WSU women sign duo for '06-07 campaign

The Wayne State women's team has announced two signings, a forward and a defenseman, for 2006-2007.

Brandi Frakie (pictured left), a forward from St. Louis Park, Minn., is in her first season with the Minnesota Thoroughbreds 19U squad in the Midwest Elite AAA Hockey League. She has tallied two goals and an assist in eight games this season.

Frakie was a four-year letterwinner at St. Louis Park High School, where she earned all-conference honors, as well as All-State Honorable Mention and the team's Most Valuable Player award. She recorded 66 points (33 goals, 33 assists) and as a captain led the squad to a 27-4 record to finish second in the league under head coach Mike Peluso during the 2004-05 season.

She amassed 233 points in her four years at St. Louis Park.

"Brandi is a great two-way player with good speed," said WSU head coach Jim Fetter.

The Warriors have also signed Chelsea Burnett, a defenseman currently playing for the Stoney Creek Sabres of the Provincial Women's Hockey League. She has four assists in 10 games this season.

Burnett (below), from Ridgeway, Ont., scored over 50 goals in each of her four varsity seasons at Lakeshore Catholic High School, where she played both center and defense. She led the squad to two zone championships and one runner-up finish in that time in addition to being named the team's Most Valuable Player each season.

"Chelsea is a strong defenseman who can rush the puck and see the middle of the ice very well," said Fetter.

Wayne State will graduate six seniors in May, four defensemen (Rachael Benninger, Sarah Campbell, Peyton Patterson, Kristi Thome) and two forwards (Jessica Haydahl, Jessica Snelgrove).

Two state teams in ACHA Top-20

Release courtesy ACHA

West Bloomfield, MI - Defending ACHA Division 1 National Champion Illinois (14-0-0) keeps rolling along, remaining at the top of the D1 Rankings, getting 27 of a possible 29 first-place votes. There was minimal movement in this weeks poll, as no team moved up or down more than one position.

The fifth ranking of the regular season will be released on Friday, December 2.

This years ACHA Division 1 National Championships will be hosted by West Chester University and take place March 2-5, 2006 at Ice Line in West Chester, PA. Sixteen teams will qualify for the tournament.

2005-2006 Ranking #4
Rank School Name Pts 1st Place Votes
1 Illinois 500 27
2 Ohio 462 1
3 Rhode Island 458
4 Penn State 428 1
5 Iowa State 382
6 Weber State 378
7 Michigan-Dearborn 358
8 Lindenwood 318
9 Robert Morris (IL) 279
10 Duquesne 257
11 Arizona State 239
12 Arizona 230
13 Delaware 227
14 West Chester 162
15 Mercyhurst 146
16 Washington & Jefferson 111
17 Eastern Michigan 103
18 Oklahoma 102
19 Minot State 69
20 Kent State 19

MSU adds two forwards, defender for next fall

The Michigan State Spartans added a pair of forwards and a defenseman during the 2005 fall signing period.

Forwards Andrew Rowe (pictured right) and Jay Sprague will immediately add size and strength to the Spartan offense, while defenseman Michael Ratchuck brings upper-level offensive skills to the MSU blueline.

"What we tried to do was to compliment the type of kids we have brought in the last couple of seasons," said MSU head coach Rick Comley. "We picked up four kids (one, forward Ryan Turek, signed last year, but deferred to 2006) who can play an up-tempo game, who think the game and who will mesh very well with the returning players."

Rowe, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound left wing, comes to Michigan State after playing for the Sioux City of the United States Hockey League. A native of Muskegon, Rowe has netted three goals and four assists in 16 games this season for the Musketeers. A 1988 birthday, Rowe played with current Spartan Justin Abdelkader at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon.

"Andrew had a great high school career," said Comley. "He is a versatile player who can play on the wing or at center. He gets up and down the ice very well and his style of play is a great fit with this team."

Sprague currently skates for the Indiana Ice of the USHL and has posted a scoring line of 5-5-10 in 13 games. Sprague is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound forward from Georgetown, Ont., who is a right-shot winger with a 1986 birthday.

