Wayne State adds Franck to bench

Nicolette Franck has been named an assistant coach of the Wayne State women's hockey team. Franck, a former goaltender at Yale University, brings a vast level of coaching experience to the Warriors.

"Nicolette is the final piece to our coaching staff and I am excited to have her aboard," said WSU head coach Jim Fetter. "Her coaching experience and knowledge of the game will be a huge asset that our players will certainly benefit from."

After graduating from Yale with a bachelor's degree in psychology, Franck spent two years in the National Women's Hockey League, playing for the Brampton Thunder (pictured) and Toronto Aeros. She also played goalie for the 2006 Women's National Inline Hockey Team, winning a silver medal at the FIRS Inline World Championship and gold at the North American Roller Hockey Championships (NARCh) Tournament, where she was named Top Goaltender.

Franck has coached at various levels over the past decade, including three years with the Etobicoke Dolphins in Ontario. Beginning as a goaltenders coach for the Midget A squad in 2004, Franck moved all the way up to the head coach position of the Intermediate AA team in 2007.

Please click here for the full Wayne State Hockey press release.

MiCHO Power Poll 11.7.2007

The Michigan Wolverines continued their current roll by sweeping the UNO Mavericks on the road last weekend and for the fourth straight week the Maize and Blue are on top of the MiCHO Power Poll.

The nationally second-ranked Wolverines got a hat trick from Kevin Porter in Friday night’s 6-3 thumping of the Mavs at the Qwest Center. Porter added his fourth goal of the weekend in Saturday’s 3-2 squeaker to seal Michigan’s sixth straight victory.

Michigan State has also won six in a row after throttling the Alaska Nanooks in a pair of games at Carlson Center. Tim Kennedy paced the fourth ranked Green and White with three goals and an assist in the road sweep.

Michigan Tech rounds out the MiCHO top three as the Huskies went on the road to Madison and split with number-10 Wisconsin. MTU is the early surprise of the WCHA as the Huskies sit on top of the conference standings and come in ranked 13th nationally.

1) Michigan, 7-1-0 (swept UNO)
2) Michigan State, 6-1-0 (swept UAF)
3) Michigan Tech, 4-2-0 (split w/ #10 Wisconsin)
4) Ferris State, 4-3-1 (swept Ohio State)
5) Lake Superior 1-4-1 (swept at #12 ND)
6) Northern Michigan 1-7-0 (swept by #1 Miami)
7) Western Michigan, 2-4-0 (swept by BGSU)
8) Wayne State, 0-5-1 (idle)

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)

Rough trip in South Bend for Lakers

By Mike Burrill / LSSU Beat Writer

The Lake Superior State Lakers had a rough two-game series at Notre Dame in a rare Thursday-Friday matchup.

On Thursday night, the Fighting Irish's offense exploded, beating the Lakers by the score of 7-3.

Nathan Perkovich scored a power-play goal for LSSU assisted by Zac MacVoy. In the second period freshman Rick Schofield scored his first collegiate goal on a feed from defenseman Steve Oleksy. Schofield's goal was book-ended by a two pair of Irish goals, and the Lakers were down 6-2 after the second.

LSSU had a strong third period, though, and junior Josh Sim wrapped up the scoring for the Lakers assisted by Troy Schwab.

Pat Inglis was in net for Lake State, giving up all seven Notre Dame goals.

On Friday night, the Lakers played a lot better defensively, but fell by the score of 4-1.

Perkovich scored the Lakers lone goal of the night in the second period. It was a power-play goal assisted by freshman Matt Cowie and Scwab.

Freshman goaltender Brian Mahoney-Wilson stayed impressive, making 32 saves in his first loss.

The Lakers (1-4-1, 0-2-0 CCHA) travel to Wayne State this weekend in non-conference action. This will be the final meeting between the in-state rivals due to the Warriors ending their program at the end of the season.

