 |
 Jeff Caister has a four-game point streak heading into this weekend. |
Feb. 28, 2008
GAME STORYLINES
After a weekend off from competition, the Wayne State University men's hockey team (9-21-2, 5-11-0 CHA) travels to Bemidji State (14-15-3, 11-4-3 CHA) for the second time in a month to take on the Beavers in College Hockey America action at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse. Friday's game is scheduled for a 7:35 p.m. CT faceoff, and Saturday's rematch is slated to begin at 7:05 p.m. CT.
Fans can watch the games online via B2 Networks or listen through BSU's streaming audio broadcast.
Wayne State split a series at Alabama-Huntsville two weeks ago, earning a 4-2 win on Feb. 16 before a 5-2 loss the following night at the Von Braun Center. BSU went 1-3-0 on its four-game road trip, including a pair of losses at second-ranked North Dakota last weekend.
The Warriors will host Niagara to conclude the regular season next weekend (Mar. 7-8) at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum. WSU will then head to Niagara for the CHA Tournament and face Alabama-Huntsville for its third consecutive quarterfinal meeting with the Chargers.
BEHIND THE BENCH
Bill Wilkinson is in his ninth season as Wayne State's head coach and his 26th year as a collegiate head coach. Wilkinson's overall record stands at 435-465-81, while his mark at WSU is 122-164-28. He entered the 2007-08 season ranked 23rd on the NCAA all-time wins list.
In seven seasons at the helm of the Beavers, head coach Tom Serratore has a career record of 117-101-28.
THROUGH THE YEARS
While Wayne State trails in the all-time series, 9-29-5, the Warriors are 3-2-1 in their last six games against Bemidji State. They won two straight over the Beavers (Nov. 17 and Feb. 1) this season for the first time since winning three in a row in 2003, including the CHA championship game. Additionally, WSU's 3-2 victory on Feb. 1 snapped a 10-game winless streak in Bemidji.
IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was selected to finish fourth in the College Hockey America preseason coaches poll, while Bemidji State was predicted to finish third. BSU is also receiving votes in the USCHO.com/CSTV Division I national poll.
ON THIS DATE
Wayne State's only prior game on February 29 was a 4-1 victory at Alabama-Huntsville in 2004. On March 1, the Warriors earned a 6-3 win over Niagara in 2002 and a 4-3 victory against Air Force the following season.
SCOUTING BEMIDJI STATE
Since the last time the Warriors saw Bemidji State, the Beavers split a pair at Robert Morris before last weekend's losses at North Dakota, which included a narrow 1-0 loss on a third-period goal by the Fighting Sioux in the second contest. Despite a 14-15-3 record overall, Bemidji State is 11-4-3 in conference play and currently sits in first place, five points ahead of Niagara and Robert Morris.
Forward Matt Read leads the Beavers and all CHA freshmen with 23 points and 15 assists this season. Senior forwards Matt Pope and Blaine Jarvis are tied for the team lead with 12 goals apiece.
On defense is where the Beavers' greatest strength lies, as they have allowed an average of just 2.19 goals per game, eighth-best in the nation. They also boast the country's 10th-best penalty killing unit (87.6). The BSU defensive corps is anchored by senior goaltender Matt Climie, who is 12-7-3 with a .919 save percentage and the nation's eighth-best goals-against average (2.05).
LAST TIME OUT
Senior forward Derek Bachynski totaled three points on Feb. 16 as the Warriors snapped a three-game skid with a 4-2 win two weeks ago at UAH. He lit the lamp twice for his second career multi-goal game and first since Jan. 21, 2006 against Robert Morris. Stavros Paskaris, who scored the game-winning goal, Jeff Caister and Ryan Adams each had two points. Adams scored his first career goal on an empty-netter near the end of the game.
Bachynski, who has six points in his last three contests, and Paskaris, who along with Caister extended his point streak to four games, had a goal and an assist each to lead the Warriors offensively in a 5-2 setback the following day. Their tallies erased a two-goal deficit, but three unanswered markers by the Chargers put the game out of reach.
WSU NOTES
After winning just three of their first 20 games (3-15-2, .200), the Warriors are 6-6-0 (.500) in their last 12 contests. In this recent span, they have averaged 3.00 goals per game and are 13-for-63 (20.6 percent) on the power play. They have also successfully killed 55 of their opponents' 66 man-advantage opportunities (83.3 percent) over the 12-game stretch. Comparatively, Wayne State averaged just 1.75 goals per game and struggled on both the power play (13.9) and penalty kill (71.8) over the first 20 games of the season.
Paskaris, WSU's active leading scorer, has a team-high 29 points and ranks fifth in the league. He has 18 points in his last 11 games and ranks fourth all-time at Wayne State in points (88), fifth in assists (56), and sixth in goals (32).
After missing the first 18 games of the season, Bachynski has played in 14 games in 2008 and has 16 points in his last 11 contests. He is tied for 13th all-time at WSU with 59 career points.
Caister, Wayne State's second-leading scorer this season, snapped out of a recent four-game drought by posting back-to-back three-point weekends. He leads all CHA blueliners in scoring (3-22--25) and ranks fifth nationally among defensemen averaging 0.78 points per game. He is also sixth and fifth, respectively, all-time at Wayne State in points (41) and assists (36) by a defenseman.
Tylor Michel has 11 points in his last 12 games and is two points shy of his career-high of 23, set in his freshman year of 2004-05. He is third on the team and is in a five-way tie for 10th in the league with 21 points this season.
Four Warriors this season have reached the milestone of 100 career games. Paskaris played in his 100th game against Robert Morris on Oct. 13 in Anchorage, Alaska, while Michel accomplished the feat Dec. 7 at Western Michigan as did Bachynski on Jan. 12 at Northern Michigan. Most recently, senior captain Mike Forgie played in his 100th career game Feb. 9 against Robert Morris. With four regular-season games remaining, two more players could potentially hit the mark - Matt Krug (99), and Derek Punches (98).
Krug did not dress for the Feb. 16 contest at UAH, marking the first game he has missed in nearly two years (Feb. 25, 2006 at UAH) and snapping his streak of 68 consecutive games played. Ryan Bernardi had his 66-game streak snapped the following day as he was not in the lineup for the first time in his career. Punches has the longest active games played streak at 72 dating back to Feb. 24, 2006.
Seven of Wayne State's last 11 games have been decided by one goal, with three resulting in WSU victories. The Warriors are 5-6 overall in one-goal contests.
LOOKING AHEAD
Wayne State will face Alabama-Huntsville in the quarterfinals of the 2008 CHA Tournament (Mar. 14-16), hosted by Niagara. The Warriors have lost in the opening round to the Chargers each of the last two years, including a 4-3 overtime defeat in 2007.