Warriors facing Lakers to begin 2002
Wayne State will be playing host to Lake Superior in a non-conference series on Jan. 4-5 at Great Lakes Sports City in Fraser. Face-off both nights is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. WSU is 0-5-1 against CCHA teams this season and 0-10-2 in the history of the program.
WSU vs. Lake Superior
The Lakers won both meetings last season in Sault Ste. Marie. Lake Superior won 2-1 on Friday, Oct. 13, and recorded a 6-3 victory the next night. Nick Shrader had the lone marker on Friday, while Dusty Kingston, Maxim
Starchenko and Chris Vail scored in the Saturday contest.
Wayne State University Head Coach Bill Wilkinson
Bill Wilkinson, the only head coach in the three-year history of men’s hockey at Wayne State University, is in his 20th season as a collegiate head coach.
Last year, Wilkinson led the Warriors to 12 more victories than the inaugural season, and the CHA tournament crown. The three-time Central Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year has compiled an overall coaching record of 344-346-60. The 344 victories places him 35th on the NCAA all-time win list.
Assistant Coaches
Both full-time assistant coaches, Danny Brooks and Willie Mitchell, plus volunteer coach, Cal McGowan, have been with the program since its inception. Brooks worked with Coach Wilkinson at Western Michigan, while Mitchell previously served as an assistant at Michigan State.
Last Weekend
Wayne State won twice (4-1, 6-4) at Alabama-Huntsville to move into first place in the CHA standings. Jon Brink recorded his first collegiate hat trick and Dave Guerrera made 40 saves in Friday’s victory. Jason Durbin scored the game-winning goal during a UAH power play. Durbin and Jack Redwood each scored twice, while Guerrera turned aside 37 Charger shots in Saturday’s triumph. Chris Vail and Billy Collins tallied the other WSU goals.
Scouting Lake Superior
The Lakers have a 6-12 overall mark for head coach Frank Anzalone, who led LSSU to the 1988 NCAA Championship. Lake Superior won the Sheraton/Howard Bank Classic this past weekend in Burlington, Vermont, with victories over Vermont (6-3) and Dartmouth (3-1). Junior center Aaron Davis (3-7--10) and senior center Jeremy Bachusz (2-8--10) are tied for the team lead in scoring. Senior wing Chris McNamara is next with nine points (8-1) and is followed by sophomore center Adam Nightingale (3-5--8) and sophomore defenseman Chad Dahlen (2-6--8). Two freshmen netminders (Matt Violin - 2-1-0, 2.71, .930, and Terry Denike - 3-5-0, 4.00, .884) have shared time in the LSSU cage with junior Scott Murray (1-6-0, 4.08, .897). LSSU, which has scored 35 goals in 18 games, has converted on 9.2% (8 of 87) of its power-play chances. The Laker penalty killing is operating at 82.1% (64 of 78).
Road Sweep
The Warriors improved their CHA road record to 4-0 with two wins at Alabama-Huntsville last weekend. It marked the first time a CHA opponent had swept the Chargers in Huntsville.
Kindle Continues Scoring Streak
Junior defenseman Tyler Kindle extended his point streak to a career-best seven games with two assists on Friday and one helper on Saturday. He has 12 points (5-7) in the last 10 games.
More Offense
Jason Durbin scored once on Friday and twice on Saturday to extend his point streak to five games (3-4--7). It marked the second time this season he had
scored goals in back-to-back games. Dusty Kingston had a season-best three assists in Saturday’s win. Maxim Starchenko returned to the lineup after missing three games and recorded four assists in the series at UAH, including three on Friday.
Some Defense Too
Junior goalie Dave Guerrera has a 4-3-3 mark in his last 10 games with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .915 saves percentage.
Power Play Prowess
The Warriors have scored at least one power-play goal in the last five matches. WSU has eight man-advantage markers in 33 chances (24.2%) during the streak.
Streaks
Wayne State had its streak of allowing three goals or less snapped at five games on Saturday, but extended its unbeaten streak (3-0-2) to five games. WSU will be looking for its first victory at home on a Saturday this weekend. The Warriors are 0-3-2 in Saturday home games this season.
2001-02 Schedule
The Warriors schedule features four games (two home, two away) against each of the other five members of College Hockey America plus 14 non-conference contests. Wayne State is currently 0-5-1 against CCHA members and 2-2-0 versus WCHA schools. After the Lake Superior series, six of WSU’s final seven series are against CHA schools.
Upcoming Promotions
Kids can attend the Lake Superior series for free with copy of good report card and will be able to Skate with the Warriors following Saturday’s game. There will also be a drawing for a $1,000 WSU scholarship on Jan. 5. The following weekend Air Force visits Wayne State with Hero’s Night being celebrated on Jan. 12. Half-off tickets will be available to any armed services personnel, as well as police and firemen.
