Wayne women recognized by CHA

For the second straight week, Wayne State freshman Lindsay DiPietro (left) has been named the CHA Offensive Player of the week. DiPietro, a native of Manotick, Ontario, has scored six goals and added an assist to lead the Warriors in both goals and points. She was a key factor in both Colgate games last weekend; she had one goal and one assist in Friday's game, and two goals and one assist in Saturday's victory. DiPietro leads the CHA in goals scored. She also shares the league lead in power-play points (4) and goals (3).

Fellow freshman Sam Poyton (left, bottom) was recognized as the CHA Rookie of the Week. Poyton has three points (2-1) for the season, but her two goals were pivotal for the Warriors last weekend. Her first goal put Wayne State on the board in Friday's contest, and her goal on Saturday gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead. She is originally from Hamilton, Ontario.


Wayne State goalie Valery Turcotte also received a nomination for CHA Defensive Player of the Week.

NMU's Zaniboni named CCHA Player of the Month

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that sophomore goalie Bill Zaniboni of Northern Michigan University has been named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for October.

The 23-year-old from Plymouth, Mass., who is a perfect 5-0-0 to start the season, backstopped the Wildcats to a Top 15 ranking in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and US College Hockey Online/CSTV polls. He posted a .969 save percentage and 0.80 goals-against average in October, which represent the second-best statistics in the nation in those categories.

Zaniboni opened the season with a shutout, the first of his career, in a 3-0 victory over St. Cloud in the Berry Events Center on October 14. He stretched his career-best shutout streak 115:17, before surrendering a third-period goal to Michigan Tech in a 5-1 Wildcats' win on Oct. 21. The following night he made 31 saves on the road in a 2-1 victory to complete a weekend sweep of the Huskies. During October's final weekend, he defeated Lake Superior State twice in a home-and-home series, making a combined 51 saves, including 27 stops in a Perani Cup first-star performance on Oct. 28.

The sophomore goalie, who has been beaten just once in each of the past four games, ranks first in the CCHA in all three major goaltending categories: wins, goals-against average and save percentage. He appeared in five games during October and in 299:27 of playing time he made 124 saves while giving up just four goals.

Zaniboni is the third NMU player honored in the three-year history of the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month award, joining goalie Craig Kowalski (Dec. '03) and (then) junior forward Dirk Southern (Feb. '05).

Special mention for RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month honors goes to Miami senior defenseman Andy Greene, Michigan junior forward T.J. Hensick, Michigan State sophomore forward Bryan Lerg, Bowling Green sophomore forward Jonathan Matsumoto, Alaska Fairbanks sophomore goalie Wylie Rogers, Ferris State junior forward Matt Verdone and Western Michigan senior forward Brent Walton.

ACHA Wrap Up, 11-1

Lakers sail to 2 more wins
By Chris Moore

Allendale, MICH--- Minnesota State traveled to Grand Valley this weekend for the first ever meeting of the teams.

On Friday, The Lakers started the night off slow by spotting Mankato a 3-0 lead. GVSU finally found their scoring and broke through in a big way in the third, scoring six unanswered goals to take the game 6-3. Phil Murray recorded a hat trick, with fellow linemate Jeff Tejchma adding another. Mike Johnson and Robb Higgins rounded out the scoring for GVSU. Chris Moore filled in after the goalie swap in the first period and picked up his 7th win in net with 14 saves out of 15 shots.

GVSU was intent on not making the same mistakes on Saturday and quickly took the lead 1-0 on a goal by Mike Johnson. Mankato stormed right back though, tying the game until Matt Burns gave GVSU the lead. GVSU continued the domination throughout the second adding six goals and wouldn't look back, winning 9-1. Nate Beverwyk (pictured) added two goals and three assists, while Phil Murray, Tim Hillebrand, Jeff Stempin, Mike Marquardt and Jeff Tejchma each scored one. Chris Moore started in net, making 16 saves on 17 shots in the first two periods and freshman Kevin Chapman saw his first action in the Lakers uniform, making 3 saves in the final period.

GVSU faces off against league rival Robert Morris Maroon next weekend at home.

