Jan. 4, 2007

Detroit, Mich. -

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The Wayne State women's hockey team (7-11-0) begins the 2007 portion of the campaign when Colgate (7-9-1) comes to town this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6. Friday's game is set for 7:00 p.m. at City Ice Arena, while Saturday's contest will be at 2:00 p.m. at the Taylor Sportsplex.

The Series
Colgate leads the all-time series, 7-6-0. Last season, the two teams split in New York (10/28-29), with the Raiders winning the opener, 3-2, and the Warriors shutting out Colgate the next day, 4-0.

Behind the Bench
Jim Fetter is in his fourth season at Wayne State and has a record of 49-59-12.

In his fifth season at Colgate, Scott Wiley has a record of 63-77-16.

Scouting the Warriors
Wayne State has not played since a weekend split at home against Niagara on Dec. 16-17. The Warriors ended 2006 snapping a two-game losing streak with the win over the Purple Eagles. Wayne State has only won two of its past seven games, with wins over then-No. 9 Princeton and Niagara. That stretch came after WSU had won four of its past five games (11/3-16), with the only loss coming at the hands of Minnesota State. Head coach Jim Fetter needs one more win to reach the 50-win plateau at Wayne State, the most wins for a head coach in the program's eight-year history.

Sophomore forward Melissa Boal leads the team in goals (15), points (25), power-play goals (9), and short-handed goals (1). Sophomore forward Lindsay DiPietro leads the team with 15 assists.

Junior goaltender Valery Turcotte has started eight of the last nine games and has a record of 5-9-0, a 3.35 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. Classmate Tiffany Thompson, who hasn't started since Nov. 25 against No. 9 Boston College, has a record of 2-2-0, a 3.80 goals-against average and a .845 save percentage.

Wayne State, who owns the nation's fourth best power play unit, has converted 26-of-102 (.255) man-advantage opportunities and have killed off 70-of-91 (.769) opponent chances.

Scouting the Raiders
Colgate is on a three-game winning streak after winning conference games at home against St. Lawrence and at Union and Rensselaer. The Raiders have not played since Dec. 1-2, but have won five of their past seven games.

Colgate is led in scoring by Sam Hunt with 23 points. Her 14 goals doubles the second-place holder, Katie Stewart. Hunt has scored six power-play goals, nearly half of the team's total of 14. She is in the midst of a Colgate record 14-game scoring streak.

Brook Wheeler has seen the majority of time in goal and has a record of 5-5-1, a 2.25 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.

Colgate has converted on 14-of-92 (.152) power play opportunities and have killed off 92-of-114 (.882) opponent chances.

Colgate and Wayne State have played seven common opponents: Niagara, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Princeton, Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Rensselaer. Wayne State is 4-9 this season, while Colgate is 2-5-1. The Raiders have also played Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac, opponents the Warriors will play later this season.

Up Ahead
Wayne State will end its eight-game home stand when No. 1 Mercyhurst comes to the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum. The weekend series is part of a doubleheader with the men's team. Last season, the Warriors went 0-2-2, with each team going 0-1-1 at home. The two ties snapped the Lakers' 24-game winning streak against the Warriors.