St. Lawrence sweeps Wayne State

By Susannah Nichols/ WSU Women's Beat Writer

The Wayne State Warriors women’s hockey team (4-4-0) played with heart and hustle last weekend, but couldn’t translate their efforts into a victory. The team was swept by No. 4 St. Lawrence 5-3 on Friday night and 5-2 on Saturday.

On Friday, the Warriors mounted an impressive comeback effort after falling behind 3-0. Late in the second period, Lindsay DiPietro scored two goals, one assisted by Melissa Boal, and the other assisted by Sam Poyton (pictured). Less than three minutes into the third period, the Warriors went on the power play, and Boal scored off of her own rebound to knot up the game at three.

St. Lawrence, however, was quick to recover and added two goals to seal the 5-3 victory.

Senior goalie Tiffany Thompson recorded 15 saves in Friday’s game.

The Warriors got on the board first in Saturday’s game. Katrina Protopapas scored her third goal of the season on the power play. Boal and Chelsea Burnett earned assists on the play. St. Lawrence then responded with three straight goals despite excellent penalty killing work by the Warriors’ defensive unit and 19 second-period saves by senior Valery Turcotte.

Poyton set up Boal for a left-side goal to pull the Warriors within a goal. St. Lawrence, however, was able to light the lamp twice more and stifle any offensive energy from Wayne State.

Turcotte finished the game with 35 saves.

Wayne State faces Northeastern in Boston this weekend.

Broncos name team captains

By Tom Morelli/WMU Beat Writer

Western Michigan head coach Jim Culhane has announced that juniors Jeff LoVecchio and Chris Frank will don the captain's “C” for the 2007-2008 season.

LoVecchio (pictured left) had served as a captain last season, posting 19 goals and 15 assists en route to an All-CCHA Honorable Mention. The left-winger finished third on the team in scoring, and was a finalist for the CCHA Defensive Forward of the Year Award.

Selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the seventh round of the 2006 NHL Draft, Frank (right) has been a dominating presence on the blue line for the Broncos. At 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, Frank has delivered plenty of big hits to go along with a light scoring touch. In 34 games last season, Frank scored two goals and 10 assists to go along with 109 penalty minutes.

In addition, defenseman Nathan Ansell and Tyler Ludwig were named assistant captains.

Ansell (left) is a senior from Sarnia, Ontario, who registered seven assists last season, but posted career highs in points the year before (2-11-13).

As a freshman, Ludwig (right) led Western Michigan in blocked shots with 43. An alumnus of the highly-successful Texas Tornado Junior A hockey team, Ludwig finished second amongst Broncos defenseman last season with 12 points.

Culhane rewarded with extension

By Tom Morelli/WMU Beat Writer

Western Michigan University A.D. Kathy Beauregard announced last Friday that men’s hockey coach Jim Culhane signed a three year extension, which takes effect following the 2007-2008 season.

The new contract will earn Culhane about $105,000 per season, with the opportunity to make more if the Broncos can find their way into the CCHA semi-finals or receive a bid for the NCAA Frozen Four Tournament.

After taking over for head coach Bill Wilkinson on an interim basis in the spring of 1999, Culhane has stood behind the bench for nine seasons, compiling an overall record of 130-159-29. His biggest challenge though has been consistency, as he has accomplished a winning season only twice, going 20-13-6 in 2000-2001 and 19-15-4 the following season.

But while his players have had their share of highs and lows on the ice, Culhane continues to stress academics off of it. In the fall of 2006, the Broncos had their highest GPA under the regime at 3.18. Additionally, 18 players finished the 2006-2007 academic year with a 3.00 GPA or better. In nine of the past 10 semesters, Culhane’s players have held themselves to a high standard by maintaining a combined 3.00 GPA or better. Such academic success for the hockey team has allowed Culhane to graduate 41 of his seniors since 1998.

Nine players have earned pro tryouts during Culhane’s time behind the bench, including last season’s CCHA Rookie of the Year Mark Letetsu, who signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring.

Culhane began his career with Western Michigan as a defenseman in 1983, earning a reputation around the CCHA for his tough and physical play. He capped his senior year in 1986-1987 with nine goals and 24 assists in 43 games, along with 163 penalty minutes.

