Wayne State has eyes for the future - CCHA?

From today's small CHA notebook on Inside College Hockey ...

Wayne's (New) World?:

The rumor mill has been filled with rumblings of Wayne State's program being in jeopardy, but the Warriors instead are looking ahead.

"There is no secret," said Wayne State coach Bill Wilkinson. "We are making efforts trying to join, and would rather be in, the CCHA. This coming year would be ideal, but next year would be okay, too.

"In order to make hockey work here, we need to play teams that our fans recognize. It's not on the table yet, but we will be putting forward a proposal and we'll see what happens.

"I think most of the teams in our conference understood from the beginning that this league would be teams in and teams out as schools found a good fit for their programs. I know our looking to make the move will put a crimp on other teams in the conference, but just like with Air Force moving to join Army in Atlantic (Hockey), each team needs to do what's best for their program."

Finlandia to Host MCHA finals in March

The journey for the right to claim the 2006-07 Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA) Harris Cup will conclude in Hancock March 2-4, 2007.

"We are thrilled to host the semifinals and finals of the MCHA tournament," said Finlandia head coach Joe Burcar. "We look forward to a good weekend of Division III hockey. The community has rallied behind our program in the past and I look forward to their continued support."

The MCHA quarterfinals will occur the weekend of February 23, 2007. The first- and second-seeded teams will receive a bye. The fifth-seeded team will travel to the fourth-seeded team's rink and the third-seeded team will host the sixth-seeded team. The winners of those series and the top two seeded teams will travel to the Houghton County Ice Arena in Hancock to compete in the semifinals and finals.

The game times are:

Saturday, March 3, 2007 - Semifinals
Semifinal #1: First Seed vs. Fourth Seed - 3:00 p.m.
Semifinal #2: Second Seed vs. Third Seed - 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 4, 2007 - Finals
Consolation Game - 1:00 pm
Championship Game - 5:00 pm

Championship and All-Tournament Team presentations will follow the final game.

Skate For The Cure happens Friday night

This Friday night when the Wayne State University women's team takes on Minnesota State, there is much more taking place than just a hockey game.

On that night, the team is sponsoring their Second Annual Skate for the Cure event - an initiative aimed at raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research and support. Starting back in October (as it was breast cancer awareness month) the members of the team began accepting donations and passing out pink ribbons throughout campus.

There will be many educational and heartfelt items on display before, during and after the game.

Prior to the opening face-off, there will also be a ceremonial puck drop by Ms. Jackie Kovalchik, recent breast cancer survivor and mother of a former member of the WSU men's team, defenseman Steve Kovalchik, a 2006 graduate.

Another special guest is Molly MacDonald, breast cancer survivor and founder of "The Pink Fund" - an organization that provides short-term financial aid to breast cancer patients during their brief period of treatment andrecovery. Ms. MacDonald will also be bringing with her the cast of her bust that was made by her husband the night before her breast cancer surgery.

The Warriors hockey game is the first of multiple stops that Molly and her bust, which she calls "My Winged Victory," will be making in the next few months. The tour, labeled "The Bust Stops Here Tour," is aimed to promoteThe Pink Fund and continue to provide hope to all who are/have been affected by breast cancer.

WHEN: Friday, November 10th. 7:05 p.m. face-off.
WHERE: City Ice Arena, located at 3401 E. Lafayette St.

Spartans and Bulldogs tie Tuesday night

Nothing was solved Tuesday night at Munn Ice Arena as host Michigan State tied Ferris State, 2-2.

The Bulldogs scored twice in the third period to gain the tie.

"It was a tough game," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "Sometimes there are good ties and sometimes there are bad ties. I wouldn't say this was a bad tie, but you knew coming in that energy could be a major problem and it was. I thought the kids worked their tails off in the second period to build a lead and then we took some penalties."

Tim Kennedy and Tim Crowder scored for the Spartans (4-2-1, 2-2-1 CCHA) before Adam Welch and Zac Pearson rallied for FSU (3-5-1, 1-3-1 CCHA).

Jeff Lerg stopped 29 shots for Michigan State, while Mitch O'Keefe turned aside 20 at the other end.

