Wayne State falls in CHA finals

The Wayne State women's team (15-18-1) lost, 4-1, against No. 2 Mercyhurst (32-1-3) in the College Hockey America championship on Saturday afternoon at the RMU Island Sports Center.

The Warriors scored on its first shot on goal just two minutes into the contest, a slapper by sophomore forward Melissa Boal (pictured) on a screen that came after a Mercyhurst turnover deep in their zone. The Lakers tied the score at one seven minutes later when Melissa Dianoski scored. Mercyhurst took its first lead of the contest when Meghan Agosta beat junior netminder Valery Turcotte on a breakaway.

Mercyhurst took a 3-1 lead midway through the second period on a Valerie Chouinard wrist shot from the goal line that hit the inside left post.

The Lakers ended the scoring with an empty-net goal by Chouinard late in the third period.

All-Tournament Team:

Meghan Agosta, F, Mercyhurst (MVP)
Melissa Boal, F, Wayne State

Valerie Chouinard, F, Mercyhurst

Melissa Dianoski, F, Mercyhurst

Michelle Bonello, D, Mercyhurst

Christine Jefferson, D, Wayne State

Valery Turcotte, G, Wayne State

WSU rallies to CHA women's final

The second-seeded Wayne State women are heading to its first-ever CHA championship game after rallying past third-seeded Niagara, 3-2, Friday afternoon in the first semifinal of the CHA Tournament at the RMU Island Sports Center.

Entering the third period down 2-1, sophomore forward Melissa Boal (pictured) took over, scoring both goals, including the game-winner with 13 minutes left in regulation. The tallies were Boal's 26th and 27th of the season.

"It was a total team effort," said Wayne State head coach Jim Fetter. "We were down twice to Niagara and we stuck with the game plan. We shot the puck more in the third period and it paid off. We just kept working and never gave up."

Down 1-0 late in the first period after a Mary McKinnon goal, the Warriors tied the contest as freshman defenseman Christine Jefferson put a slapper past NU senior goaltender Allison Rutledge.

The Purple Eagles took their second lead of the afternoon when Ashley Riggs scored on a backhander on a breakaway with eight minutes remaining in the second period. That goal came about 10 seconds after WSU junior goalie Val Turcotte had stopped a Charde Hoyle-Levy breakaway.

The Warriors played defensive hockey the rest of the game, with Turcotte making several brilliant saves, including one on a Riggs deflection from the slot.

Turcotte finished with 19 saves and Sam Poyton added two assists for WSU.

Rutledge stopped 13 for the Purple Eagles, who finish the season with a 10-19-6 overall mark.

The Warriors (15-17-1) will play the winner of four-time defending champion and nationally-ranked No. 2 Mercyhurst (tournament top seed) and tournament host Robert Morris (No. 4 seed) for the title on Saturday at 4 p.m. Mercyhurst and RMU play today at 4 p.m.

UPDATE (8:02 p.m. Friday): Mercyhurst beat Robert Morris, 5-2, today behind a two-goal, two-assist performance from CHA Rookie and Player of the Year Meghan Agosta.

Lakers get recruit from Saskatchewan

Yorkton Terriers forward Chad Nehring has made a verbal commitment to attend Lake Superior State University beginning this fall.

Nehring, 19, is from Springside, Saskatchewan, and tallied 25 goals and 61 points this past season.

LSSU has a strong history of recruiting out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Nehring is the third SJHLer to earn a scholarship with that institution this season. Tyson Hobbins of Nipawin and Dillin Stonehouse of Melfort are the others.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Nehring played with Canada West in the recent World Junior A Challenge and was a member of the gold medal-winning team. He also played in the inaugural CJAHL Prospects Game in December 2005.

As a Terrier, Nehring has played on two Credential Cup championship teams as well as one team that won the ANAVET Cup and went to the finals of the RBC Royal Bank Cup.

For his career, Nehring played 151 games and scored 59 goals and 70 assists for 129 points.

Wayne State freshman goalie Brett Bothwell played for the Terriers last season before arriving in Detroit.

WSU women's team earns CHA laurels

The CHA women's league handed out their year-end hardware this week and Wayne State didn't go home empty-handed.