"Jay Sprague will be a very good player for us," Comley said. "He is a very well-rounded player and is a very consistent player. He's got great size and should be able to play in all situations."

Ratchuk is playing the 2005-06 season for the U.S. NTDP team. A 5-foot-11, 171-pound puck-moving defenseman, the Buffalo, N.Y., native has posted a 3-3-6 line in 13 games thus far for the Under-18 national team including three assists against NCAA Division I opponents. Ratchuk made his Munn Ice Arena debut in an Oct. 25 exhibition contest against Michigan State.

"Ratchuk is a special player," said Comley. "I am thrilled that he is coming here. He's got fantastic offensive skills and he presents an ingredient that we don't have in our program right now, one that every team needs to reach the highest level of play."

All three recruits exhibit the ability and smarts to play immediately for the Spartans. The well-rounded class will be called upon to help replace departing seniors David Booth, Colton Fretter, Chad Hontvet, Jared Nightingale and Corey Potter.

Wolverines sign forward, two defensemen for '06-07

Michigan has announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to play for the Wolverines beginning in the 2006-2007 campaign.

The trio is made up of forward Brian Lebler (Penticton, B.C., pictured left) and defensemen Steven Kampfer (Jackson) and Chris Summers (Ypsilanti).

Lebler (6-2, 205 pounds) currently skates for the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League. In 24 games played this season he has 11 goals and five assists. Six of his tallies have come on the power play. Lebler was also with Penticton in 2004-05 when he had a line of 23-13-36 in 66 games, with 12 of his scores on the power play.

Kampfer (5-10, 180 pounds) plays for the Sioux City Musketeers (United States Hockey League) and has scored a goal and three assists in 15 games. He has racked up 31 PIM. A season ago with Sioux City, Kampfer had a 6-13-19 line in 47 contests with 91 penalty minutes.Kampfer was recently named to Team USA's Junior Select Under-18 squad that will play at the 2006 Viking Cup. Kampfer has skated for the U.S. in two other international tournaments. In August 2005 he was an assistant captain for the U.S. Under-18 Select Team, and in 2004 he was the captain of the U.S. Under-17 Select Team at the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.

Summers (6-2, 185 pounds) plays across town from the Michigan campus for the U.S. National Team Development Program. With the NTDP Under-18 team this season, Summers has two goals and two assists in 19 games to go with 14 penalty minutes. Three of his points (1-2-3) have come in Team USA's nine games against collegiate squads. With the NTDP Under-17 team in 2004-05, Summers had a 1-4-5 output in 35 games with 18 PIM. In November 2004, Summers helped Team USA win the gold medal at the Four Nations Cup.

Michigan will graduate three players from its roster at the end of the 2005-06 campaign -- forward Andrew Ebbett, forward Brandon Kaleniecki and goalie Noah Ruden.

Spartans fall to Buckeyes, 3-2

Michigan State dropped a heartbreaker in Columbus last night as Ohio State scored two third-period goals for a 3-2 win.

With the loss, the Spartans dropped to 5-4-2 overall and 2-3-2 in CCHA action.

"Midweek games are difficult and you can see it has taken its toll on the team, but we have to continue to battle," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "I really like what I see in this team, but we need to start coming away with wins."

Justin Abdelkader (power-play) and Jim McKenzie scored 14 seconds apart in the second period for MSU's only offense. Goaltender Dominic Vicari (pictured) made 32 saves in the loss.

Andrew Schembri scored both OSU third-period goals and Tom Fritsche added the other that originally gave the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead. Dave Caruso stopped 14 shots as OSU held the Spartans to a season-low 16 shots on goal.

Michigan State returns to action on Friday at home against Western Michigan at 7:00 p.m. The home-and-home series concludes Saturday at WMU's Lawson Ice Arena with faceoff scheduled for 7:35 p.m.

