Wayne State University junior defenseman Marc St. Jean (Orleans, ONT/Hawkesbury Hawks) has been selected College Hockey America Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Warriors to a home-and-home sweep of Findlay this past weekend (Feb. 1-2).
In Friday’s 4-2 home victory, St. Jean had a plus/minus rating of +2 and was a member of the WSU penalty killing units which stopped all three Oiler power-play chances.
In Saturday’s 4-3 win at Findlay, he scored the Warriors third goal and was a key member of the Wayne State penalty killing which stopped all six Findlay man-advantage opportunities.
Wayne State is tied for first in the CHA with Bemidji State at 18 points. The Warriors play two games this weekend (Feb. 8-9) at third place Niagara. WSU’s next home game will be Saturday, Feb. 16 at 7:05 p.m. against Findlay.
Warriors Continue Stretch Run
Wayne State will skate against College Hockey America foe Niagara four times over the final four weeks of the regular season. This weekend’s two-game series is at Niagara, while the regular season concludes with a pair of games at WSU.
WSU Versus Niagara
The Warriors have a 4-0-0 all-time mark against the Purple Eagles, which includes two wins at each site by WSU. Wayne State won 9-6 and 4-3 at Niagara on Jan. 12-13, 2001.
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 349-349-60. The 349 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 both ends of a home-and-home series (4-2, 4-3) against Findlay to maintain its share of first place in College Hockey America (CHA).
In Friday’s 4-2 home victory (Feb. 1), the Warriors never trailed and had two goals from Chris Vail plus single tallies from Tyler Kindle and Nathan Rosychuk (ppg). David Guerrera made 28 saves in the contest which saw just six minor penalties.
WSU led 3-0 midway through the second period on Saturday (Feb. 2) but the Oilers scored three of the game’s final four goals to cut the deficit to one.
Rosychuk (ppg), Vail, Marc St. Jean and Jon Brink scored for Wayne State, while Jack Redwood and Dusty Kingston each contributed two assists.
Guerrera again made 28 stops and the Warrior penalty killing units stopped all nine Findlay power-play chances on the weekend (three on Friday, six on Saturday).
Scouting Niagara
The Purple Eagles are 15-11-0 overall after losing twice (7-4, 3-2) at Bemidji State this past weekend. First-year head coach Dave Burkholder’s squad is 7-3-0 overall at home but just 2-2-0 against CHA opponents. NU plays its next six games at home beginning this weekend before concluding the regular season at Wayne State.
Sophomore Joe Tallari (13-11--24) leads Niagara in scoring and is followed by senior forward John Heffernan (15-8--23), sophomore forward Hannu Karru (6-7--23) and senior defenseman Scott Crawford (1-22--23). Heffernan has a team-best 10 power-play goals.
Sophomore Rob Bonk (14-8-0, 3.00, .890) has started 22 games, while freshmen Ryan MacNeil and Mike Pataran have combined to start the other four contests. Niagara has scored on 19.5% of its power-play chances (26 of 133), while stopping 80.5% of its opponent opportunities (95 of 118).
Warrior Team Notes
- Wayne State is 6-5-1 away from home this season including a perfect 5-0-0 mark at CHA schools.
- The Warrior penalty killers have been successful on the last 13 man-down chances to improve its season penalty killing percentage to 83.1.
- WSU has outshot its opponents in five of the last six games after accomplishing this feat only four times in the first 20 games. For the year, WSU has been outshot by an average of 32.1 to 30.4 shots on goal per game.
- Ten different players have accounted for WSU’s 24 power-play goals this season.
- In league games only, the Warriors have either led or been tied 72 percent of the minutes.
- Seventeen of WSU’s 26 games have been decided by two goals or less, with the Warriors recording a 10-4-3 mark in those matches.
- The 45 shots on goal Saturday were a season-high for the Warriors.
- Wayne State is 8-3-1 in its last 12 contests.
Warrior Player Notes
- Chris Vail had three goals against Findlay after scoring twice in WSU’s previous 24 games this season.
- Jon Brink scored on Saturday against the Oilers marking the first time this year he had not scored on a Friday.
- Tyler Kindle had an assist in each game giving him seven helpers in the last 12 games.
- Nathan Rosychuk scored a goal each night and now has a goal in five of the last six contests.
- Dusty Kingston recorded two assists on Saturday for his sixth multiple-point game of the campaign.
- Jack Redwood garnered three assists versus Findlay this past weekend after recording just four assists in the previous 24 games this year.
- Maxim Starchenko had his second three-assist game of the year on Friday.
- Defenseman Keith Stanich leads all WSU skaters in league plus/minus at +11.
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.
Upcoming Promotions
A two-for-one ticket is available for the Feb. 16 home game against Findlay in Michigan Hockey Magazine.
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.