Two members of the team earned CHA All-Academic honors as both forward Brandi Frakie and defenseman Tegan Schroeder were unanimous selections for the post-season team.

Schroeder and sophomore forwards Melissa Boal and Sam Poyton earned CHA All-League honors as well. Boal was named to the First Team, while Poyton and Schroeder were named to the Second Team. This is the second time Boal has been named First Team All-CHA.

Head coach Jim Fetter was named Co-Coach of the Year.

Frakie played in 30 games this season and is fourth on the team in points with 15. Her nine goals are third on the squad behind Boal's 25 and Poyton's 17. Frakie's three game-winning goals lead the team. She is 40th in the nation in points among rookies and is a two-time CHA Rookie of the Week honoree (Nov. 20 and Dec. 11).

Schroeder has played in 31 of the team's 32 games this season. She has recorded three goals and five assists and is one of few members on the team who has recorded at least one point in both Mercyhurst series, recording an assist on Jan. 13 and scoring a power-play goal against the Lakers on Feb. 17.

Boal has played in all 32 games this season and has been named CHA Offensive Player of the Week three times (Oct. 9, Oct. 30, Jan. 22). Both she and Poyton set the career goal mark earlier this season, which was 35. Last weekend against Robert Morris, she became the all-time career points leader in WSU history (90 points), passing Kelly Zamora (89). She leads the team in goals (25), points (42), power-play goals (11) and short-handed goals (2).

Poyton has played in all 32 games this season. She, along with Boal, set the career goal mark earlier this season. She has been one of the most consistent players all year and is third on the team in points (35), and is second in goals (17), assists (18) and power-play goals (6).

This is the second straight year Fetter has been so honored as he has led the Warriors to a .500 or better conference record in the last three seasons in his fourth tenure behind the bench.

After struggling out of the gate with a 1-5 record after October, Wayne State went 13-14-1 the rest of the season. The Warriors are 6-3-1 in their last 10 contests entering Friday's semifinal game versus Niagara.

Wayne State and Niagara face off at 1 p.m. Friday at the RMU Island Sports Center. The winner will face the winner of No. 2 Mercyhurst/Robert Morris for the conference championship Saturday at 4 p.m.

FSU's MacIntyre earns monthly CCHA honor

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that junior goaltender Derek MacIntyre of Ferris State University has been named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for February.

MacIntyre, a San Jose Sharks draft pick in 2004 who hails from Stanwood, began the month of February by making a season-high 38 saves, including 16 in the third period, of a 6-2 win over Ohio State on Feb. 3. The win, combined with a Ferris State victory the previous night when MacIntyre’s goaltending partner, sophomore Mitch O’Keefe was in net, gave the Bulldogs their first conference sweep of the season.

After O’Keefe played in a 2-1 overtime loss at Michigan State on Feb. 9, the 21-year old MacIntrye received the starting nod for the Feb. 13 rematch in Big Rapids. MacIntyre made 23 saves for the Bulldogs in a 2-1 victory over the then No. 5-ranked Spartans, which was Ferris State’s first home victory over Michigan State since March 1, 2002.

The following weekend, MacIntyre made consecutive starts in a sweep of Bowling Green. He made 29 saves in a 2-1 win over the Falcons on Feb. 16 before blocking 28 shots in a 5-2 Bulldogs victory on Feb. 17. His three wins in a one-week span earned him CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors on Feb. 19.

MacIntyre’s only loss in February came at the hands of No. 1-ranked Notre Dame, 2-0, on Feb. 24. Despite being outshot by a 35-15 margin, MacIntyre made 33 saves, including 16 in a scoreless first period, to keep Ferris State in the game and was named the third star of the contest for his efforts.

In his five starts in February, MacIntyre posted a 4-1-0 record with a .950 save percentage and a 1.60 goals-against average. Only three of the eight goals MacIntyre surrendered on the month were at even strength with the rest coming when the opposition was on the power play.

Special mention for RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month goes to Notre Dame senior goaltender David Brown, Miami junior forward Ryan Jones and Western Michigan senior forward Paul Szczechura.