ACHA Wrap Up, 11-14

Lakers sink to .500
by Chris Moore / ACHA Writer

Grand Valley State University (8-8-0, 2-3-0 GLIHA) opened this weekend against two top opponents, Western Michigan (D1) at home and Michigan State University at the Munn Arena in East Lansing.

On Saturday, Grand Valley opened the game against Western to a large crowd, but fell down early 2-0. The Lakers were frustrated all game long by the WMU goaltender, out shooting the opposition, 43-28. Western scored two meaningless goals in the last 12 seconds of the game to seal the a 5-0 victory. Aaron Bernstein was named player of the game.

On Sunday, GVSU traveled to East Lansing to take on the Spartans of Michigan State. Though controlling the play for the first 10 minutes of the game, The Lakers had a mental lapse which resulted in four quick MSU goals. Grand Valley responded well in the second, with Jeff Stempin scoring a shorthanded goal and team goal scoring leader Phil Murray (pictured) adding another to make it a 4-2 game going into the third. GVSU continued their strong play in the third, with Murray adding another goal early in the period to put the game within a goal, but despite their best efforts, GVSU was unable to tie the game up, falling 4-3. Chris Moore finished with 32 saves.

GVSU drives to Champaign, Illinois next weekend to take on the Fighting Illini in two GLIHA games. GVSU swept the Illini the past year at home, and look to break a four-game winless streak.

Grizzlies split over weekend
By Matt Mackinder

Oakland University faced two GMHL foes this past weekend at the ONYX and split the series. Friday night the Grizzlies beat the Ferris State Bulldogs, 4-3. OU was lead by Will McMahon (two goals, assist) and Brent Cooper (goal, assist). In net, Andrew Hansen made his fourth start and turned aside 19 Bulldog opportunities.

"It was a win we needed," OU head coach Sean Hogan said. "Ferris kept it close. I was impressed with their defensive play."

Saturday night was a different story for the Grizzlies as Ohio State would lead 2-1 after one period and never looked back. OU received goals from captain Brandon Lipari and McMahon. Goaltender Chris Joswiak made 28 saves in goal.

"We just need to come back and work hard this week in practice," OU assistant coach J.R. Dunn said. "We are not going to win every game. We just need to stay focused and get the job done next week against Indiana."

Next Up: OU will again be at the ONYX this weekend to take on the Hoosiersin a pair of GMHL league games.

"Indiana is a storied program and one of our big rivals," noted Hogan. "We are going to be focused this week in practice while we look to get the momentum back in the GMHL."

Both games start at 8:30 p.m.

Around the ACHA

D-I

Eastern 4, Kent St. 5
Eastern 2, Kent St. 8

Lindenwood 6, UM-Dearborn 5
Lindenwood 4, UM-Dearborn 3

D-II

Davenport 7, Minnesota 2
Davenport 14, Minnesota 3

Michigan St. 4, Ohio St. 4
Ferris St. 0, Michigan St. 5
Michigan St. 5, Grand Valley 4

Michigan 2, Miami 4
Michigan 4, Miami 4

D-III

Albion 7, Muskegon CC 10

Alpena CC 4, Lawrence Tech 4
Northwood 3, Lawrence Tech 2

Calvin 6, Lansing CC 1
Calvin 8, Muskegon CC 3

Lansing CC 5, Oakland 2

Women

Western Mich 10, Michigan State-White 0
Western Mich 2, Michigan State-White 0

Northern Mich 1, Michigan 2
Northern Mich 2, Michigan 4

Warriors still looking for win column after Bemidji sweep

Eight games into the season, the Wayne State Warriors (0-7-1, 0-3-1 CHA) are still looking for answers. Over the weekend the Green and Gold played two solid games at the Coliseum against the CHA benchmark Bemidji State Beavers (7-1-0, 3-1-0 CHA), but still came out with a pair of losses. The off week couldn’t come at a better time as the Warriors will try to regroup before a pair of games n Schenectady, NY against the Union Dutchmen on Nov. 25 and 26.