"I felt both teams kind of shot themselves in the foot," Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels told USCHO. "Most of the time when you take bad penalties they end up in the back of the net. I felt fortunate that we were able to get out of it."

The two teams will complete this week's home-and-home series on Friday in Big Rapids.

MiCHO Power Poll 11.07.06

Michigan keeps the the No. 1 spot in our weekly MiCHO Power Poll with a split last weekend with our No. 2 team, Michigan State . Michigan Tech falls from No. 2 to No. 4 after getting cooled off at Colorado College. Northern Michigan split with national No. 4 Miami and leapfrogs into our No. 3 spot.

1) Michigan, 5-3-0 (split with MSU)
2) Michigan State, 4-2-0 (split with UM)
3) Northern Michigan, 5-4-1 (split at No. 4 Miami)
4) Michigan Tech, 5-3-0 (clipped twice at Colorado College)
5) Lake Superior State, 5-3-0 (split with Bowling Green)
6) Western Michigan, 3-4-0 (shut out Wayne State)
7) Ferris State, 3-5-0 (swept at Alaska, lost three in a row)
8) Wayne State, 1-6-0 (three-game losing streak)

Each week, MichiganCollegeHockey.com editors Matt Mackinder and Tom Balog will compile the MiCHO Power Poll. The poll will comprise the eight Division I teams in the state of Michigan.

ACHA Report - Nov. 6, 2006

Men's Division-1 Standings (In-State only)

Western Michigan 11-4-0
Michigan-Dearborn 7-7-1
Oakland 6-6-1
Eastern Michigan 5-6-0

Men's Division-2 Standings (In-State only)

Davenport 10-4-0
Grand Valley 9-5-1
Central Michigan 8-3-1
Michigan 6-3-0
Michigan State 4-4-0
Ferris State 3-4-2
Northern Michigan 2-5-1
Michigan Tech 1-4-1

Men's Division-3 Standings (In-State only)

Hope 10-1-0
Northwood 7-2-0
Alpena CC 7-6-0
Saginaw Valley 5-3-1
Calvin College 4-6-1
Lake Superior 3-3-0
Lawrence Tech 3-6-0
Oakland 2-3-0
Grand Valley 2-4-0
Ferris State 1-3-0
Lansing CC 0-5-0
Albion 0-5-0

Women's Division-1 Standings (In-State only)

Western Michigan 11-3-0
Michigan 2-5-1
Northern Michigan 0-7-1

Wildcats end RedHawks' streak

The Northern Michigan Wildcats (5-4-1, 2-2-0 CCHA) traveled to Oxford, Ohio over the weekend and returned with a split against the conference-leading and national No. 4 Miami RedHawks.

The RedHawks dominated the opener with a 5-1 victory at the Steve Cady Arena.

Nathan Davis, the leading scorer in college hockey, led the way with a hat trick and two assists as Miami won their fourth in a row.

Four of Miami's goals came with the man-advantage.

Mike Santorelli scored the lone goal for the 'Cats.

Bill Zaniboni started in net for NMU and stopped 26 of 30 shots, before being replaced by Brian Stewart, who finished the night with eight saves on nine shots.

The Wildcats bounced back in Saturday's game two with a 4-2 win.

Rob Lehtinen, Santorelli, Nick Sirota, and Pat Bateman scored for NMU.

Stewart made his first collegiate start in net for the 'Cats and stopped 39 of 42 shots in net for the "W." He played for the ill-fated Continental Elite Hockey League with the league champion Metro Fighting Moose back in 2003-2004. The CEHL's offices were based in Fraser.

The Wildcats return to the Berry Events Center in Marquette next weekend as they host the Alaska Nanooks in a two-game bill.

Spartans and Wolverines do the splits

Nothing was really decided last weekend as Michigan and Michigan State each took a game in their long-standing rivalry.

The Spartans won Friday night in East Lansing, while U-M took Saturday's game in Ann Arbor.