Grizzlies sweep past Eagles

Rochester, MICH--- Oakland University swept in state ACHA DI rival Eastern Michigan University 10-4 on Friday night and 4-3 on Saturday.

Friday’s contest was all OU as the Grizzlies would score 4 second period goals en route to putting 10 on the board for the first time against an ACHA DI opponent. OU was lead by Will McMahon (2g 2a) and Brent Cooper (1g 4a). OU goaltender Chris Joswiak turned aside 20 EMU shots.

Saturday’s game was much tougher as Oakland would need two, power-play goals to beat Eastern 4-3. OU was again led by Will McMahon (2g 0a) and Brandon Lipari (2g 0a). Andrew Hansen started in net for the second time this season stopping 20 EMU scoring chances.

“These two wins are big for us heading into next week's showdown with (Michigan) State. The Spartans are the team that spoiled our chance to be two time ACHA champs”, commented OU Head Coach Sean Hogan.

OU will play a home-and-home series next weekend with arch rival Michigan State University. Friday’s game at the Onyx in Rochester will mark the first time Oakland has played MSU since the Spartans beat the Grizzlies in overtime to capture the ACHA D-II National Championship.

Around the ACHA…

D-I
#13 Delaware 6, #7 MICHIGAN-DEARBORN 4
#7 MICHIGAN-DEARBORN 5, #13 Delaware 4 (OT)

ST. CLAIR (ONT) 10, Western Michigan 2
St. Clair (ONT) 10, WESTERN MICHIGAN 1

D-II

Central Michigan 3, Dayton 2
Central Michigan 6, Dayton 2

Davenport 7, Michigan State 4

Indiana 6, Ferris State 2
Indiana 3, Ferris 2

Ohio State 4, Michigan 4
Ohio State 4, Michigan 4

D-III

Calvin 19, Kalamazoo 1
Calvin 6, Oakland 3

Hope 13, Albion 3
Hope 13, Kalamazoo 1

Northwood 9, Muskegon CC 1

Lansing CC 7, Muskegon CC 5
Lansing CC 3, Lawrence Tech 1

Alpena CC 7, Albion 2

WOMEN

Northern Michigan 4, Ohio State 4
Northern Michigan 3, Ohio State 2

Freshmen crucial in Wayne victory over Colgate

The Wayne State women's team seized its first victory of the season; the team defeated Colgate on Saturday with a 4-0 shutout. The win came after the Warriors were defeated by Colgate 3-2 on Friday evening. In both games, freshmen were critical components of the offensive effort.

The Warriors were able to stay in Friday's contest thanks in large part to goalie Valery Turcotte, who stopped ten shots--over half the shots she'd see in the entire game--in the first period. Freshman Sam Poyton notched her first goal of the season, and put Wayne State on the board early in the second period. Senior captain Jessica Snelgrove (pictured) was credited with the assist. Colgate retaliated at the end of the period to tie the score.

Freshman Lindsay DiPietro, reigning CHA Offensive Player of the Week, got some help from Danielle Wilson to put the Warriors in the lead, but Colgate quickly retaliated to tie up the score again. Colgate's Sam Hunt then scored the third goal late in the period, and Wayne State, despite controlling the offensive opportunities for the rest of the game, could not re-tie the score. Once again, the Warriors were close, but had no victory.

On Saturday, the Warriors refused to let the game even be close--the offense was relentless and Turcotte turned away each of the 22 shots she faced.

DiPietro set the example late in the first period; she capitalized on a Warrior power play to score her fifth of the season and the Warriors' first of the night. Melissa Boal and Laura Monk earned assists on DiPietro's goal. Less than two minutes into the second period, Poyton was set up by Snelgrove and Tina Vanderhoeven to put the Warriors up by two.

Boal, assisted by DiPietro and Wilson, notched a power play goal to widen the Warriors' lead, and DiPietro knocked in an unassisted goal to conclude the Wayne State scoring barrage.

Turcotte held steady through the third period to maintain her shutout, and the Warriors were able to tally their first win of the season.

Further, the Warriors' penalty kill unit was flawless all weekend--Colgate was unable to convert on a single one of its extra-woman advantages.