MiCHO Power Poll 2.27.2007

The Michigan Wolverines hold onto No. 1 spot in this week's MiCHO Power Poll after a split on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Maize and Blue came back for a 4-3 win at the Value City Arena on Friday night. Saturday night, the Wolverines gave up a pair of two-goal leads and lost by a final score of 6-5.

The Michigan State Spartans hold steady at No. 2 after splitting a home-and-home match-up with the cellar-dwelling Bowling Green Falcons.

Michigan Tech continued their revival with a stunning sweep of the Wisconsin Badgers at the MacInnis Arena in Houghton. The Huskies come in the 3-hole in this week's Power Poll.

1) Michigan, 23-12-1 (split at OSU)
2) Michigan State, 19-12-3 (split with BGSU)
3) Michigan Tech, 15-14-5 (swept then-No. 19 Wisconsin)
4) Lake Superior State, 17-16-3 (split with WMU)
5) Western Michigan, 17-16-1 (split at LSSU)
6) Northern Michigan, 13-21-2 (split w/ then-No. 9 Miami)
7) Ferris State, 12-19-3 (split at No. 1 Notre Dame)
8) Wayne State, 10-20-2 (beat, tied Bemidji State)

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. (national rankings and rankings in parenthesis reflect the USCHO/CSTV Division I Men's Poll)

Streaking Warriors grab honors

For the second week a row, the Wayne State Warriors have captured two College Hockey America awards.

Will Hooper (pictured) was named Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the 1-1 tie against Bemidji State on Saturday's Senior Night at the Coliseum in Detroit.

The senior goaltender made 27 saves including all 12 in the third period and five in overtime. Hooper is unbeaten in his last 3 starts, compiling a 2-0-1 record and .955 save percentage during that span.

Jeff Caister recorded a point in both games of the series against BSU and garnered Rookie of the Week honors.

The blueliner assisted on Friday's game-winning power-play goal and scored WSU's lone goal, also on the power-play, on Saturday.

Caister's award marks the third straight week that the Warriors have taken home Rookie of the Week honors. Forward Jared Katz picked up the previous two awards.

Wayne State closes out the regular season against Robert Morris at the Island Sports Center outside of Pittsburgh this weekend.

Ferris State splits with No. 1 Notre Dame

by Andy Oliver

Friday night in South Bend, Ferris State came back from a two-goal deficit to beat top-ranked Notre Dame 5-2.

Kevin Deeth started the scoring for Notre Dame at 7:17 of the first period with assists going to Ryan Thang and Justin White.

Early in the second period Mark Van Guilder added a power-play goal for the Irish with Noah Babin and Matt Case assisting on the play.

Ferris State than scored the next five goals to seal the victory.

Many Ferris players had multi-point nights starting with Mark Bomersback, who had two goals and one assist, Brendan Connolly with one goal and two assists, Matt Case with one goal and one assist and Cody Chupp with three assists.

Corey Couturier had one goal on the night while Evan Case and Jeremy Scherlinck each added one assist to round out the scoring for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State goalie Mitch O’Keefe made 21 saves to get the win and improve his record to 6-18-3.

Notre Dame goalie David Brown made 15 saves on the night in getting the loss.

Ferris went 1-for-4 on the power play, while Notre Dame was 1-for-5.

Saturday night was a different story as Ferris State ended up being shutout by Notre Dame, 2-0.

The first period saw a lot of hard hitting physical play, with 30 penalty minutes, but no goal scoring.

Jason Paige (Saginaw) scored the first goal of the game for Notre Dame at 10:55 of the second period.

The power-play goal came on a scramble in front of the Ferris net after a shot from Deeth was bounding around and Paige knocked it in the net.

Van Guilder scored the second and final goal for Notre Dame at the 1:25 mark of the third period.

Van Guilder walked into the face off circle and let a quick wrist shot go that beat Ferris goaltender Derek MacIntyre high off the cross bar.

MacIntyre made 33 saves on the night in a losing effort.

Brown made 15 saves for his fifth shutout of the season.

On the power play, Ferris was 0-for-5 and Notre Dame was 1-for-6.

With the loss, Ferris State finishes the season in ninth place in the CCHA with a record of 10-16-2.