Justin Abdelkader (top left) scored twice and added an assist, while Jim McKenzie, Nick Sucharski and Tim Kennedy each scored and added a helper as the Spartans rallied from an early deficit and defeated Michigan, 7-4, Friday evening at Munn Ice Arena. Chris Mueller and Matt Schepke (first with MSU) also scored.

Trailing 2-0 less than seven minutes into the game and 3-1 after a period of play, MSU reeled off five straight goals over a 26-minute span to put the game decisively out of reach for the visitors.

"On the fourth goal, (Kurt) Kivisto made a tremendous play to set up McKenzie," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "To have your fourth line get a goal like that really gives your team a boost. I thought Michigan looked really tired in the second period. They kind of ran out of gas and we took it and ran with it."

Jeff Lerg made 17 saves for Michigan State.

Brandon Naurato scored a pair and David Rohlfs and Kevin Porter (left) also tallied for the Wolverines, who got 26 saves from Billy Sauer.

"It's very disappointing," said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "It's embarrassing to come in here and play that way after we get off to such a good start and we're playing pretty well. I can't tell you that we out-played them that badly in the first period, but we made our chances count and we looked like we were ready to have an honest game."

Saturday night, U-M regrouped and took a 6-2 victory. Porter (two goals, two assists) and T.J. Hensick (goal, three assists) each tied career-highs in points in the win at Yost Ice Arena. Sauer made a season-high 34 saves in net. Along with Porter and Hensick, U-M goal scorers included Tim Miller, Andrew Cogliano and Jack Johnson.

The victory snapped a nine-game (0-4-5) winless streak against MSU that dated back to the 2004-05 season.

"This team has pride," said Berenson. "They know how good they can be, but they don't know how bad they can be. But I think they took a forward step tonight."

Kennedy scored both goals for the Spartans and Lerg took the loss making 19 saves. Freshman Bobby Jarosz made his collegiate debut in the third period and turned aside all eight shots he faced.

"One of the toughest things to do in this league is get a sweep," noted Comley. "I think we showed this weekend that we're still a work in progress and keep aiming to get better each week, each game. On the weekend, I thought we showed some good things, but we also saw some things that we need to address."

The two teams will meet again in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

Michigan (5-3-0, 2-2-0 CCHA) hosts Nebraska-Omaha this weekend, while MSU (4-2-0, 2-2-0 CCHA) hosts Ferris State tomorrow night.

Wayne State sweeps Cornell

The Wayne State Warriors beat visiting Cornell twice this weekend to improve their record to 3-5. WSU won 4-3 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday for their first sweep of the season in their home-opening weekend.

Sophomore Melissa Boal continued to be a critical scoring factor for the Warriors and freshman Chelsea Burnett (pictured) also established her offensive presence with a pair of power-play goals.

Friday's game started slow for the Warriors as the Big Red established a 2-0 lead by the middle of the second period. Boal cut that lead to one with a power-play goal in the last two minutes of the second period. Tina Vanderhoeven and Danielle Wilson assisted. Early in the third, Boal and Vanderhoeven teamed up again for the tying power-play goal. Lindsay DiPietro also picked up an assist.

Although Cornell pulled ahead again, it was Burnett who capitalized on another Warrior power play and evened the score. Katrina Protopapas and Laura Monk were credited with assists. With 20 seconds remaining, Tegan Schroeder and Brandi Frakie were able to set up Sam Poyton for the game-winning goal. Poyton, whose scoring last season was nothing short of legendary, beat the Cornell netminder glove side for the victory.

Tiffany Thompson was in goal for the Warriors - just her second start of the season - and finished with 15 saves.

The power play was once again pivotal for the Warriors in Saturday's contest. Facing a 1-0 deficit, Wayne State came into the second period with the man-advantage. Just 33 seconds in, Boal and Wilson set up DiPietro for her first goal of the season. Five minutes later, Burnett stuffed in Poyton's rebound for her second power-play goal of the weekend.

In the second period, Cornell got a shot past Thompson to tie things up, but it was junior Ashley King's even-strength goal at 11:38 that would stand as the game-winner for the Warriors. King scored her first goal of the season off Frakie's rebound.