The Warriors will host the Connecticut Huskies this weekend.

Skinner bolts depleted MSU lineup

Sophomore forward Peder Skinner has left Michigan State for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.

Skinner, a 5-foot-8, 160-pound native if Isle-aux Morts, Newfoundland, played in three of MSU's five games this year, but saw limited ice. He recorded four assists in 20 games a year ago.

"Peder just wants to play and had become frustrated," Spartans head coach Rick Comley told the Lansing State Journal. "He couldn't work himself into a high enough spot in our lineup that he was going to be content with. Kingston offered him an educational package so his schooling will be taken care of. This is one of those situations where this is probably best for both of us.''

“Peder was not getting the ice time that he was lead to believe he would be receiving,” said Kingston's director of hockey operations Larry Mavety. “After initial contact and discussion, he expressed interest in joining our hockey club. He’s a very skilled forward that put up over 80 points his last year in Junior A with St. Mike’s and will add another dimension to our hockey club."

Skinner's departure reduces the Spartans' roster to 28 players - three goalies, nine defensemen and 16 forwards.

Injuries have sidelined seven players - forwards David Booth, Tim Kennedy, Chris Mueller, Nick Sucharski and Jim McKenzie and defensemen Chris Snavely and Brandon Gentile. Freshman center Justin Abdelkader will miss Friday's series opener against Northern Michigan because of a one-game suspension for a major penalty and disqualification assessed Saturday in MSU's 4-3 win at Cornell.

O'Keefe steady in Ferris win

The anticipated home-and-home series between Ferris State and Bowling Green State University was abbreviated last week, when problems with Bowling Green's ice caused the cancellation of Thursday's game. But Ferris made the most of Saturday's contest in Big Rapids--bolstered by a solid defensive effort led by reigning CCHA Rookie of the week Mitch O'Keefe, the team defeated Bowling Green 2-1.

Ferris State got on the board at the end of the first period, when Matt Stephanishion scored his second goal of the season. Joe Van Culin and Andrew Winnick were credited with the assists.

Winnick also had a hand in Ferris's second goal; he and Jim Jorgenson set up Eric Vesely to beat BGSU goalie Jon Horrell.

BGSU dominated offensively for the rest of the game, outshooting Ferris 21-13 in the last two periods. But the Falcons only managed one goal, courtesy of Mike Falk, in the second period. The rest of the Ferris defense followed O'Keefe's example: BGSU was shut down on every power play opportunity of the game.

Ferris continues CCHA competition this weekend, as the team welcomes Alaska-Fairbanks to Big Rapids for two games.

Western upsets #4 Ohio State

For most college hockey fans, the fact that Western Michigan was playing host to the Ohio State this past weekend likely merited little more than a yawn. WMU, 0-2 coming into the contest, had not shown tremendous power against lesser teams, and Ohio State was a nationally-ranked powerhouse. But the Broncos defied all expectations, sweeping the Buckeyes to the tune of 5-1 and 5-4 victories.

"Tonight's victory was a total team effort," reflected coach Jim Culhane. "Special teams played a big factor. We scored three times on the power play and we were able to keep them off the board in 12 chances on their power play."

Western had few scoring chances in the first stanza, but goalie Daniel Bellissimo held strong and kept the score even at zero. Less than one minute into the second period, a Buckeye player was called for holding the stick, and captain Mike Erickson made the most of the power play, banging in a shot with some help from Paul Szczechura (pictured, right) and Ryan Mahrle. Later in the period, after an unassisted Jeff Pierce goal put the Broncos up by two, Szczechura notched a goal of his own. Erickson returned the set-up favor and claimed an assist on the goal; Brent Walton (pictured, left) was also credited with an assist.

Though the Buckeyes peppered Bellissimo with shots throughout the third period, it was Western that was able to capitalize on its opportunities--Jeff Lovecchio widened the Broncos' lead to 4-0 on a shorthanded goal, assisted by Walton. The Broncos kept rolling as Erickson earned his second power play goal of the game off passes from Walton and Szczechura.

