Even though the schedule dictated that the opening game of the SNET/UConn Hockey Classic was an exhibition contest, the Wayne State and Queens pucksters wanted to prove from the opening faceoff that it was not going to be a friendly, hands-off affair.
In a physical contest from start to finish — including a combined 68 penalty minutes between the two teams — WSU moved on to the tournament final with a 5-2 victory over the Golden Gaels. The Detroit school will face host Connecticut in the championship game Saturday night at 7 p.m.
“We were a little sluggish to start with,” Wayne State coach Bill Wilkinson said. “It really showed our layoff from Christmas break. But I was pleased with the intensity level as the game got going.”
What was a hard-hitting, fast-paced game through the first two periods came to a chippy standstill in the final 20 minutes. Nevertheless, the Warriors received two power-play goals from Jarrett Gibbons and Marc St. Jean to put the finishing touches on a three-goal victory.
“This win definitely helps us out a lot,” said WSU freshman forward Jack Redwood, who assisted on both power-play goals and also scored the game-winner. “It gives us a little more confidence and shows the other teams in this tournament that we didn’t just come down here to play an exhibition game [and a non-conference game]. We came here to win this tournament.”
In fact, Redwood’s sixth goal of the season at the 15:30 mark of the middle frame proved to be the game-winner. The freshman winger buried home a loose puck in a maze of players surrounding Queens goalie Daniel Charboneau to give his team a lead that it would not relinquish.
Until that tally, the contest had been evenly matched on both sides. However, Redwood’s marker provided a spark for the Warriors that they carried over with a vengeance into the third period.
“The third goal was a big goal for us because it allowed us to take a lead into the third period,” Wilkinson said. “Jack is a very skilled player, but he’s still got to learn the danger zones because he likes to do nifty things with the puck in all areas.”
Nevertheless, with the Kingston, Ontario, institution trailing by a goal heading into the final 20 minutes, Queens coach Chris MacDonald was hoping for a valiant comeback effort out of his club. After all, the general of the Golden Gaels played for Wilkinson when the current WSU coach was at Western Michigan. MacDonald later served as an assistant under Wilkinson at Western Michigan prior to taking the job at Queens.
Instead, the teacher maintained the upper hand over his pupil thanks to a strong third period from the Warriors.
“Mac’s been coaching for a while now,” Wilkinson said. “He was certainly one of my favorite players [at Western Michigan] and was a three-year captain. But he’s also a very solid person, and that’s what you like to see as a coach.”
Said MacDonald: “[UConn coach Bruce Marshall] sent out a letter and I contacted him about playing in this tournament. It turned out to be a bonus, after the fact, when I found out that Wayne State was playing here too. I played for Bill and then coached with him, so I was looking forward to it tonight. But I would have much rather beaten him.”
Queens struck first with a goal from Charlie Clark at the 13:53 mark of the opening period. However, the Warriors responded quickly with a tally from Tyler Kindle a mere 3:30 later.
“I thought that the first period was good for both teams,” MacDonald said. “There was a lot of skating and shooting the puck.”
Nick Shrader’s even-strength goal off a scramble in front midway through the second period propelled Wayne State in front of Queens, but the visitors evened the ledger with 6:48 to go in the frame on a score from Robert Mailloux.
From there, the game proceeded to become ugly, with a horde of penalties the rest of the way. But Redwood’s goal and the two that followed proved to be more than enough for the CHA member in the exhibition victory.
Goaltender David Guerrera, who assisted on the first WSU goal, needed to make only six stops to earn the win in goal. Daniel Charboneau denied 19 chances for Queens.
“We got strong goaltending tonight from David,” Wilkinson said. “One of the goals that he gave up, he didn’t see. The other was the result of a defenseman’s miscue. I thought that he played pretty strong overall.”
The second-year Division I program now has a chance to upend UConn in its own tournament, in its own building on Saturday night. If that happens, it would mark another huge step for the Warriors, who won only six games a season ago.
“Last year, we had players who couldn’t handle the Division I schedule that we put ourselves into,” Wilkinson said. “This year, there’s not anyone on the team who doesn’t look like he belongs.”
Added Kindle, who finished the night with a goal and an assist, “This team has a lot more experience than last year’s team did. Last year, no one on the team had college hockey experience. This year, everyone has at least one year of experience. That doesn’t sound like much, but it really makes a huge difference.”
The Golden Gaels will face Holy Cross in an exhibition game in the consolation contest on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Crusaders lost to UConn by a score of 4-3 in the nightcap on Friday.
