|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Warriors Win First
The Warriors scored first as sophomore Keith Stanich recoreded his second goal of the season at 11:12 mark. Sophomores Maxim Starchenko and Jon Brink both added assists on the goal. The Chargers then tied up the game at 13:49, but the Warriors rebounded as sophomore Dustin Kingston scored his 17th goal of the season with 15:44 on the clock. Sophomore Tyler Kindle added an assist on Kingston’s goal. Both teams held each other scoreless in the second period. In the third period, sophomore Kalle Rahm scored his fifth goal of the 2000-2001 season just minutes into the period (1:22) as sophomore Jack Redwood added an assist. To finish the game, Kingston scored his second goal of the night with an empty netter at 19:46 as the Warriors win the game 4-1. "This is such a thrill for our kids and our program," said head coach Bill Wilkinson. "Nobody even expected us to be in the championship game and then to win it all says a lot for us and the program. We were underdogs all season and the team handled it well. With this win, we’ve definitely made a mark in the CHA conference and we’ll definitely be a team in the future to deal with."
Sophomore goalie David Guerrera was named tournament MVP and sophomores Maxim Starchenko, Jason Durbin, Dustin Kingston and Tyler Kindle were named to the all-tournament team. "I think the whole team deserved the MVP title not just me," said Guerrera. "I don’t think the honor should point to just me. Our defense played their best late in the season and especially in this tournament. I really give them credit for our wins this year and especially in the tournament."
Warriors To Play In Finals The Wayne State University men’s hockey team, in dramatic fashion, defeated the University of Niagara, 3-2 in overtime, on Friday night to win one of the two spots in the College Hockey America tournament championship game. The game will be held at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 10, and can be heard live on www.liveonthenet.com.
In recapping the goals scored, both teams held each other scoreless in the first period. In the second period, WSU’s Maxim Starchenko scored his 11th goal of the season by reaching the net at 17:04 in the second period. Jon Brink and Kalle Rahm both added assists on the goal. Wayne State finished the period leading the game, 1-0. In the second period, Starchenko scored his second goal of the game and his 12th of the season at 14:40 into the period. Niagara, however, rebounded and scored nine seconds later. The Purple Eagles then scored again at 16:31 to push the game into overtime.
"Tonight’s game put the staff through a lot of turmoil," said head coach Bill Wilkinson. "It was a good dogfight and it’s great that we’re playing in the championship game. Who would have thought in the beginning of the season that a bunch of freshman and sophomores would be playing in the championship game. It’s just a great step for our program." "In overtime, they really took it to us," said captain Jason Durbin. "The game was mostly played in our end since they outshot us 13-3 in the overtime period. On the final goal, Tyler (Kindle) made a shot that I was lucky to catch the rebound and I just hit it as hard as I could and I slipped it over the top of the goalie." The Warriors are now 17-14-3 and will play the winner of the other semi-final game of Air Force versus Alabama-Huntsville. In other notes, this was Wayne State’s 11th overtime game of the season with the Warriors posting a 5-3-3 record in overtime games. WSU has defeated Niagara five times this season (four in the regular season and one in the tournament). This is also Wayne State’s first-ever CHA championship game in only its second year of the program. Durbin, Kindle, Vail Earn All-CHA Honors
Sophomore Jason Durbin was named to the First Team All-CHA team, sophomore Tyler Kindle was selected to the Second Team All-CHA and freshman Chris Vail was named to CHA All-Rookie team. In addition, the Warriors had 15 players named to the CHA All-Academic Team. Those included: sophomores Marc Carlson, Tyler Kindle, Dustin Kingston, Chris Morelli, Kalle Rahm, Jon Brink, David Guerrera, John MacAdam, Ryan Michela, Steve Nichols, Dan Rafner, Brent Renfrew and Maxim Starchenko. It also included junior Matt Zito and Brett Leone. The Warriors will begin their quest for their first-ever CHA championship as they face Niagara on Friday, March 9, in the first semi-final game at 5 p.m. EST. Should Wayne State win, it will play in the championship game on Saturday, March 10 at 8 p.m. EST; should WSU lose it would play in the consolation game also on Saturday but at 5 p.m.
|
Celebrate Wayne State's |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On Saturday, March 10, the Wayne State University men’s hockey team defeated host University of Alabama-Huntsville, 4-1, to capture its first-ever hockey College Hockey America conference title.
In Friday’s semi-final game, the Warriors defeated the Niagara Purple Eagles for the fifth time this season by a score of 3-2 in overtime. The game was a dogfight as WSU was out-shot 39-33, but still secured the win. 
In the extra period (which is 20 minutes long instead of the regular season five minutes long), sophomore Jason Durbin scored off a rebounded shot by Tyler Kindle at 13:55 to win the game. This was Durbin’s third game winning goal of the season. Adding an assist to the goal was also Dustin Kingston.