Friday

The Warriors got on the board first with a Mark Cannon (pictured) goal at 11:44 of the opening period, but after that the Beavers dominated play and skated away with a 4-1 victory.

Lou Garritan notched the game winner, shorthanded at 10:26 of the second and Matt Climie made 25 saves for the win.

Will Hooper earned the start at the other end and turned aside 19 of 22 shots.

For a full recap of the game, please go to USCHO.com.

Saturday

The Beavers got a goal and an assist from Ryan Miller in the finale and cruised to a 3-1 win and road series sweep.

Layne Sedevie started for the Beavers and was little tested in making only 15 saves.

Jason Baclig scored the lone goal for the home team at 18:02 of the second period and Matt Kelly was between the pipes for the Warriors, stopping 22 of 25.

For a full recap of the game, please go to USCHO.com.

Finlandia men, women get weekend points

The Finlandia men split with Marian last weekend while the Lions' women's team tied and lost to Hamline.

Friday night, Josh Paquette recorded a hat trick as the men took a 6-4 victory at Marian. Corey Blake added a pair of goals for FU while Blake Miller chipped in with a goal and two assists. Goaltender Joe Juntilla made 29 saves for the win.

The next night, Joe Lewis scored twice along with singles from Paquette and Joe Welgos in an 8-4 defeat to the Sabres. Juntilla started for the Lions and allowed seven goals on 40 shots through 40 minutes. Lukas Alberer replaced Juntilla for the third period and made 11 stops.

The women fell 3-1 Saturday and blew a two-goal lead to tie, 4-4, on Sunday in two home games versus the Pipers at the Houghton County Arena.

Saturday, Bree Cote notched FU's only goal and Katie Markovich made 15 saves in goal.

Yesterday, Jana Riutta, Amy Danielson, Stephanie Emmi and Ashley Leitch registered Finlandia's goals. Markovich started in net and made six saves. Corinne Czekaj played the final 53:49 and made 19 saves while allowing all four Hamline goals.

The Finlandia men (1-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 MCHA) host Northland this weekend and the women (4-1-1 overall, 0-0-0 NCHA) are at Lake Forest.

Michigan sweeps Wildcats up north

Brandon Naurato's OT goal beat Northern Michigan Saturday

Billy Sauer and Brandon Naurato - two freshmen - starred for Michigan last weekend as the Wolverines posted two wins on the road at Northern Michigan.

Sauer made 25 saves Friday night in a 3-1 win. Brandon Kaleniecki and Chad Kolarik scored in the second period and T.J. Hensick added an empty-netter with four seconds left to seal it for Michigan (9-1-1, 5-1-1 CCHA).

Darin Olver netted NMU's goal for an early 1-0 lead and Bill Zaniboni stopped 21 shots for the Wildcats (5-5-0, 2-4-0 CCHA).

"It was loud most of the game, so once they scored the goal I knew it was crunch time anyway," Sauer said. "I really got my head into the game and said, 'Listen, nobody can score here.' Obviously, you'd think I'm going to say that, but I really got into it. With the crowd it got a little hectic, but it really just gave me fuel for the fire."

Saturday night, Naurato's second goal of the game 2:21 into overtime gave U-M a 4-3 win. Jack Johnson and Kevin Porter scored Michigan's other goals and Sauer finished with 28 saves.

"A couple weeks ago in Alaska we came out and didn't have a very good start and that cost us a game up there," Kaleniecki said. "We had to make sure we didn't do that again."

Jamie Milam, Matt Siddall and Andrew Contois scored for NMU. Zaniboni stopped 23 shots in defeat.

“We had tons of chances,” NMU head coach Walt Kyle added. “Their goaltender out-played our goaltender tonight. If we get those chances at some point we will have a lot of success.”

The Wolverines take this weekend off before they host the 13th annual College Hockey Showcase Thanksgiving weekend. U-M faces Minnesota on Friday, Nov. 25 on CSTV and MGoBlue.com. On Saturday, Nov. 26, the Maize and Blue will oppose Wisconsin with Comcast Local carrying the telecast.