The Bulldogs will play Lake Superior State next weekend at Sault St. Marie for the first round of the playoffs.

Notre Dame finished in first place in the CCHA with a 21-4-3 record and was presented the championship trophy after the game by CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos.

Warriors take series from Beavers

WSU Senior Class of 2007
Back row from L-R-Jason Baclig, Dan Iliakis, Taylor Donohoe, Nate Higgins,

Mike Forgie and Mark Cannon
Front Row- Matt Boldt, Will Hooper, Jason Bloomingburg and Mark Nebus
(Not pictured- Adam Drescher)

The old cliche in hockey is that you need to peak at the right time. If that's true, then the Wayne State Warriors are looking good after taking three of four points from the conference leading Bemidji State Beavers.

It was the second straight week that the Warriors went into the Coliseum as the underdog and came out with a win and tie. Last week, the Green and Gold shocked the then-17th ranked Niagara Purple Eagles in a pair of games in Motown.

Since beginning the season with a 1-7 mark in conference play, the Warriors have closed with a 5-3-2 record down the stretch.

Wayne State (10-20-2, 6-10-2 CHA) dominated Friday's opener vs. Bemidji State and came away with a well earned 3-1 victory.

Mike Forgie and Mark Nebus scored first period markers to give the home team a 2-0 lead.

Rob Sirianni cut the lead in half with a Bemidji State one-time goal early in the second period.

Warriors center Stavros Paskaris put the game out of reach, scoring his first of the season with a wrister from the left circle on the power play at 8:54 of the third.

Brett Bothwell made 25 saves in net for WSU.

Matt Climie turned away 16 of 19 for BSU

The Warriors celebrated Senior Night on Saturday and tied the Beavers, 1-1.

Jeff Caister opened the scoring on the power-play at 19:05 of the first period. The Warrior freshman defender stepped in off the blue line and ripped a shot through traffic that beat Climie. Derek Bachynski and Nebus assisted on Caister's second marker of the season.

Brandon Marino tied it up for Bemidji State by picking up a loose puck in a scrum and driving it home at 11:54 of the second period.

The Beavers put up a furious fight for the remainder of the game as they outshot Wayne 12-6 in the third and 5-0 in overtime.

They were unable though to beat Will Hooper for the rest of the game. The senior netminder stopped 27 shots and earned the game's first star in his final home game in a Wayne State sweater.

Climie finished with 17 saves on the other end.

The game also produced a first in the eight-year history of Wayne State hockey. With under a minute left to play in the third period, the Coliseum ice was hit by the Hockeytown tradition of an octopus.

With a three-point weekend, the Warriors moved up into fourth place in the CHA with one week remaining. Wayne State closes out the regular season at Robert Morris next weekend.

Fifth-place Alabama-Huntsville is just a point behind and will host Niagara for two in their final weekend.

Bemidji State and Niagara go into next weekend tied for first place, but the Beavers' season is already done. BSU will finish out the year with two exhibition games against the US Under-18 Team in Ann Arbor next weekend.

Photo by Matt Mackinder

MSU finishes fourth, splits with BGSU

Michigan State wrapped up a top-four finish in the CCHA standings with a 5-3 victory at Bowling Green on Friday evening.

The decision snapped a four-game winless skid for the Spartans as senior Chris Snavely potted his first goal of the season, the eventual game-winner, for the win.

MSU then fell, 2-1, Saturday night at home to the Falcons.

Friday, Justin Abdelkader, Chris Mueller, Bryan Lerg and Jim McKenzie also scored to back Jeff Lerg's 22-save performance.

Saturday, Michigan State suffered its first loss on a senior night in its last eight tries as junior Jeff Dunne (pictured), with his first collegiate goal, scored for the Spartans and Lerg made 20 saves.

"Obviously, now we have to win the CCHA tournament in order to make the NCAA tournament, but talk is useless right now," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "I thought there was a very poor energy level out of a lot of people, not across the board though. Jeff Lerg always comes and plays and (defenseman Brandon) Gentile came and played and (defenseman Mike) Ratchuk always tries to make things happen. But every team, no matter what the sport, has four or five guys that have to be good players every night, and if they're not, then it's really tough."