After spending three seasons in the AHL with the Binghamton Whalers, Culhane played six games for the Hartford Whalers during the 1989-1990 season. He continued his career in the minor leagues before returning to Western Michigan as an assistant coach for the 1993-1994 season.

Ferris sweeps Ohio State on the road

by Andy Oliver/ Ferris State Beat Writer

Ferris State won both games at Ohio State last weekend and in the process outscored the Buckeyes, 8-2.

Friday night, Ferris State shutout Ohio State, 4-0, behind solid goaltending from freshman Pat Nagle who made 27 saves and even assisted on the game-winning goal for his first CCHA win.

Justin Lewandowski started the scoring for Ferris at 3:21 of the second period when he received a pass at center ice from Nagle. Lewandowski took a shot from just inside the blue line that skipped over Ohio State goaltender Joseph Palmer's glove.

Zach Redmond scored the second goal of the game at 8:40 of the second period. Defenseman Scott Wietecha started the rush out of the Ferris zone with a pass to Brendan Connolly, who hit Redmond breaking into the Ohio State zone. Redmond took a hard shot from the top of the left faceoff circle and beat Palmer five-hole on the ice.

Adam Miller started off the third period with a goal at the 4:20 mark. Alex Spezia moved the puck out of the Ferris zone to Aaron Lewicki, who then found Miller breaking down the left boards. Miller took the puck deep into the Ohio State zone and beat Palmer five-hole with a hard, low shot from the side boards.

Palmer was then replaced by Nick Filion following the third goal of the game.

At 15:21 of the third period, J.T. Dahlinger finished the scoring for the Bulldogs with his first goal of the season. Justin Menke picked up a turnover and moved the puck to Mike Embach, who hit Dahlinger going up the right side. Dahlinger took a quick, hard shot from the top of the faceoff circle and beat Filion low blocker far side.

Then Sunday, Ohio State jumped out in front with two power-play goals in the first period, but FSU rallied with four unanswered goals for a 4-2 victory.

The first OSU goal came at 10:50 when former Michigan State forward Tommy Goebel moved the puck behind the Ferris goal to Tom Fritsche, who hit Todd Rudasill standing in front, and put his shot past Ferris goalie Mitch O'Keefe.

Ohio State’s second goal came at 14:49 when Johann Kroll moved the puck down low to John Albert, who took a quick shot off O'Keefe's chest and Rudasill whacked in the rebound for his second goal of the afternoon.

Ferris got on the board at 16:29 of the first period with a shorthanded goal from Cody Chupp, who stole the puck from the Ohio State defenseman and went in on a breakaway shooting over the glove of Palmer. Ferris tied the game at 4:22 of the second period while on a 5-on-3 power play. Ferris defenseman Evan Case moved the puck to his partner Matt Case, who put a hard shot on Palmer and Brendan Connolly swept in the rebound.

Menke scored the game-winning goal at 6:00 of the second period. O'Keefe moved the puck up to Dahlinger, who hit Menke moving up the right side of the ice and beat Palmer over his glove with a quick snap shot from the top of the circle. Connolly scored his second of the afternoon and final goal of the game at 1:59 of the third period when Corey Couturier centered a pass from the corner and Connolly tipped it five-hole on Palmer.

O'Keefe got the win making 30 saves on 32 shots.

The Bulldogs (4-3-1, 3-1-0 CCHA) host Bowling Green this weekend.

Broncos lose a pair to BGSU

By Tom Morelli/WMU Beat Writer

Western Michigan and overtime certainly were the worst of friends this past weekend, as the Broncos lost both games in sudden death to Bowling Green in their CCHA opener.

Before 2,700 fans at the Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo on Friday night, the first period went almost scoreless until forward Cam Watson fired a power-play goal with 11 seconds remaining.

After Bowling Green added a goal of their own in the following period, the Broncos regained the lead less than halfway through the final stanza. Freshman center Max Campbell tallied his second goal of the season, with Kevin O’ Connor and Patrick Galivan earning the assists.

