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 Jared Katz had the game-winner Saturday against LSSU. |
Nov. 10, 2007
DETROIT, Mich. - The Wayne State men's hockey team (1-6-1) snapped its season-opening seven-game skid with a 2-1 victory over Lake Superior State (2-5-1) at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum on Saturday night.
All three goals in the game came on power plays, one in each period. Jon Grabarek (Sterling Hts., Mich./Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) and Jared Katz (St. Clair Shores, Mich./Baystate Breakers) scored for Wayne State, while Nathan Perkovich's third-period tally prevented the shutout.
Freshman goaltender Kyle Funkenhauser (Windsor, Ont./Surrey Eagles) made 24 saves, 20 of which came in the last 40 minutes, to earn his first collegiate win. Fellow rookie Brian Mahoney-Wilson made 15 saves in the loss for LSSU.
For the first time this season Wayne State opened the scoring, as Grabarek took a cross-ice feed from Jeff Caister (Mississauga, Ont./Milton Icehawks) and fired a shot from the right circle past Mahoney-Wilson at the 16:56 mark for his second goal of the year. Mike Forgie (Scarborough, Ont./Stouffville Spirit) also assisted on the play, and WSU went into the locker room at the end of the first period with a 1-0 lead.
Lake Superior State nearly tied the game halfway through the second period, as a hard wrist shot from Josh Sim ricocheted off the post to the left of Funkenhauser.
Katz notched his first goal of the 2007-08 campaign with just under three minutes remaining in the second period to put the Warriors ahead by a pair. A blast from the blue line by Brock Meadows (Mission, B.C./Salmon Arm Silverbacks) missed wide, but Tyler Ruel (Port Alberni, Alb./Alberni Valley Bulldogs) took the rebound and send a short backhand pass to the front of the net, where Katz was waiting to finish the job.
Perkovich poked in a rebound to cut the Lakers' deficit in half with his second goal of the series and seventh of the season 2:33 into the third period, with an assist from Sim. Despite pulling their goalie for the final 45 seconds for an extra skater, the Lakers could not muster the equalizer.
Shots on goal went in LSSU's favor, 25-17, including a 12-1 difference in the third period.
Wayne State will host CHA rival Bemidji State next weekend, Nov. 16-17, at the Coliseum for a pair of 7:05 p.m. contests. Preceding both games will be WSU women's hockey action against Rensselaer, with each contest slated for a 3:30 p.m. faceoff.