Thompson held off the Big Red for the duration of the third period to maintain the Warriors' lead. She finished with 21 saves for her second consecutive win.

Wayne State remains at home this weekend to host Minnesota State.

Broncos shut the door on Warriors

Wayne State head coach Bill Wilkinson's return to Kalamazoo didn't go so well as the Warriors were shut out, 4-0, by the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday night.

Wilkinson coached the Broncos for 17 seasons before coming to Wayne State eight years ago.

Brian Bicek led the Broncos with a pair of goals. Jeff Pierce added a goal and two assists and Kevin Labatte also turned on the light as the Broncos (3-4-0, 2-4-0 CCHA) ended a two-game slide.

In net, freshman Riley Gill stopped all 26 shots he faced for his first career shutout.

"Riley does a good job of squaring up and has a demeanor about him that reminds me of (former WMU and NHL goalie) Glenn Healy," said Broncos' head coach Jim Culhane. "I thought our guys competed hard tonight and it's good to see contributions from a number of players."

Will Hooper turned away 20 of 24 between the pipes for Wayne State.

The loss marked the first time in school history that the Warriors (1-6-0, 1-1-0 CHA) have been blanked in back-to-back games.

WSU and WMU will finish off their staggered home-and-home series Dec. 16 in Detroit.

Wayne State will continue their seven-game road trip with a pair of games next weekend at Brown and assistant coach Danny Brooks, a former WSU assistant (1999-2002).

Western Michigan will also be away from home as they travel to Columbus for a set against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

MTU grounded, drops pair to Tigers

Michigan Tech went into this weekend on fire and came out of it soaking wet. After putting up 14 goals last weekend, MTU could only muster two lamp lighters and lost by scores of 4-1 and 2- at Colorado College.

The Tigers did not dominate either of the games, but instead played pretty consistent and had excellent goaltending by Matt Zaba. MTU received goals from Jordan Foote Friday and from Malcolm Gwilliam on Saturday night. Michigan Tech continued their struggles at World Arena, where they have not won since the Tigers started playing there.

Michael-Lee Teslak made 24 saves Friday night and Rob Nolan stopped 23 Saturday night.

The Huskies (5-3-0, 2-2-0 WCHA) return home next weekend for the third weekend of conference play, taking on Minnesota-Duluth.

Lake Superior settles for split at Bowling Green

Lake Superior State University found themselves down two defensemen Friday after Marty Gurnoe and Steven Kaunisto got sick on the bus ride down from the Sault. Their illnesses forced former walk-on Justin Gutwald to drive down to Bowling Green from the Sault on Friday to give LSSU a fifth defenseman.

The Lakers scored the first goal of the game with Nathan Perkovich (pictured) getting his sixth goal of the season on the power play. Bowling Green's Brandon Svendsen scored his first goal of the season midway through the first period to tie the game at 1-1.

Jeff Rainville scored his fifth goal of the season to give the Lakers a 2-1 lead midway though the second period and then captain Barnabas Birkeland added an insurance goal for the Lakers to lock up a final score of 3-1.

LSSU goaltender Jeff Jakaitis saved 34 of 35 shots on the game, while BGSU goaltender Eddie Neville made 29 stops.

The Lakers saw Bowling Green come out strong on Saturday night with the Falcons' Derek Whitmore putting a shot behind Jakaitis less than three minutes into the game.

Bowling Green was able to chase Jakaitis from the game with Tomas Petruska and Rich Meloche each scoring goals with 23 seconds of one another midway through the second period.

Trent Campbell scored his second goal of the season early in the third period to pull the Lakers within two goals and Dominic Osman pulled the Lakers to within one with a goal of his own midway through the period.

Bowling green was able to put the Lakers away with James Perkin scoring his first goal of the season to give the Falcons the 4-2 lead over LSSU.

Jakaitis made 22 saves on the 25 shots he faced before being pulled at midway through the second period. Pat Inglis made 17 saves on the 18 shots that he faced in relief of Jakaitis. BGSU goaltender Jimmy Spratt made 26 saves.

Perkovich's goal scoring streak was stopped Saturday night at six games giving him a school record for freshman consecutive games with a goal.