Northern Michigan plays at Bowling Green this weekend.

Spartans swept at home by Mavericks

It's a pretty safe bet Michigan State will not be ranked No. 6 in the nation after last weekend's home sweep at the hands of Nebraska-Omaha.

"We've scored quickly the last three games and we haven't been able to get that second one in," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "It's funny because sometimes you play well and are confident and sometimes you don't. It's been a good stretch for us and then we've had these two games go the other way. Again, we looked sluggish, physically and mentally tired and we've got to get through this stretch."

Friday night, the Spartans dropped a 7-4 decision to the Mavericks.

The Spartans (5-2-2 overall, 2-2-2 CCHA) entered the third period down 3-2 and with hope, but three goals by Nebraska-Omaha's fourth line negated any chance of an MSU comeback.

Colton Fretter, Jim McKenzie (pictured above), Ethan Graham and Dan Sturges (first collegiate goal) scored for MSU. Goalie Dominic Vicari made 22 saves.

The game was also a homecoming of sorts for UNO forward Nenad Gajic, who played at MSU from 2001-2003.

Saturday night, Nebraska-Omaha forward Bill Thomas scored with 27.2 seconds left in overtime to give the Mavericks a 3-2 victory.

McKenzie and Chris Mueller scored MSU's goals and Jeff Lerg finished with 29 stops.

"I thought we played better tonight than last night," said Comley. "Last night was really a struggle and I thought the kids worked hard tonight. We still were very sluggish and we had some people really struggle. I thought (Jeff) Lerg played well for us in goal. It was a weird kind of game with a lot of long chips and flips. But again, I thought the kids worked hard."

Michigan State heads on the road to Ohio State tomorrow night for their fourth game in seven days. Faceoff from the Value City arena in Columbus, Ohio, is at 7:05 p.m. The Spartans then play a home-and-home with Western Michigan this weekend.

MTU splits with St. Cloud

Michigan Tech earned their first win in the WCHA on Friday with a 3-2 overtime win over St. Cloud State Huskies. Chris Conner (left) scored on two breakaways including the game-winner in OT. Saturday was a blow-out as SCSU won 7-0 in an ugly showing by the home Huskies.

Friday night saw SCSU get out of the gate first with a goal in the first five minutes. This was only the second goal in the first period of St. Cloud all year. Conner tied the game with five minutes to go in the first period when Jimmer Kerr found him at the blue line and he walked in alone.

St. Cloud took the lead again in the second until Tyler Shelast tipped one past the SCSU netminder Bobby Goepfert on the power play. Tech then had a goal taken off the scoreboard when Brandon Schwartz knocked in a backdoor pass. But a SCSU player lost his helmet as the goal went in and the goal was disallowed.

The next goal was in OT, when Taggart Desmet found Conner streaking in. Conner slid it five-hole and the celebration persued.

Michael-Lee Teslak made 35 saves for Michigan Tech.

Saturday

One would think with a great Friday win, Tech would come out flying on Saturday - wrong. MTU played one of the worst games that I have sat through, losing 7-0. Nothing much to say on this game, but a dominanting performance by St. Cloud.

Rob Nolan started in net and made 10 saves for MTU. Teslak played the final two periods and finished with 25 saves.

Up Next...

MTU will travel to Colorado College and face one of the top teams in the country this weekend.

Wayne women fall to Minnesota State

The Wayne State women dropped both their games against the Minnesota State Mavericks this past weekend, losing 3-2 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday.

The Warriors held the Mavericks even through the first period, but things took a sour turn when the Warriors' near-flawless penalty kill unit was rattled--they gave up their first goal in over a month at 6:02 of the second period. Minnesota State added another even-strength goal late in the second period, and extended their lead to three by 5:11 of the third period.

Refusing to go down quietly, the Warriors executed a late-game surge. Tina Vanderhoeven and Sarah Campbell took advantage of a Wayne State power play to set up Melissa Boal (pictured) for a goal. Goalie Valery Turcotte was pulled with a minute remaining, and Sam Poyton seized the opportunity to net her fifth goal of the season. Jessica Snelgrove and Laura Monk were credited with the assists. However, with only a minute remaining, Wayne State could not gain a third goal and had to settle for the loss.