The Falcons negated their opponents lead, as Mike Nesdill scored the equalizer with just over two minutes left in the game.

Western Michigan defenseman Chris Frank was slapped with a slashing penalty at 1:32 in the extra period, which later proved to be a costly mistake.

Just 25 seconds later, Bowling Green used the power play to their advantage, as David Solway scored the game-winning goal.

Broncos goaltender Riley Gill stopped 27 of 30 shots, dropping to 2-3-0 as a starter.

Saturday’s game was nothing short on excitement and provided fans with momentum shifts on both sides.

Penalties proved to be a key storyline in this contest, as the Falcons scored three of their first four goals on the power play.

Sophomore Jordan Collins was sent to the locker room at 8:25 in the opening period, earning a game misconduct for hitting a Bowling Green player from behind.

The 4-0 lead by the Falcons came to a screeching halt, as Western Michigan worked aggressively to get pucks to the net in the third period.

Tyler Ludwig helped the cause by shooting one to the back of the net just 22 seconds in, with Campbell and Jeff LoVecchio chipping in on the power-play goal.

Senior right-winger Jeff Pierce added one of his own a minute later, thanks to Galivan and Campbell providing the set-up passes.

At the 7:35 mark, Chris Clackson and Adam Flink fed the puck to Jonathan Lupa from the point, who netted his first goal of the season.

Western Michigan head coach Jim Culhane pulled his goaltender in the final minute of play, hoping to force sudden death. His plan worked to perfection, as LoVecchio chipped in the equalizer with just 10 seconds remaining.

Any chance of the Broncos stealing a win were put to rest at the 3:45 mark, as Kevin Schmidt scored his second goal of the night to help complete a weekend sweep for Bowling Green.

After allowing four goals on 24 shots, Culhane yanked Gill in favor of back-up Jerry Kuhn. A freshman, Kuhn stopped 19 shots in his debut.

Western Michigan (2-4-0) is now on a four-game losing streak and travel to Marquette for a two game series with CCHA foe Northern Michigan University this Friday and Saturday.

NMU swept by No. 1 RedHawks

by Kyle Whitney/ Northern Michigan Beat Writer

In a weekend series with the top-ranked Miami RedHawks, the Northern Michigan Wildcats were swept, 9-2 and 3-2, in back-to-back nights.

On Friday, the Wildcats (1-7-0 overall, 0-6-0 CCHA) fell behind early - trailing 3-0 at the first intermission - and were never able to slow down the streaking RedHawks, who scored the nine markers on just 30 shots.

Northern Michigan controlled the play through the first half of the second period and was, in fact, able to cut the lead to 3-1. Miami quickly broke open the floodgates with a Ryan Jones power-play goal at the 13:28 mark.

When all was said and done on Friday, Jones had given the best performance of his collegiate career, picking up four goals and an assist in the game.

Wildcat goals came in from Gregor Hanson and Matt Siddall.

On Saturday, the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead, scoring back-to-back shorthanded goals during a 49-second span in the first period. Siddall and Nick Sirota notched goals during the same Miami power play.

“[Those were] great plays by their players, very well-executed, and that’s all you can say,” Miami head coach Enrico Blasi said of the shorthanded tallies. “Sometimes the other team makes great plays and you’ve just got to live with it."

Miami soon took to the offensive once again, though, scoring three unanswered power-play goals to win going away.

“They’re the No. 1 team in the country and they definitely showed it Friday and Saturday in two different ways,” Siddall said. “They are an exceptional team and they’re going to be one of the best teams in the country all year long.”

Wildcat freshman Reid Ellingson made his first career start on Saturday night and allowed three goals on 32 shots. His .906 save percentage is currently the best on the Wildcat team.

Saturday's contest was the fifth one-goal game that NMU has been in this season. In those games, Northern is 1-4.

The Wildcats will now prepare to face off against the Western Michigan Broncos in Marquette. And as the 'Cats look for their first conference win, they must put their six-game losing streak behind them.

