David Guerrera
Nathan Rosychuk
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Detroit, Mich. — Wayne State men’s hockey goalie David Guerrera (Jr./St. Leonard, Quebec) and left winger Nathan Rosychuk (Fr./Athabasca, Alberta) both earned College Hockey America (CHA) weekly honors, which was announced by the conference office on Monday, Feb. 18. Guerrera was named the CHA’s top defensive player for the second straight week, while Rosychuk earned CHA Rookie of the Week honors for the first time this year.
Guerrera posted a .964 save percentage last weekend, while picking up two victories over Findlay (5-2, 6-0) on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 15-16). Guerrera stopped 54 of 56 shots in the series, including all 22 shots in Saturday’s victory. Guerrera has a league-high .918 save percentage in CHA contests, along with a 12-2-2 record. Guerrera has been named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week three times this season (Dec. 31, Feb. 11, Feb. 18).
Rosychuk recorded a goal and three assists in WSU’s sweep of the Oilers last week. In his first season, Rosychuk has posted 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) in 27 games played.
The Warriors are 16-11-3 overall and have a league-best 12-2-2 mark in the CHA.
Warriors Take Final Regular-Season Road Trip
Wayne State, winners of six consecutive games, will face College Hockey America foe Bemidji State this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22-23) in its final road trip of the regular season. WSU entertains Niagara on March 1-2 to conclude the regular season. The CHA tournament will be held March 14-16 at Niagara University.
WSU Versus Bemidji State
Wayne State has a 1-5-2 all-time mark against the Beavers including a 1-3-0 record in games played in Minnesota. The lone series win for the Warriors came in overtime (5-4) on Nov. 24, 2000, at Bemidji. Wayne State has been outscored 23-12 in the four games played at BSU.
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 353-349-60. The 353 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.
Scouting Bemidji State
The Beavers are in second place in CHA despite losing twice at Niagara (6-3, 3-1) last Thursday and Friday. BSU has a three point lead on the Purple Eagles for the second seed and first round tournament bye with an 8-4-3 league record. Bemidji State has three of the top four scorers (for all games) among CHA skaters. Junior forward Marty Goulet (14-23--37) is followed by freshman forward Andrew Murray (15-15--30, 6 PPG), junior forward Jeff McGill (10-19--29) and rookie forward Riley Riddell (13-15--28).
Sophomore Grady Hunt (11-9-3, 3.70, .882) has started 23 contests, while classmate Danny Morgan (1-5-1, 4.82, .844) has seven starts. Coach Tom Serratore’s squad has scored 31 power-play goals in 147 chances (21.1%), while stopping 76.3 percent (106 of 139) of its opponents opportunities. BSU is 5-1-2 at home against CHA teams and 7-1-1 in the league when scoring first.
Warrior Team Notes
- Wayne State is 24th in the nation in the Pairwise Rankings (as of Feb. 17) which compares teams at or above .500, judging them by five criteria: record against common opponents, record in last 16 games, head to head competition, record against other teams at or above .500, and the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). The complete Pairwise rankings can be found online.
- WSU is listed at 12-11-3 in the Pairwise Rankings because games against Findlay do not count since the Oilers are not eligible for this year’s NCAA Tournament.
- The Warriors are 9-5-1 away from Detroit with a perfect 8-0-0 mark at CHA opponents. WSU is 5-2-1 in Friday away contests. The Warriors have an 11-3 mark in their last 14 games and a 9-1 record in the last 10 league contests.
- Wayne State had killed off its opponents last 24 power-play opportunities, until Findlay scored on back-to-back man-advantage chances Friday night.
- The Warriors stopped all eight Oiler power plays on Saturday.
- WSU scored five power-play goals in 15 chances (33.3% efficiency) in the sweep of Findlay.
- The Warriors are 12-1-0 when leading after 40 minutes and 11-2-1 when scoring the first goal. In games decided by two goals or less, WSU is 11-4-3.
- For league games only, Wayne State is first in offense (4.12 gpg), first in defense (2.50 gpg), first in power-play percentage (24.7%), second in penalty killing percentage (84.2%) and first in short-handed goals scored with four.
Warrior Player Notes
- Jack Redwood had a four-game point streak end Friday night (2-4--6) despite recording a plus/minus rating of +3. He had two points (1-1) on Saturday.
- Chris Vail extended his goal-scoring streak to six games with a goal each night versus Findlay. He has 12 points (7-5) during the streak which also included five consecutive multiple-point games.
- After going 16 straight games without a point, defenseman Nick Stodgell had an assist both nights against the Oilers.
- Blueliner Tyler Kindle had a season-high three assists on Saturday. His three helpers came on the first three goals of the game.
- Nathan Rosychuk had two assists on Friday and a goal and an assist on Saturday giving him a point in 10 of his last 12 games.
- Netminder David Guerrera has stopped 107 of the last 112 shots (.955 saves percentage) he has faced during the last four games.
- Jason Durbin snapped an eight-game goalless streak with two power-play goals on Friday. He added another man-advantage marker on Saturday.
- Jon Brink scored on Saturday giving him three goals in the last five games. John Grubb scored in Saturday’s victory giving him two goals in the last four contests.
- Keith Stanich had three assists in the sweep of Findlay.
Upcoming Promotions
For the March 1-2 series against Niagara, couples are offered a buy one ticket get one free. Couples that take part in the Honeymoon Chuck-A-Puck on Saturday, Mar. 2, will have a chance for the grand prize trip giveaway courtesy of Spirit Airlines and WYCD (99.5 FM). Any member of a HoneyBaked youth hockey team will receive free admission with their jersey on to the March 1-2 series.
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.
A complete copy of this week's game notes is also available in PDF.
