCHA (Central Collegiate Hockey Association) second team all star in 1989, first team all star in 1990 and NCAA West First All American Team in 1990.
In his first full NHL season, Blake scored 46 points and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1991. During the 1997-98 season, Blake won the James Norris Trophy as the best defensemen. He went on to play with the L.A. Kings until 2001 when he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.
In 2001, Blake reached the highest goal that any hockey player dreams of, he won the Stanley Cup.
Rob Blake went on to play 9 more years in the league, going back to L.A. in 2006 and then on to San Jose in 2008. He hung up the skates on June 18, 2010 after a Hall of Fame worthy 11 year career.
Some of the major awards during Blake’s career;
• James Norris Memorial Trophy – 1998
• The Stanley Cup – 2001
• Winter Olympics Gold Medal – 2002
Bowling Green State University’s Ice Arena was opened on February 25, 1967 and in the past 44 years of operation; it has seen its share of memorable moments and prominent skaters. Due to financial issues in 2009, the BGSU Ice Arena was almost shut down and the hockey team lost. However, the community and University joined hands and together saved the arena and hockey program through a combination of state money and private donations.
As a result of almost losing the arena, many people have looked back into its history and remembered the “glory days”. The BGSU Development Office has established a campaign and foundation to shed light on the amazing history of the BGSU Ice Arena. Link here to learn more about the BGSU Ice Arena and help Bring Back the Glory.
This blog is going to be a type of tribute to the great names who have graced the halls of the BGSU Ice Arena and shared the ice over the years. The idea is to highlight some of the greats who have learned and honed their skating skills at Bowling Green State University and gone on to create a legacy for themselves.
Some of the greats to be featured in this blog include:
• Rob Blake
• Alissa Czisny
• Scott Hamilton
• Ken Morrow / Mark Wells
• George McPhee
• Dan Bylsma
The blog is featured twice a month so please look for it and give your support to the great history BGSU has in its own backyard.
The Department of Recreation and Wellness has a new, yet familiar, face among the staff. Karyn Smith started as the new Health Educator with the department this past October.
Though she started her new position at BGSU this fall, she is not completely new to the campus. Smith received her Master’s in Public Health through the Northwest Ohio Consortium for Public Health and was a Graduate Assistant at the Student Recreation Center.
Before coming to Bowling Green, Smith grew up in an Ohio small town called Hamler where she graduated from Patrick Henry High School. Upon graduation, Smith attended Northern Kentucky University where she majored in Exercise Science with a Health minor, played basketball all four years and was a personal trainer.
Once she graduated from NKU and received her MPH, she was hired at Owens Corning as the Program Manager, where she worked on employee fitness. She was in charge of personal training, group exercise and nutrition programming. After a year and a half, Smith came back to BGSU this fall as the Health Educator.
Smith is in charge of the WellAware Program, which promotes employee wellness. She also supervises the Group-X and personal trainers, while working with the Peer Educators at BGSU.
Karyn Smith has been a personal trainer for four years.
Smith said she enjoys her new job, the environment and the people she works with.
“The Wellness Connection is very upbeat,” Smith said. “All of us have the same passion.”
Besides her new job, Smith enjoys working out, being outside and running. Smith also enjoys flipping houses with her husband Ryan and friend.
While she flips houses with her husband, she also flips her fellow employee’s fitness.
Smith’s passion is fitness and she has embraced that passion by sharing her knowledge and creating a new program.
“It’s a fun holiday challenge for faculty and staff,” Smith said.
The program is called “Maintain don’t Gain,” which is available to all BGSU faculty and staff for free. Participants receive practical tips, recipes and other information to help them successfully navigate through the holiday season. Participants also receive activity logs and food diaries to track progress. All those who either maintain or lose weight during the season win a prize.
“Research has shown that the average person consumes an extra 600 calories per day between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Smith said.
Smith said she wants to create an environment where healthy choices are easier choices.
As a certified personal trainer for the past four years, Smith also enjoys working with clients, preferably the ones that most personal trainers would not look forward to.
“My favorite clients are the ones that absolutely hate exercising,” Smith said. “
Smith likes being creative and finding fun ways to help these clients live active lifestyles and find a physical activity that they learn to love.
Smith has goals for her new position as Health Educator. She wants to revamp the personal training program, create new and exciting Group-X classes, provide employees with the tools and resources to help them and help the Student Wellness Network and Peer Educators continue to grow and increase programs and awareness on campus.
“BG will be the healthiest campus of them all,” Smith said.
Stress was released and fun was had at the Department of Recreation and Wellness’ third annual Stress Free Zone before Thanksgiving break.
Students enjoyed a night of fun and stress-relieving activities at the Student Recreation Center Thursday, Nov. 18. The stress-free activities included free food and drinks, prizes, a DJ, dodge ball, three on three basketball tournament, Wii Bowling, yoga, art and crafts, climbing wall, meditation and relaxation techniques, human bowling and an inflatable obstacle course.
Senior Jillian Urig, member of the Student Nutrition Association, educated students on how to eat healthy while stressed.
The event was sponsored by; Recreation and Wellness, Student Wellness Network, BGSU Bookstore, Student Nutrition Association, BGSU Counseling Center and the Falcon Parent and Family Association.
Britani Williams, a senior intern with the Wellness Connection, was in charge of putting the event together. She worked with and coordinated a group of freshman in order to create, organize and publicize the event.
“I had never planned an event, so it was very different from anything I had done before,” Williams said.
Over 100 students attended the event. Considering it was the premier of the Harry Potter movie, senior Dietetics major, Jillian Urig said it was a good turnout.
“I think the event was very well run and organized,” Urig said.
Urig is a member of the Student Nutrition Associate and held table display for students to present information on how to snack healthy when stressed out. The table consisted of a display of healthy stress relieving foods and a few samples such as dark nuts for students to try.
“We wanted to give students the information they needed so the next time they were stressed out they could make a healthy stress relieving decision,” Urig said. “Instead of reaching for a bag of potato chips or a tub of ice cream, we wanted to give students healthy, but stress relieving options.”
Chelsea Verhoff, senior HDFS major, also volunteered at the event, with a slightly different role.
“My favorite part was the free food and watching people do the human bowling,” Verhoff said.
Verhoff, who is also an executive member of the Student Wellness Network, helped with the human bowling activity.
Students filled out evaluation forms at the end of the night to receive a free stress ball. The results were mostly positive and showed that most students’ favorite part of the event was the free food, yoga, arts and crafts and basketball.
“My other favorite part of the Stress Free Zone was actually seeing it come together and watching people enjoy the event,” Williams said.
Gradute Assistant Eric Teske and Senior Chelsea DeSouza roll a student to the pins for Human Bowling at the event.
As the seasons change so do the intramural sports at BGSU. Say goodbye to intramural football and frisbee, say hello to innertube waterpolo, raquetball, team handball, and wiffleball. These are the new sports that will be played during the month of november. Finding a sport that is right for each student is easy because these sports each target different types of people.
If students are looking for a fun, team sport, then handball, whiffleball, or waterpolo is the right choice. If students are in search of a solo sport, then raquetball is the right choice. Raquetball is like a strategic chess match against the opponent. Unlike team sports, each person can only count on themself to make the right shot or do the right thing. Raquetball is a lot of fun and students should join a league this season.
Whether students want to join a team sport or an individual sport this upcoming season, there are many options to consider. If there are questions regarding anything intramural visit our online page by clicking HERE!