Turcotte finished Friday's contest with 22 saves.

On Saturday, the Warriors put forth a solid effort as they outshot the Mavericks 32-29. Unfortunately, Minnesota State goalie Britni Kehler had an outstanding night and the Warriors' own defense could not stem the Maverick stampede.

Turcotte allowed four goals on seventeen Maverick shots before the end of the second period, and was replaced by Tiffany Thompson late in the second stanza.

Boal provided the lone bright spot for the Warriors, ending Kehler's shutout bid with an unassisted goal late in the second period.

Thompson stopped 11 of the 12 shots she faced, but the Mavericks snuck in a fifth goal to seal the game's final score.

The Warriors will attempt to rebound when they face Cornell University on the road this weekend.

Rallo and Riedel shine as Ferris sweeps WMU

Ferris State (4-2-4 overall, 3-1-4 CCHA) defeated Western Michigan (2-6-0 overall, 2-4-0 CCHA) twice in this past weekend's home-and-home series. The Bulldogs won 6-0 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday.

In Big Rapids on Friday night, the Bulldogs got off to a quick start. J.T. Dahlinger and Matt Frank set up Nick Scheible at 4:25 of the first period to put Ferris State on the board. Less than two minutes later, Greg Rallo (pictured) got help from Mark Bomersback and Dan Riedel to notch Ferris's second goal. The Ferris defense, anchored by goalie Mitch O'Keefe, smothered two Western power plays and 12 shots during the first period.

The Rallo-Reidel-Bomersback line struck again at 5:46 of the second period with Bomersback getting the goal and Rallo and Reidel the assists.

The Bulldogs went up by four late in the second. While on the power play, Jim Jorgensen set up Adam Miller for the goal. In case anyone missed it the first time, they put on a repeat performance a few minutes into the third period while on another man-advantage. Not to be outdone, Riedel and Rallo did some power-play magic of their own, setting up Bomersback's second goal of the night at 17:57 of the third period.

O'Keefe finished with 32 saves to earn his first college shutout. Western goalie Daniel Bellissimo, despite allowing six goals, finished with an impressive 38 saves. Both teams had a significant number of shots, but only Ferris was able to convert.

“They capitalized on their scoring chances and we didn’t,” reflected WMU coach Jim Culhane. “I thought we responded well early in the game but couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Back in Kalamazoo on Saturday, the Broncos appeared to be gaining revenge for Friday night, scoring three unanswered goals in the first period.

First up, just over two minutes into the game, was Patrick Galivan, scoring his first of the season with some help from Brett John and Brian Bicek. Six minutes later, Brent Walton and John Lovecchio set up Jason Moul to put the Broncos up by two. Lovecchio closed out the period by getting a goal of his own at 17:49. Walton and Nathan Ansell were credited with the assists.

But penalties would plague the Broncos in the game's second stanza. Ferris had seven extra-man opportunities and capitalized on them to offensively dominate the period. Western managed only two shots. Additionally, Ferris converted on three of their power play chances to tie the game. Rallo set up Riedel, Riedel and Rallo set up Zac Pearson, and Reidel and Matt Verdone set up Rallo.

Western could not regain the momentum in the third and the Bulldogs steamrolled their way to two more goals. Rallo, earning his fourth point of the night, combined with Brendan Connolly to assist on Eric Vesely's goal. Riedel clinched a four-point night of his own by setting up Bomersback for the final goal.

Western's offense could muster only five shots, and Bellissimo had to surrender the net to Ryan Mensing due to dehydration halfway through the period. Bellissimo left the game with 24 saves. Mensing needed to make just one save.

O'Keefe finished Saturday's game with 19 saves.

Western Michigan will face Michigan State in a home-and-home series next weekend and Ferris will welcome Bemidji State for a two-game series.