WAYNE STATE (6-22-2 Overall, 2-5-1 GLWHA)
vs. Findlay (7-21-2 Overall, 1-6-1 GLWHA)
Mercyhurst Ice Center (Erie, PA) • Feb. 23 – 2 p.m.
GLWHA Championship Game • Feb. 24 – 2 p.m.

Warriors Enter GLWHA Tournament On Winning Note
Wayne State, riding a three-game winning streak, will participate in the second Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association Tournament this weekend in Erie, Pennsylvania. WSU will face Findlay in the semifinal game on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. The winner will skate against Mercyhurst at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the GLWHA championship game.

WSU Versus Findlay
Wayne State will be facing the Findlay Oilers for the 13th time in school history this Saturday. The Warriors had been 0-8-2 all-time against UF, until sweeping a home-and-home series this past weekend. All four meetings this season have been very close, the teams tied in Detroit (2-2 OT), while Findlay won a 3-2 decision at home in the first series, with the Warriors winning 4-2 (at Findlay) and 2-1 (at home).

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 this 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.

Last Weekend
Wayne State won swept a home-and-home series (4-2, 2-1) from Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association (GLWHA) member Findlay last weekend (Feb. 16-17).

In Saturday’s game, the Warriors started fast as Melissa Wenzel scored her fourth goal of the year just 2:57 into the contest off an assist from Kelly Meech. The Oilers tied the game at the 11:14 mark as Stasia Bakhit scored off assists from Cori Forbes and Julie Robert. Findlay’s Sherrie White scored the lone goal of the second period at the 5:03 mark.

WSU would rally with three goals in the third period. The Warriors tied the game at the 3:00 mark as Brooke Needer tallied her second of the season off an assist from Cheryl Anderson. Krissy Langley tallied the game-winner at 9:32 off assists from Heidi Burns and Needer. It was Langley’s first collegiate lamp-lighter. Kelly Zamora sealed the win when she scored her team-leading 10th goal of the campaign with 40 seconds left in the contest off an assist from Wenzel. Tinna-Anne Thibideau made 29 saves in the Wayne State cage for her fourth victory of the season. Erin Blair had 27 saves for Findlay. WSU went one-for-seven on the power play, while stopping all six Oiler man-advantage opportunities.

In Sunday’s home finale, WSU’s Heidi Burns scored with nine seconds left in the second period. UF tied the game 27 seconds into the third period, but Laurie Petchar’s first game-winning goal of the season came with 7:29 left in the third period. Thibideau finished the contest with 39 saves including double-digit totals in each period. Blair turned aside 19 shots in the Oiler cage.

Scoring By Class
Year	Players	Goals	Assists	Points	%
Senior	0
Junior	1	0	0	0	0
Sophomore	9	27	32	59	49
Freshman	6	21	40	61	51

Tough Competition
Wayne State has played nine games (four versus Mercyhurst, one vs. Brown, two at St. Lawrence and two at Northeastern) this season against teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll.

Warrior Notes

A complete copy of this week's game notes is also available in PDF. Click here to download.