Warriors add dozen freshmen for 2007-2008

The Wayne State men's team will welcome 12 new members when it takes the ice this fall, helping to offset the loss of 10 seniors. The Warriors have inked four forwards, six defensemen and a pair of goaltenders to National Letters of Intent.

"I think this recruiting class gives our team not only a greater level of skill, but depth as well," said head coach Bill Wilkinson, who will begin his ninth season behind the Warrior bench in 2007-08. "We have talented players coming in at all three positions."

Fall signee Tyler Ruel was the first to submit his NLI and become a Wayne State student-athlete for the upcoming season. A native of Red Deer, Alberta, he spent four years with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the British Columbia Hockey League, leading the squad in points (84), goals (30), assists (54), and power-play goals (13) in 2006-07. He totaled 57 points, including a team-high 41 assists, the previous year as the Bulldogs finished with a 43-12-3-2 record, second-best in the BCHL. Over the four-year span, Ruel amassed 236 points for Alberni Valley.

Ryan Adams, who resides in Brandon, Manitoba, spent the 2006-07 season in the NAHL with the Fargo-Moorhead Jets, totaling 11 goals and 33 assists in 60 games and earning the squad's Best Defensive Player and Best Character awards. He had 28 points (4 G, 24 A) for the OCN Blizzard in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League during the 2005-06 season and played his first two seasons of junior hockey with the Daughin Kings in the MJHL, recording 21 points (4 G, 17 A) in 2004-05 and 17 points (6 G, 11 A) the previous year.

Andrew Berecz, a native of Falls Church, Virginia, spent three seasons in the NAHL with the Springfield Junior Blues and served as team captain for the 2006-07 campaign. He recorded 49 points on 21 goals and 28 assists, more than doubling his point total from the previous season (10-14--24). He scored five goals and added six helpers in 2004-05, his first year with Springfield, and amassed 58 points (25 G, 33 A) with the CSHL's Peoria Mustangs, helping the squad to a 44-5-1 record and a second-place finish in 2003-04.

Jordan Bonneville spent three years with the Cambridge Winter Hawks in the Mid-Western Ontario Junior Hockey League and helped lead the squad to two Sutherland Cups in 2006-07 and 2005-06. The Kitchener, Ontario native amassed 19 goals and 41 assists in the 2006-07 campaign and tied for second in the league with 18 power-play goals while being named the MWJHL's Top Defenseman. He had seven goals and 31 assists the previous year and 50 points including 43 helpers in 2004-05.

Detroit resident Cameron Burt spent the 2006-07 season in the EJHL with the New England Huskies and posted 46 points in 44 games. He tied for sixth in the league with 33 assists and recorded 19 power-play points, including 15 helpers, while splitting time between defense and forward.

Mike Devoney, a goaltender from Buffalo Grove, Illinois, was with the EJHL's Bridgewater Bandits the last two years. He posted a record of 14-11-5, a goals-against average of 3.60 and a save percentage of .891 with two shutouts in 2006-07. Devoney, whose brother Billy was a four-year hockey letterwinner at Air Force (2003-07), went 9-12-1 in 2005-06 with a 3.69 GAA and a .898 save percentage.

Goaltender Kyle Funkenhauser posted a 4.55 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage in 2006-07 season with the BCHL's Surrey Eagles and was selected to the league's all-star game. He faced more shots than any other netminder in the league and was named the team's most valuable player The Windsor native spent the previous two seasons with the Chatham Maroons of the WOHL, helping lead the squad to two league championships and Sutherland Cup finals. He earned league MVP honors in 2005-06 and led the WOHL in goals-against average in 2004-05. Funkenhauser played with the Blenheim Blades in 2003-04, earning league Rookie of the Year accolades.

White Rock, British Columbia native Brock Meadows played three seasons in the BCHL, splitting the 2006-07 season between the Westside Warriors and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. He had 32 points on seven goals and 25 assists in 38 games for Westside before moving on to Salmon Arm, where he amassed four goals and 10 assists in 17 games. Meadows spent the 2005-06 campaign with the Langley Hornets, scoring nine goals and adding 32 helpers, second-most on the team, in 60 games. His career began with the Surrey Eagles, recording 12 points (2 G, 10 A) in 60 games.

Defenseman Phil Partyka, another Southfield native and the son of former WSU baseball player Matt Partyka (1975-77), spent the 2006-07 season in the NAHL with the Traverse City North Stars and four assists in 57 games. He also played 38 games and had two assists in 2005-06 with the Baystate Breakers in the EJHL.

Another former Baystate Breaker, Kyle Richardson, spent three seasons with the squad and helped lead the Breakers to a second-place finish last year, totaling 30 points on four goals and 26 assists in 42 games. He recorded five points (1 G, 4 A) in 33 games in 2005-06 and 11 points (2 G, 9 A) in 44 games during the 2004-05 campaign. Richardson, a native of San Jose, California, also played for the NAHL's Mahoning Valley Phantoms in 2003-04, scoring three goals and adding four assists.

Eric Roman was with the Alpena IceDiggers in the NAHL for two seasons. He had nine goals, six of which came on the power play, and 19 assists in 61 games in 2006-07, and 19 points including 18 assists in 58 games the previous season. A native of Southfield and a 2005 graduate of Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Roman spent four years on the varsity hockey squad under coach Brian Klanow and was selected as team captain his junior and senior years. He was First Team All-State and All-Area and helped the team to a state championship in 2005.

Muskegon native Jeremy Tejchma played a full season with the Bridgewater Bandits of the EJHL in 2006-07 and amassed 20 goals and 33 assists for a total of 53 points, which ranked 10th in the league, and finished third in the EJHL with 12 power-play goals. He was named to the EJHL Select Team for the USA Hockey National Junior Jamboree in Blaine, Minnesota. Tejchma, who spent a portion of the 2005-06 season with the Bandits and recorded nine goals and nine assists in 25 games, also played 31 games with the Cleveland Barons in the NAHL, tallying eight goals and 18 assists, and 14 games with the Waterloo Black Hawks in the USHL, tallying three assists. He totaled 17 points (5 G, 12 A) in 58 games with the USHL's Indiana Ice in 2004-05.

These 12 signees will hope to fill the skates of departed seniors Jason Baclig, Jason Bloomingburg, Matt Boldt, Mark Cannon, Taylor Donohoe, Adam Drescher, Nate Higgins, Will Hooper, Dan Iliakis, and Mark Nebus.