Wayne State Warriors men's ice hockey
| Wayne State Warriors men's ice hockey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Wayne State University |
| Conference | CHA |
| Arena | City Sports Ice Arena Detroit, Michigan |
| Colors | Green and gold[1] |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| 2003 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| CHA: 2001, 2002, 2003 | |
The Wayne State Warriors men's ice hockey team competed in NCAA's Division I in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference representing Wayne State University. The university dropped their men's program at the end of the 2007–08 season.[2]
Program History
Wayne State University began its men's ice hockey program in 1999, one of several programs to begin at or promote their programs to Division I ice hockey in the late 1990s. Before their first season the Warriors signed Bill Wilkinson as their first coach, hoping that his 20-year track record at Western Michigan would help bring in recruits and build the program quickly.
After a year as an Independent, Wayne State was invited to join College Hockey America, a conference made entirely of newly D-I programs. The Warriors were able to perform very well in the first few years, winning a conference championship, three consecutive conference tournaments and earning a bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament (the first CHA automatic bid).
The most glaring problem with the ice hockey program at Wayne State was the university's lack of an on-campus ice rink. As a result the team was forced to rent out space in various buildings over its existence.[3] This combined with the Warriors inability to play other regional teams led to waning interest in the program despite being located in the hockey-friendly city of Detroit.[4]
With the program losing money every year and the CCHA not looking to increase its membership beyond 12 teams, Wayne State decided to end its program after the 2007–08 season.
Four years after its dissolution, ice hockey returned to Wayne State as a club sport.[5]
Season-by-season results
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| NCAA D-I Champions | NCAA Frozen Four | Conference regular season champions | Conference Playoff Champions |
| Season | Conference | Regular season[a] | Conference Tournament Results | National Tournament Results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | Overall | |||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | GP | W | L | T | % | ||||
| Bill Wilkinson (1999–2008) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–00 | Independent | – | – | – | – | – | – | 30 | 12 | 16 | 2 | .433 | ||
| 2000–01 | CHA | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 19 | 3rd | 35 | 18 | 14 | 3 | .557 | Won Semifinal, 3–2 (OT) (Niagara) Won Championship, 4–1 (Alabama–Huntsville) |
|
| 2001–02 | CHA | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 1st | 36 | 21 | 11 | 4 | .639 | Won Semifinal, 3–1 (Air Force) Won Championship, 5–4 (OT) (Alabama–Huntsville) |
|
| 2002–03 | CHA | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 24 | T–3rd | 40 | 21 | 17 | 2 | .550 | Won Quarterfinal, 4–2 (Air Force) Won Semifinal, 6–4 (Niagara) Won Championship, 3–2 (Bemidji State) |
Lost Regional semifinal, 2–4 (Colorado College) |
| 2003–04 | CHA | 20 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 6th | 36 | 9 | 24 | 3 | .292 | Won Quarterfinal, 5–3 (Alabama–Huntsville) Lost Semifinal, 1–2 (Niagara) |
|
| 2004–05 | CHA | 20 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 4th | 35 | 14 | 17 | 4 | .457 | Lost Quarterfinal, 3–4 (OT) (Air Force) | |
| 2005–06 | CHA | 20 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 6th | 35 | 6 | 23 | 6 | .257 | Lost Semifinal, 1–3 (Alabama–Huntsville) | |
| 2006–07 | CHA | 20 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 4th | 35 | 12 | 21 | 2 | .371 | Lost Quarterfinal, 3–4 (OT) (Alabama–Huntsville) | |
| 2007–08 | CHA | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 4th | 38 | 11 | 25 | 2 | .316 | Won Quarterfinal, 4–0 (Alabama–Huntsville) Lost Semifinal, 1–4 (Bemidji State) |
|
| Totals | GP | W | L | T | % | Championships | ||||||||
| Regular season | 305 | 115 | 162 | 28 | .423 | 1 CHA Championship | ||||||||
| Conference Post-season | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 3 CHA tournament championships | ||||||||
| NCAA Post-season | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1 NCAA Tournament appearance | ||||||||
| Regular season and Post-season Record | 320 | 124 | 168 | 28 | .431 | |||||||||
Footnotes
- ^ Code explanation; GP—Games Played, W—Wins, L—Losses, T—Tied games, Pts—Points
Notable players
- Jeff Caister
- Adam Krug
- Stavros Paskaris
See also
References
- ^ Wayne State University Athletics Style Guide (PDF). September 1, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
- ^ Wodon, Adam (March 11, 2008). "Wayne State Bids Farewell". College Hockey News. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- ^ "Wayne State AD Vents About WSU Folding Program". USCHO.com. November 20, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- ^ "Wayne State Dropping Hockey". College Hockey News. September 26, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- ^ "Wayne State hockey back at it as club sport". The South End. January 22, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2019.