Warriors split the Beavers

by Tom Balog / WSU Beat Reporter

So after a split with Lake Superior last weekend you might be thinking, are the Wayne State Warriors back?

Well, if the BSU series was any indication, they might very well be reversing course on their season.

The Warriors (2-7-1, 1-3-0 CHA) couldn’t keep their short winning streak intact though as they fell 3-1 to the Beavers on Friday night.

After a Matt Pope power-play marker for the Beavers, the Warriors countered with freshman Tyler Ruel’s first collegiate goal. Ruel skated down the right side and ripped a shot from the middle of the circle and beat Beaver’s goalie Matt Climie up high, just inside the post to tie the game at 1.

Jordan Inglis and Matt Krug picked up the assists.

BSU responded with a Cody Bostock goal at 18:39 that turned out to be the eventual game winner.

Matt Read added a third period marked for the Beavers who moved back to the .500 mark with the victory.

Kyle Funkenhauser stopped 20 shots in the WSU net. Climie turned aside 18 shots for BSU.

The Warriors looked like a different team on Saturday as they walloped the Beavers by a 5-2 score.

After a BSU power play marker at 3:44 of the opening period, the Warriors woke up and took control on the game.
Jon Grabarek scored on the power play with a blast from the point at 10:27 to tie the score. Then, just over six minutes later, Grabarek took a back hand pass from Tylor Michel and rifled it past Climie for his second in a row.

Defenseman Matt Krug picked up his first goal of the season and the eventual game winner on the PP at 3:39 of the second.

The Beavers responded with another extra man marker at 15:24, but that’s as close as the visitors would get.

Jared Katz scored at 18:07 to put WSU back up by two goals and then Derek Punches added an empty netter with 23 seconds left to ice the win.

Senior Mike Forgie added three assists on the night and was named the number 1 star. Fellow senior Stavros Paskaris also notched a pair of assists.

Brett Bothwell was solid in net and stopped 29 of 31 shots for his first win of the season. Climie made 16 saves on the other end.

Since starting the season 0-6-1, the Warriors have won two of their last three games.

The Green and Gold will hit the road and face St. Lawrence for a pair in Canton, N.Y. this weekend.