Michigan State (19-12-3, 15-10-3 CCHA) will look to regroup during its bye week and will ready for the quarterfinal round at Munn Arena March 9-11.

Wolverines win, lose at Ohio State

Brandon Naurato's goal with 1:08 left in the game completed a 4-3 come-from-behind victory for Michigan over Ohio State Friday, but U-M dropped a high-scoring affair, 6-5, Saturday night.

With the split, the Wolverines finish second in the CCHA and their next game will be on Friday, March 9, when U-M hosts a CCHA Tournament quarterfinal series at Yost Ice Arena. The opponent will be determined after the first-round series this weekend.

Tim Miller was key in the Friday triumph, putting the Wolverines on the board with a score at 19:59 of the first period and assisting on Naurato's game-winning tally.

Billy Sauer made 35 saves and Jack Johnson and T.J. Hensick also notched goals for Michigan.

Saturday, Kevin Porter, Naurato (pictured), Travis Turnbull, Danny Fardig and Miller scored, but OSU scored at 18:30 of the third period to steal a win from U-M.

Sauer finished with 17 saves.

U-M (23-12-1, 18-9-1 CCHA) has been first or second in the CCHA standings in 16 of the last 17 seasons and also placed third in 2005-06. The Wolverines earned regular season titles in 1991-92, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2004-05.

Since joining the CCHA in 1981-82, U-M has finished in second place seven times. Before this season, the Wolverines last earned a runner-up showing in 2002-03 when they followed Ferris State.

Photo by Amir Ganzu/Wolverine Photo

Lakers and Broncos split in the U.P.

Western Michigan won Friday night's game at Lake Superior State, but couldn't sweep the Lakers as the home team rallied for a split Saturday night.

The Broncos got two goals from Mark Letestu and a single from Paul Szczechura in the 3-1 win Friday. Riley Gill made 29 saves and only allowed a goal from Josh Sim 1:42 into the game.

Jeff Jakaitis stopped 20 shots for LSSU.

Saturday, Lake Superior State scored two in the first period and two in the third and held on for a 4-3 victory.

Derek R. Smith, Pat Aubry, Dominic Osman and Nathan Perkovich tallied for LSSU and Jakaitis made 22 saves. Smith's and Aubry's goals were both shorthanded and both on the same checking from behind to Sim penalty early in the first period.

Sean Weaver, Kevin Labatte and Letestu scored for WMU and Daniel Bellissimo turned aside 17 shots after taking over for Gill, who allowed both shorthanded goals on three shots, at 3:44 of the opening period.

The Broncos (17-16-1, 14-13-1 CCHA) finished sixth in the CCHA and will host Alaska this weekend in a first-round playoff series. Lake Superior State (17-16-3, 11-14-3 CCHA), in eighth place, host Ferris State in another playoff matchup this weekend.

Photo by Mike Burrill

Finlandia men off to MCHA Tournament

The Finlandia men's team was idle last weekend and will get ready for Marian College this weekend in the MCHA Tournament semifinals in Houghton.

FU finished the regular season 17-8-0 and 15-5-0 in conference play after a split with the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Feb. 16-17 at home.

The Lions took second place in the MCHA standings behind MSOE.

Meanwhile, the Finlandia women, with no NCHA Tournament, managed just one total goal in a two-game sweep at home to Wisconsin-Stevens Point over the weekend.

Friday, Katie Markovich made 41 saves in a 3-0 loss.

Saturday, Markovich stopped 30 and Amy Danielson scored as the Lions fell, 6-1.

FU went 4-19-2 in regular-season play and winless (0-14-1) in the NCHA. Their tie came on Nov. 17 in a 2-2 tie against Lake Forest.

WSU women named to CHA All-Academic team

Eleven members of the Wayne State women's hockey team were recognized for their academic achievements as they were named to the CHA All-Academic Team yesterday. The 11 players equals Mercyhurst's total as the most on a team in the league, while 34 players from all four teams made the squad.

