Warriors Return Home To Face Bemidji State
Wayne State will host Bemidji State this weekend (Jan. 18-19) before playing seven consecutive road contests. The Warriors will play the final regular-season game at home against Findlay on February 17.
WSU Versus Bemidji State
Wayne State trails BSU in the all-time series 2-8-0. The Warriors lost twice at Bemidji (4-1, 5-1) on Oct. 19-20, 2001. WSU is 1-3-0 at home against the Beavers.
Wayne State University Head Coach Tom O’Malley
Tom O’Malley, the only head coach in the three-year history of women’s hockey at Wayne State University, is in his 18th season as a collegiate head coach. Last year, O’Malley led the Warriors to five more victories than the inaugural season.
2001-02 Schedule
The Warriors schedule features four games (two at home, two away) against each of the other two members of Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association plus 22 non-conference contests. The season concludes when Mercyhurst hosts the second GLWHA tournament on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 23-24. WSU suffered a 4-1 setback to Findlay in last year’s semifinal match.
Assistant Coaches
This year’s assistant coaches are Alain Frankiewicz and Catherine Hanson with Mike Risdale serving as a volunteer coach.
Scouting Bemidji State
Bemidji State enters the weekend series with an 8-8-5 overall mark. The Beavers have a 5-7-4 mark in the Women’s WCHA. BSU is ranked 14th in the latest Pairwise Rankings. Bemidji is led in scoring by Amber Fryklund (10-13--23), Kerri McEwen (10-11--21), Guylaine Hache (9-9--18) and Alicia Kinsman (4-11--15).
Bre Dedrickson (6-6-4, 3.11, .905) has played the majority of time in net for the Beavers. Coach Jason Lesteberg’s squad tied (2-2 OT) and lost to second-ranked Minnesota (3-2) at home this past weekend.
Scoring First
The Warriors have scored first in nine of their 20 games this season, but hold a 3-6 mark when leading 1-0.
Zamora Continues Scoring Parade
Freshman forward Kelly Zamora leads the Warriors in scoring with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists). She has seven points in her last nine contests.
Jones Records Points
Sophomore forward Katie Jones has five points (two goals, three assists) in Wayne State’s last nine contests, after scoring five points in her first 11 games.
The Youth Movement
Four of Wayne State’s top six scorers are freshmen. In addition to Zamora, newcomers Cheryl Anderson (2-8--10), Krissy Langley (0-7--7) and Heidi Burns (5-2--7) round out the rookie scoring leaders. Freshman Amie Hickerty scored her first collegiate goal on December 8 at Maine.
Keeping It Close
During Wayne State’s current eight-game winless streak (0-7-1), two losses have been by a single goal. When the Warriors score three goals or more in a game, WSU is 2-2-1. When Wayne State scores two or less, its record is 1-11-1.
Tough Competition
Wayne State has played five games (two versus Mercyhurst, one vs. Brown and two against St. Lawrence) this season against teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll. The Warriors still have four games versus teams (two each against Northeastern and Mercyhurst) in the top 10 nationally.
2001-02 Captain
This year’s captain is sophomore defenseman Kelly Meech (Coquitlam, British Columbia).
A complete copy of this week's game notes is also available in PDF.
