Warriors Begin Stretch Run
Wayne State will face College Hockey America foe Findlay in a home-and-home series this weekend (Feb. 1-2). Friday’s contest will take place in Fraser with Saturday’s rematch at Clauss Ice Arena in Findlay. The Warriors final five regular-season series are all against CHA members.
WSU Versus Findlay
The Warriors have a 2-4-1 all-time mark against the Oilers, which includes two forfeits by Wayne State. WSU is 1-2-0 at home versus Findlay, while compiling a 1-1-1 record in games played in Ohio. The first meeting was at a neutral site.
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 347-349-60. 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 Action For Wayne State
Wayne State completed its non-conference schedule with two losses (6-3, 4-1) at ninth-ranked Northern Michigan on Jan. 17-18.
In the first tilt, the Wildcats led 3-0 before Dusty Kingston scored 5:51 into the second period. The Warriors would get as close as two goals on three different occasions but could not pull within a single goal. Nathan Rosychuk scored with 6:16 remaining in the middle stanza to pull WSU within two at 4-2 and Billy Collins scored 2:05 into the third period. David Guerrera made 31 saves for the Warriors who went zero-for-five on the power play.
The next night, Wayne State scored first as Jon Brink tallied the lone goal of the first period. NMU tied the game 40 seconds into the second period and added two more goals before the end of the stanza. The Wildcats scored once in the third. Guerrera made 24 saves as WSU outshot the hosts 31-28. There was only 10 penalties in the game and three power-play opportunities (WSU 0-2, NMU 0-1).
Scouting Findlay
The Oilers are 10-12-2 overall after sweeping Canisius (6-3, 4-1) this past weekend in Ohio. Coach Craig Barnett’s squad is 5-2-2 in its last nine contests.
Senior defenseman Brant Somerville (6-14--20) leads Findlay in scoring and is followed by freshman forward Rigel Shaw (9-10--19), sophomore forward Brian Sherry (7-7--14) and junior forward Jason Maxwell (6-8--14). Maxwell had two goals including the game-winner against the Golden Griffins. Junior Jamie VandeSpyker (7-7-1, 3.92, .889) has started 15 games while sophomore Kevin Fines (3-5-1, 3.35, .902) has started the other nine contests. Findlay has scored on 14.6% of its power-play chances (13 of 89), while stopping 80.6% of its opponent opportunities (108 of 134).
Warrior Team Notes
- Wayne State did not score a power-play goal at Northern Michigan marking the second time this season (first was Oct. 19-20 at Wisconsin) the Warriors did not record a ppg in a weekend series. Wayne State was 0-for-5 on Jan. 17 and 0-for-2 on Jan. 18.
- WSU penalty killers stopped five of the Wildcats six chances. WSU has allowed more than one power-play goal in a game only once in the last six matches.
- The 10 goals allowed by WSU at Northern Michigan was the most in a weekend set since Ohio State scored 12 goals on Nov. 9-10.
- The Warriors have been outscored 31-15 in the first period and trail by a single goal in the second period (28-27) and third period (30-29).
- Wayne State has scored one power-play goal in the last 22 chances (4.5% efficiency).
Warrior Player Notes
- After scoring one goal in his first eight games this season, Jon Brink has five goals in his last seven contests. All six of his goals this year have been scored on Friday.
- Freshman Nathan Rosychuk had his five-game point streak snapped on Friday. During the streak, he had three goals and five assists for eight points.
- Rookie Billy Collins had his five-game point streak end on Friday. He had seven points on four goals and three assists during his streak. Collins has scored a goal in six of his last nine games.
- Only three Warriors have seen action in all 24 games (Jason Durbin, Dusty Kingston and Brent Renfrew) while six players, including goaltender David Guerrera, have only missed one game.
Lunch With The Coaches
The weekly lunch with Wayne State coaches continues this Wednesday. 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 finished the season 2-7-1 against CCHA members and 2-2-0 versus WCHA schools. The Warriors final five regular-season series are all against CHA members.
A complete copy of this week's game notes is also available in PDF.
