Warriors to Finish 2001 in Orono
Wayne State begins a stretch of nine consecutive non-conference games with a road trip to the University of Maine this weekend. The Warriors return home for a Jan. 4 tilt against Brown.
WSU vs. Maine
Wayne State will be travelling to Orono for the third straight season and hoping to earn its first win against the Black Bears. During the Warriors inaugural campaign, Maine posted a pair of wins (11-0, 9-3). The scores last December in Orono were 4-1 and 4-0.
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 17th season as a collegiate head coach. Last year, O’Malley led the Warriors to five more victories than the inaugural season. O’Malley compiled a record of 137-77-28 in 15 years as head coach at Boston College.
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.
2001-02 Captain
This year’s captain is sophomore defenseman Kelly Meech (Coquitlam, British Columbia).
Assistant Coaches
This year’s assistant coaches are Alain Frankiewicz and Catherine Hanson with Mike Risdale serving as a volunteer coach.
Scouting Maine
The Black Bears lost a pair of non-conference games last weekend at Dartmouth (6-0, 3-2 OT) to fall to 5-7-1 overall. UM is led in scoring by sophomore forwards Meagan Aarts (9-7--16) and Karen Droog (8-4--12), junior forward Jarin Sjogren (4-7--11) and freshman forward Andrea Steranko (2-6--8). Coach Rick Filighera has used three different goalies this season. Senior Amanda Cronin (2-3-1, 2.63, .895) has seen the most action. Junior Dawn Froats (2-3-0, 3.50, .888) and sophomore Lara Smart (1-1-0, 1.89, .934) have also seen time in the Black Bear cage.
Petchar Produces
Sophomore forward Laurie Petchar equalled her season output by scoring both Warrior goals in Saturday’s 2-2 overtime tie with Findlay. She had two goals last season in 30 games and already has four goals this year in only 15 games.
Scoring First
The Warriors have scored first in nine of their 13 games this season, but have a 3-6 mark when leading 1-0.
Zamora Extends Point Streak
Freshman forward Kelly Zamora leads the Warriors in scoring with 13 points (6-7) and extended her point streak to four games with an assist on Saturday and a goal on Sunday.
Jones Records Points
Sophomore forward Katie Jones has five points (two goals, three assists) in Wayne State’s last four contests, after scoring five points in the first 11 games.
It’s That Time of the Year
The Warriors are making their yearly December journey to Orono. In the 1999-2000 season, WSU visited Maine on Dec. 13-14, and last year the Warriors faced off against the Black Bears on Dec. 7 and 9.
The Youth Movement
Four of Wayne State’s top six scorers are freshmen. In addition to Zamora, newcomers Cheralyn Anderson (2-7--9), Krissy Langley (0-7--7) and Heidi Burns (4-2--6) round out the scoring rookies.
Power(less) Play
Wayne State has failed to score on its last 23 power-play chances since converting twice in a 4-3 loss at Yale on Nov. 4.
Dynamic Duo Between the Pipes
Sophomore Anna VanderMarliere started both games this past weekend against Findlay and turned aside 59 of the Oilers 64 shots for a .922 saves percentage. VanderMarliere has WSU’s only shutout this season, a 1-0 victory over Vermont on Oct. 13. Freshman Tinna-Anne Thibideau started four consecutive games for Wayne State before this past weekend. She had stopped 96 of the 107 shots for an .897 saves percentage. Her record in the four games is 1-3, but the Warriors had scored a combined three goals in the three losses.
A complete copy of this week's game notes is also available in PDF.