Senior Laura Monk (pictured) is the only Warrior to make the list for the third time in her career, while six players were selected for the second time: juniors Jenny Cameron, Ashley King, Tiffany Thompson, Valery Turcotte, Danielle Wilson and redshirt-sophomore Becky Sonn.

The remaining players are on the list for the first time in their collegiate careers: sophomores Melissa Boal, Lindsay DiPietro, Tina Vanderhoeven and redshirt-freshman Stephanie Rees.

NMU and Miami split, prepare for playoffs

The Northern Michigan Wildcats and Miami RedHawks finished out regular season play in Marquette over the weekend, trading a pair of 4-1 decisions.

On Friday, Miami came out firing and the Wildcats were unable to keep up with the pace of play, as the NMU defenders were burned down the ice on numerous occassions. The lone Wildcat goal came from senior Pat Bateman, while Ryan Jones, Alexandre Lacombe, Jarod Palmer and Nathan Davis all scored goals for the RedHawks.

Saturday, however, was Senior Night for the Wildcats and, for the nine departing players, the last contest in the Berry Events Center. The seniors stepped up (six picked up points) and beat the RedHawks.

NMU picked up goals from Dusty Collins, T.J. Miller and Mike Santorelli (2), while Jones scored the lone Miami marker.

Jones and Santorelli each scored two goals in the series, leaving Jones with 27 on the season and Santorelli with 28. The totals rank them third and second in the nation, respectively, behind Niagara's Ted Cook.

On the weekend, NMU netminder Bill Zaniboni stopped 20 of 23 shots, while Miami goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (Chesterfield) allowed five goals on 42 shots. Backup NMU goalie Brian Stewart entered Friday's game in the second period and allowed two goals on 12 shots.

Saturday's victory marked number 100 in the career of NMU head coach Walt Kyle. Kyle laughed the interview to a close when asked how it felt to be just 600 wins shy of former Wildcat coach and mentor Rick Comley, currently Michigan State's bench boss.

Kyle is also 5-0 in regular season finales as NMU's head coach.

The games wrapped up regular season play for both teams and the programs will now prepare for the CCHA Playoffs. NMU travels to Columbus this weekend, where they will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in first round action. The RedHawks, on the other hand, have earned a first-round bye and will return home to await their opponent.

Warriors sweep Robert Morris, Boal sets record

The Wayne State Warriors closed out their regular season with a sweep of CHA rival Robert Morris. The Warriors' two wins--5-3 on Friday, 3-1 on Saturday--lifted the team to second place in the CHA standings and gave the team a final record of 14-17-1, 6-6-0 CHA.

The weekend was also historic for the Warriors, as sophomore Melissa Boal (pictured left) surpassed former Wayne State standout Kelly Zamora in total points. Her four points gave her a career total of 90, surpassing Zamora's old mark of 89.

The Colonials jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in Friday's game. Lindsay DiPietro struck back less than a minute after the Colonials' second goal to get Wayne State on the board, and Sam Poyton added her 18th tally of the season to tie the game.

While the Colonials briefly regained the lead late in the second period, a three-goal third period stifled the Robert Morris squad for good. First, DiPietro and Poyton set up Boal, then Brandi Frakie scored unassisted to give the Warriors the lead, and finally Boal added an insurance goal on the power play.

Christine Jefferson and Tina Vanderhoeven were each credited with an assist; Laura Monk (pictured right), who was recognized in Saturday's Senior Day celebrations, earned two.

The Warriors decimated the Colonials in shots, 34-8. Warriors netminder Valery Turcotte had five saves.

Freshmen were critical in the early stages of Saturday's game: Jefferson blasted a blueline slapshot to score at 11:16 of the first period (DiPietro and Poyton assisting), and Chelsea Burnett added a glove-side goal with some help from DiPietro and Boal.

The Colonials got on the board late in the first period, but Boal extended the Warriors' lead in the second period as she scored off a Poyton pass. DiPietro was also credited with her third assist of the game.

Turcotte made 20 saves as the Warriors outshot the Colonials 39-21.

The Warriors head to tournament play next weekend. As the No. 2 seed, they will face No. 3 Niagara at 1 p.m. on Friday. The winner of that game will face the victor of the Mercyhurst/Robert Morris matchup on Saturday.