Although the Buckeyes scored with five minutes remaining to snatch Bellissimo's potential shutout, the Broncos refused to relinquish control of the game. Bellissimo finished with 36 saves, and Western had earned its first season win in glorious form.

The Buckeyes were hungry for vengeance on Saturday night, and for the first thirty minutes, redemption seemed within the grasp of the visiting team. Despite a Walton power play goal late in the first (assisted by Szczechura and Dave Krisky), it appeared that OSU would head to the locker room for the second intermission with a 4-1 lead.

But Western made the most of two power play opportunities late in the second period: Szczechura and Walton set up Jeff Pierce for his first goal of the season, and less than a minute later, Lovecchio helped Nathan Ansell earn his first season goal and bring Western within one goal of the Buckeyes. The Broncos had wrestled back the game's momentum and stayed in control throughout the third period.

Western scored two more unanswered goals in the third period: Jason Moul scored an even-strength goal midway through the period to tie the game (Lovecchio and Ansell assisted), and Krisky notched the go-ahead goal with less than three minutes left in the game (Walton and Szczechura just had to be involved again, and were credited with assists on the Krisky goal).

Bellissimo had an exciting repeat performance, stopping 37 shots in Saturday's contest, and Western killed every Ohio State power play opportunity.

Western looks to continue its dominance of CCHA opponents when Lake Superior State visits Lawson this weekend.

'Cats skin the Lakers "Up North"

The Northern Michigan Wildcats (5-1-0, 2-0-0 CCHA) recent dominance of the Lake Superior State Lakers (1-2-3, 0-2-2 CCHA) continued over the weekend with the boys from Marquette sweeping a home-and home U.P. grudge match.

Special teams were the name of the game on Friday night at the Berry Events Center as the ‘Cats pounced to a 3-1 win.

Dirk Southern opened the scoring shorthanded for the Wildcats just: 46 seconds into the game. Josh Sim tied the game for the Lakers at 11:42, but that marked the end of the scoring for LSSU.

Darin Olver scored the eventual game winner with the man-advantage at 4:32 of the second and Jamie Milam notched another power-play marker at 15:54 of the third to give NMU their fourth win in five games.

Bill Zaniboni stopped 27 of 28 in the Wildcat net and Jeff Jakaitis turned aside 20 of 23 for the Lakers.

NMU finished the night 2-11 on the pp while holding LSSU to a 0-7 evening.

Saturday night the series headed east to the Sault, but the result was the same as the Wildcats grabbed a 2-1 victory.

After a scoreless first period, NMU opened up a 2-0 lead in the secone on power-play goals by Andrew Contois and Pat Bateman.

Matt Restoule tallied an even-strength goal LSSU at 14:29, but it wasn’t enough as LSSU fell to the Wildcats for the fifth game in a row.

The same goaltending duo was in net again for the finale. Zaniboni stopped 24 of 25 for NMU and Jakaitis 20 of 22 for LSSU.

NMU went 2-4 on the PP and LSSU went 0-9.

Next up for Northern Michigan is a pair of games at Munn against Michigan State next weekend. Lake Superior will also be on the road at Lawson for two against Western Michigan.

Photo courtesy of http://www.lssuhockey.blogspot.com/

Warriors still looking for a win as road trip rolls on

The bumpy start to the season continued for the Wayne State Warriors (0-4-0) as they were shelled and swept by the Clarkson Golden Knights over the weekend in Potsdam, NY.

Friday’s series opener started well with Mark Nebus scoring his first of the year on the power-play at 4:51 to give the Green and Gold a 1-0 lead.

The Knights scored the next three goals before Derek Bachynski tallied an even strength marker at 6:19 of the second to make it a 3-2 game.

That’s as close as the Warriors would get again as the Knights picked up the next two goals and skated away with an east 5-2 win.

David Cayer led the Knights with a pair of goals and assists and David Leggio made 25 saves.

Will Hooper started in net for the Warriors and surrendered 5 goals on 20 shots.

If Friday night’s win was easy, then Saturday’s victory was a virtual cakewalk for the Knights as they rolled to a 7-1 final at the Cheel Arena.

