Jan. 16, 2008
Game Notes in PDF Format 
GAME STORYLINES
Coming off a nine-game road trip, the Wayne State University men's hockey team (5-15-2, 1-5-0 CHA) returns to Detroit to host CHA rival Niagara (11-8-1, 5-4-1 CHA) for a weekend set. Friday's game at the Taylor SportsPlex starts at 7:05 p.m. ET, while Saturday's rematch at the Palace of Auburn Hills is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Wayne State snapped its eight-game losing streak with a sweep at Northern Michigan last weekend. Niagara split a series at home against league foe Robert Morris, as the teams exchanged a pair of 7-2 results.
With only conference games remaining, the Warriors host Alabama-Huntsville next weekend at the SportsPlex before heading to Bemidji State for two games Feb. 1-2.
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 431-459-81, while his mark at WSU is 118-158-28. He entered the 2007-08 season ranked 23rd on the NCAA all-time wins list.
In his seventh season with the Purple Eagles, head coach Dave Burkholder has a career record of 117-104-19.
THROUGH THE YEARS
While the Purple Eagles hold a 17-14-4 record against the Warriors entering this weekend, WSU is 7-4-3 in Detroit and has a three-game home unbeaten streak against Niagara. However, the Warriors have lost six of the last eight meetings with the Purple Eagles including two at Niagara in December.
IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was selected to finish fourth in the College Hockey America preseason coaches poll, while Niagara was predicted to repeat as the CHA regular-season champion.
ON THIS DATE
On January 11, the Warriors earned a 4-3 victory against Air Force in 2002 and a 4-3 overtime win against American International the following season.
Wayne State is 2-1-0 on January 12 in its history, including a 9-6 win at Niagara in 2001 (setting a school record for goals in a game), a 5-3 loss to Air Force in 2002, and a 2-1 overtime victory against Ferris State last year.
SCOUTING NIAGARA
The Purple Eagles have lost four of their last five games, including three straight non-conference setbacks prior to last weekend's split with the Colonials.
Senior Matt Caruana, who had a four-point night in Friday's 7-2 win over RMU, leads Niagara with 10 goals and 22 points this season. Junior Vince Rocco is nipping at his heels with 19 points (8-11), as the two forwards rank third and fourth in points in the CHA.
Sophomore defenseman Tyler Gotto has a team-best 14 assists, good for fourth in the league. Gotto also ranks second among all CHA blueliners with 15 points.
Niagara boasts the 11th-best power-play unit in Division I (19.6 percent), anchored by Ted Cook who leads the league and is tied for sixth nationally with seven power-play goals.
Junior goaltender Juliano Pagliero has a 7-5-1 record in 15 games. He ranks second in the CHA in both goals-against average (2.49) and save percentage (.926), and 14th in the country in the latter. Freshman Adam Avrameko has four victories in eight appearances with a 2.78 GAA and .903 SV%.
LAST TIME OUT
With their second-highest scoring total this season, the Warriors earned their first win in eight meetings with the Wildcats last Friday in a 4-1 result. Jeff Caister had two assists, while Mike Forgie and Tylor Michel each notched a goal and two helpers, etching their names into the record book in the process.
Forgie put the Warriors on the board just 11 seconds into the first period, the second-fastest goal to begin a game in school history. Michel's tally gave WSU a 2-0 lead eight seconds into the middle stanza, breaking the previous mark of 13 seconds.
Jared Katz and Derek Punches also scored for Wayne State, and freshman Mike Devoney registered 35 saves in his first collegiate start.
The Warriors overcame a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-2 overtime victory in Saturday night's rematch. Caister scored the game-winner on a power-play 59 seconds into the extra frame, his second goal and team-leading 17th point of the season. He also assisted on WSU's first goal of the night and has a total of five points in the last three games.
Stavros Paskaris registered a goal and two assists for his third career three-point game and first since Feb. 26, 2005. Classmate Derek Bachynski, playing in his 100th career game, contributed a goal and a helper for his first points of the year.
Wayne State swept the series in dramatic fashion exactly one year after its last overtime victory - a 2-1 triumph Jan. 12, 2007 against Ferris State.
Devoney totaled 19 saves, including stops on NMU's last 14 shots, to win his second straight start.
WSU NOTES
Caister and Devoney were named CHA Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for their solid play at NMU. Both players contributed to a penalty-killing effort that held the Wildcats to just one power-play goal in 10 chances. Offensively, Caister leads all CHA blueliners in scoring (2-15--17), while ranking tied-for-sixth overall in points and third in assists. He is sixth all-time at Wayne State in both points (33) and assists (29) by a defenseman.
Paskaris, WSU's active leading scorer, is second on the team in scoring this season (5-9--14). He is tied with Maxim Starchenko (2000-03) for sixth all-time with 73 career points. Paskaris also ranks seventh all-time with 47 assists and 13th with 26 goals.
After missing six games due to injury, Forgie has four points since his return to action Jan. 4 at Minnesota. He is tied with Michel for third on the team with 13 points, two shy of his career-high.
Bachynski is the third Warrior this season to reach the century mark in career games. Paskaris played in his 100th game against Robert Morris on Oct. 13 at the Nye Frontier Classic in Anchorage, Alaska, while Michel accomplished the feat Dec. 7 at Western Michigan. All three players recorded a point in their 100th game as well. With 14 games remaining until the CHA Tournament, three more players could potentially hit the mark as well - Forgie (94), Matt Krug (90), and Derek Punches (88).
Heading into Friday's meeting with the Purple Eagles, the Warriors are 2-1 all-time in three games at the Taylor SportsPlex. Wayne State swept American International in 2003, earning a 6-2 win on Jan. 10 and a wild 4-3 overtime victory the following night. WSU and Niagara also faced off at the SportsPlex on Nov. 8, 2003, with the Purple Eagles edging the Warriors, 4-3.
Wayne State's sweep at Northern Michigan may be the series the team needed to get its scoring offense on track. Friday marked only the third time this season Wayne State has been the first team to score, with all three resulting in wins. The Warriors have been held to two goals or less in 18 games this season and have a 1-15-2 record in those games. Only Alabama-Huntsville (1.56) and Connecticut (1.85) have a lower goals/game average than Wayne State (1.91).
Including Saturday's win, the Warriors own a 16-9-28 record (.566) in 53 regular-season contests that have reached sudden-death overtime. WSU has just one loss in its last 14 overtime games - a 4-3 result in last year's CHA tournament quarterfinal against eventual champion Alabama-Huntsville.
LOOKING AHEAD
After Wayne State's series with UAH at the SportsPlex next weekend, the Warriors will make their first of two trips to Bemidji State (Feb. 1-2) before returning to Detroit to host Robert Morris back at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum. A weekend off is sandwiched between trips to Huntsville and Bemidji leading up to the final home series March 7-8 against Niagara.