“It’s another tough one to swallow,” Siddall said. “It just takes the words out of your mouth.”

Huskies and Badgers split

by Andy Bourdeau / Michigan Tech Beat Writer

Michigan Tech (5-3-0, 4-2-0) played to a 4-2 win Friday night at No. 10 Wisconsin, but then lost, 4-2, on Saturday. Both teams added empty-net goals each night on their way to the two points.

On Friday, it was the Badgers that started the scoring, but it was MTU that ended the first period with the lead, 2-1, on two Jimmy Kerr goals. In the second, each team added a goal with Geoff Kinrade getting MTU's early in the period. In the third, it was MTU that added the empty-netter by Tyler Shelast.

Michael Lee-Teslak made 30 saves en route to the win. MTU finished the night 2-for-4 on the power play, with the other coming on a delayed call.

Saturday was the exact opposite, with MTU starting the scoring with Jordan Foote getting the lead for the Huskies seconds into the second period. Not much later, Wisconsin tied it up.

In the third, UW had what looked like a sure goal overturned, as Teslak was interfered with. Minutes later, UW made it count, adding two goals and taking a 3-1 lead. With two minutes left, MTU pulled Teslak and got a goal from Shelast when he got behind the defense and made it count. Tech could not muster anymore offense and UW added an empty netter with one second left.

Teslak had another solid performance, stopping 30 shots for the second straight night.

MTU will be back at home to host the other WCHA Huskies, from St. Cloud State.

MSU sweeps aside Alaska Nanooks

by Matt Mackinder / Michigan State Beat Writer

Michigan State completed its first road CCHA sweep of the season on Saturday night in Fairbanks, posting a 3-1 victory over Alaska.

The No. 6 Spartans topped the Nanooks by the same 3-1 score Friday night.

Tim Kennedy potted a pair of power-play goals to lead MSU Friday night. Daniel Vukovic assisted on both Kennedy scores and added an empty-net tally for a three-point night.

Jeff Lerg stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced to record the victory. Lerg played and started his 61st consecutive game, setting a school record. He currently ranks third in NCAA history in consecutive games played and second in consecutive starts.

Saturday night, Lerg made 11 of his 26 saves in the third period to preserve a tight game, while Vukovic and Kennedy each had a goal and an assist on the night.

Senior captain Bryan Lerg tallied the opening goal for MSU.

Michigan State (6-1-0, 4-0-0 CCHA) returns to the Lower 48 on Sunday and will spend the week preparing for a two-game non-conference set with Mercyhurst this weekend at Munn Arena. The series kicks off six straight home games for the defending national champions - league-leading and top-ranked Miami comes in the following weekend for a two-game set, followed by College Hockey Showcase games against Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Wolverines get sweep at Omaha

by Matt Mackinder / Michigan Beat Writer

The Michigan Wolverines ventured to Omaha this past weekend and took both games from the gritty Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks.

Friday, senior captain Kevin Porter had his third career hat trick as No. 3 U-M defeated UNO, 6-3. A five-goal third period propelled Michigan to the win.

Fellow senior Chad Kolarik added a goal and two assists and goalie Billy Sauer made 25 saves.

"They were the difference - the seniors," U-M head coach Red Berenson said. "Getting that first goal by Porter in the third and Kolarik scored a great individual effort and that set the tone for the period. I can stand here and tell you I liked the score, but I didn't like the way we played for a big part of the game."

Steven Kampfer and Brian Lebler scored U-M's other goals.

Saturday night, Sauer had a standout performance with 28 saves and Carl Hagelin scored the game-winning goal with 2:53 remaining in regulation in a 3-2 win for the Maize and Blue.

Porter and Louie Caporusso added goals for the Wolverines, while Travis Turnbull contributed a pair of assists.

"It was a good weekend overall," said Porter. "In both games, we didn't play our best, but we came out with two victories and that is the important thing."

The Wolverines (7-1-0, 4-0-0 CCHA) return to Ann Arbor to host Alaska Friday and Saturday. Both games start at 7:35 p.m.