Last year’s goal scoring leader Jason Bloomingburg (pictured) recorded the Warriors only goal on the power play in the first period, but other than that it was all Clarkson with seven different skaters scoring goals.

Senior center and Kalamazoo native Jeff Genovy had a three-point night, assisting on the Knights last three goals.

Kyle McNulty stopped 25 of 26 in net for the Knights to pick up the win.

Matt Kelly was solid on the other end, but still surrendered 7 goals on 42 shots.

A couple of key facts stand out in the first four games and have led the Warriors to their worst start in the seven years of the program.

The historically strong Warriors have given up 21 goals in four contests. Wayne has also been near stone cold on the power-play, scoring just twice in 33 chances this season.

Wayne State will try to get into the win column as they continue their season-opening six-game road trip and open the conference season with a pair of games at Niagara next weekend.

Last season the Warriors went 1-2-1 against the Purple Eagles.

Spartans get upset split at Cornell

The 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans scored four second-period goals and freshman Jeff Lerg made 22 saves as the Spartans posted a 4-3 win over second-ranked Cornell last Saturday to gain a split in the two-game series. Tyler Howells had a pair of goals and Bryan Lerg (left) assisted on all four goals to pace the offensive attack for MSU.

"I thought Jeff Lerg was terrific tonight," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "I was very happy with Jeff's performance, especially when you consider the fact that he's playing in his first college game in this type of atmosphere. It was an important game, and he responded well."

Tim Crowder and Brandon Warner also scored for the Spartans. For the junior Warner, it was his first collegiate goal.

Comley added that though Cornell was ranked No. 2 heading into the weekend, MSU didn't stand around and give them that respect.

"Cornell is a very physical team," added Comley. "They certainly couldn't play in our league because they would get called for too many penalties. Cornell plays a tough, physical game and tonight, our guys battled to match the intensity. This is a big win for us."

Friday night, MSU captain Drew Miller scored both goals in a 4-2 defeat. Dominic Vicari stopped 18 shots.

The Spartans return to Munn Ice Arena for their first home CCHA series this weekend when Northern Michigan comes to East Lansing. Game time both nights is 7:05 p.m.

Michigan splits at Alaska-Fairbanks

Noah Ruden pitches 4-0 shutout Saturday night

Michigan's No. 1 ranking is in jeopardy after they split this past weekend at Alaska-Fairbanks.

Friday night, Wylie Rogers made 34 saves as the Nanooks posted a 4-2 win over the Wolverines. Andrew Cogliano and Travis Turnbull each had a goal and an assist on the night and goalie Billy Sauer made 19 saves.

"There were too many mental breakdowns on our part, just giving the puck away," U-M senior captain Andrew Ebbett said. "We talked about how you need to bury the chances you get to win on the road and we didn't do that."

But Saturday night, Noah Ruden got the call in goal and the Bloomfield Hills senior made 23 saves for a 4-0 win and his first career shutout. All four Michigan goals were scored on the power play.

"You feel a lot better, it's not just the first road win, but it's the fact that we bounced back from last night," Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. "I thought we were better tonight. We bounced back. The team feels good and we didn't give up anything."

Ruden stopped Lucas Burnett's penalty shot late in the first period. Burnett was taken down by Jack Johnson on a breakaway attempt.

"You have to decide how you want to play it," said Ruden. "It was late in the period and the ice was choppy so I knew he wasn't going to deke, that helped. You just have to play them straight up."

Burnett's penalty shot was the first taken against the Wolverines since March 2, 1997, when OSU's J.F. DuFour scored on Gregg Malicke in Columbus.

Johnson, Matt Hunwick and T.J. Hensick all had a goal and two assists while Kevin Porter had a goal and an assist for the Wolverines. Cogliano extended his point streak to four consecutive games with an assist on Hunwick's goal. He has four goals and five assists during that span.

The Wolverines play a home-and-home series against Notre Dame this weekend. Friday night, U-M travels to South Bend for a 7:35 p.m. faceoff and the following night, the Fighting Irish come to Ann Arbor for a 7:35 p.m. puck drop at Yost Ice Arena.