University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota to Begin Home Schedule with Series Against Wayne State
10/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
The No. 8 University of Minnesota men’s hockey team opens the home portion of its 2006-07 season this weekend with a non-conference series against Wayne State on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 13-14, at Mariucci Arena. Both games face off at 7:07 p.m., and can be heard on WCCO AM 830. Minnesota is ranked No. 8 in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com/CSTV polls. Wayne State will be opening its 2006-07 season this weekend against the Golden Gophers. Replays of both games will be available in the Gold Zone on Monday afternoon.
The Series vs. Wayne State
This weekend’s series will mark the first ever meetings between Minnesota and Wayne State. The Golden Gophers are unbeaten in their last six games against teams from the state of Michigan.
About the Warriors
Last season, Wayne State compiled a 6-23-6 overall record and a 3-12-5 conference record to finish sixth in College Hockey America. Led by Head Coach Bill Wilkinson, the Warriors return 18 letterwinners, including five of the top six scorers. Nate Higgins (10-8--18) and Derek Bachynski (7-11--18) represent WSU’s top returning point-getters from the 2005-06 season. In the net, Wayne State returns senior goaltender Will Hooper (2-13-3, 3.45, .889). The Warrior roster features two Minnesota natives – defenseman Matt Boldt of Burnsville and forward Bryan Olds of Duluth. Wayne State defeated St. Clair, 5-1, in an exhibition contest last Friday in Detroit.
Home Openers
The Golden Gophers are 4-2-1 in home openers under Don Lucia. Last season, the Maroon and Gold lost 4-3 in overtime in a non-conference game at Alaska Fairbanks. The Golden Gophers are 53-29-3 (.641) all-time in home openers.
The First Series
Under Don Lucia, the Golden Gophers have struggled in the first series of the regular season. In the past seven seasons, Minnesota is 5-7-2 (.428) in the year’s first series. The Maroon and Gold has not won a season-opening series since sweeping Bemidji State on Oct. 19-20, 2002. Since then, UM was swept by Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 24-25, 2003), split at North Dakota (Oct. 22-23, 2004) and lost and tied vs. Alaska Fairbanks (Oct. 14-15, 2005). Minnesota is 103-61-6 (.624) all-time in the first series of a season.
