Warriors To Complete Non-League Schedule
Wayne State will finish its 2001-02 non-conference slate with a two-game series at Northern Michigan this Thursday and Friday, Jan 17-18. The Warriors are 4-7-1 against non-league foes this season including a 1-3-1 mark on the road (the lone win was at Wisconsin on Oct. 19).
WSU Versus Northern Michigan
The Warriors have never faced the Wildcats.
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 347-347-60. The 347 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 split a CHA home series with Air Force (4-3, 3-5). The Warriors rallied on Friday (Jan. 11) with three goals in the third period after trailing 2-1 through two periods. John Grubb, Jon Brink, Nathan Rosychuk and Keith Stanich scored for WSU, while David Guerrera made 12 saves.
On Saturday (Jan. 12), Wayne State received goals from Tyler Kindle (PP), Rosychuk and Billy Collins, but the Falcons held on for the win despite being outshot 35-32. Collins also had two assists for the Warriors, with Guerrera making 27 stops.
Scouting Northern Michigan
The Wildcats are 13-7-2 overall and 8-6-2 in the CCHA after splitting a weekend series at Notre Dame (4-0, 1-4). NMU’s only head coach, Rick Comley, began the Wildcat hockey program for the 1976-77 campaign.
Senior forward Chad Theuer (9-21--30) leads NMU in scoring and is followed by junior Bryce Cockburn (12-11--23), junior Chris Gobert (6-14--20), and junior Mike Stutzel (7-7--14). Senior Sean Owens (4-3--7) is the highest scoring blueliner.
Sophomore Craig Kowalski (12-7-2, 2.34, .914) has earned the decision in all but one game this season. NMU has scored on 17.4% of its power-play chances (15 of 86), while stopping 83.8% of its opponent opportunities (88 of 105).
Warrior Team Notes
- Friday's come-from-behind victory (WSU trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes) marked the second straight Friday that the Warriors had rallied for the victory.
- The Warriors had their school-record unbeaten streak halted at eight games (6-0-2) with Saturday’s setback.
- Wayne State improved its record when scoring first to 5-1-1 with Friday’s win.
- The five goals allowed on Saturday was the most by WSU in 14 games since a 9-0 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 9.
- WSU has scored at least three goals in its last eight contests.
- Despite allowing at least one power-play goal in the last five games, WSU penalty killers have stopped 31 of its opponents last 38 man-advantage opportunities (81.6%).
- Wayne State has been finishing strong in league games outscoring its opponents 20-11 in the third period. The Warriors have been outscored in the first period, 11-8, but rebounded in the middle stanza by an 11-8 margin.
- Eight of WSU’s final 12 regular-season games are away from home. Wayne State is currently 5-3-1 on the road, including a 4-0 mark in CHA play.
- The Warriors are now 24th in the country according to the Pairwise Rankings (www.uscollegehockey.com), which mimics the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Tournament.
Warrior Player Notes
- All four of John Grubb's lamp-lighters this season have come against Air Force (two on Nov. 2, one on Nov. 3 and one on Jan. 11).
- All five of Jon Brink's goals this year have been scored on Friday.
- Rookie Billy Collins extended his point streak to four games with an assist on Friday and three points (1-2) on Saturday. He has three goals and three assists for six points in the last four games and five goals and four assists for nine points in the last seven contests.
- Freshman Nathan Rosychuk had two points (1-1) on Friday and a goal on Saturday extending his point streak to four games (2-4--6).
- Junior captain Jason Durbin was held off the scoresheet by Air Force, marking just the second weekend he had been held scoreless this season (first was the opening series against Ferris State, Oct. 12-13).
- Junior defenseman Keith Stanich scored the game-winning goal on Friday and contributed two assists on Saturday giving him five points (1-4) in the last four games.
Lunch With The Coaches
The weekly lunch with Wayne State coaches returns this Wednesday, Jan. 16. The luncheon takes place in the South lounge on the second floor of the Student Center.
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 2-5-1 against CCHA members and 2-2-0 versus WCHA schools. Five of WSU’s final six series are against CHA schools. The Warriors have six games remaining (two at Northern Michigan and four versus Niagara) against teams listed in last week’s USA Today/American Hockey Magazine national poll.
A complete copy of this week's game notes is also available in PDF.
