Jan. 10, 2007

Detroit, Mich. -

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The Wayne State women's hockey team (8-12-0, 1-1-0 CHA) and No. 1 Mercyhurst College (18-1-1, 2-0-0 CHA) renew their rivalry this weekend at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 12-13. Both games are to start at 3:30 p.m. Mercyhurst leads the all-time series, 26-0-2, but the Warriors snapped the Lakers' 24-game winning streak last January when Wayne State tied Mercyhurst, 2-2. Both games are part of a doubleheader with the men's team. The men host Ferris State both nights at 7:05 p.m.

Friday's game will be on Comcast Local, Saturday's game is the USCHO.com game of the week and both games are on Teamline.

Mercyhurst boasts the seventh-best offense and the third-best defense in the nation as well as freshman forward Meghan Agosta, a 2006 gold medalist with the Canadian Olympic Team in Torino, Italy last February.

The Series
Mercyhurst leads the all-time series, 26-0-2, dating back to the 1999-00 season, the inaugural season for both squads.

Behind the Bench
Jim Fetter is in his fourth season at Wayne State and has a record of 50-60-12.

In his eighth season at Mercyhurst, Michael Sisti has a record of 180-60-18.

Scouting the Warriors
Wayne State split its series against visiting Colgate, dropping the opener, 4-1, and shutting out the Raiders the next day, 5-0.

Freshman defenseman Tegan Schroeder scored the lone goal for the Warriors on Friday and currently has a three-game scoring streak. On Saturday, sophomore forward Sam Poyton scored twice and junior netminder Tiffany Thompson recorded her second career shutout. Her only other shutout came in a 7-0 blanking of Robert Morris last February. After scoring in two of the team's first 12 games, senior forward Laura Monk has recorded a point in four of the last eight games. Junior forward Ashley King tallied her seventh career game-winner on Saturday and her first goal since Nov. 4 against Cornell. Both of her goals this season have been game-winners.

Sophomore forward Melissa Boal leads the team in goals (16), points (26), power-play goals (9) and short-handed goals (1), while classmate Lindsay DiPietro is tops with 17 assists.

Thompson started both games last weekend for WSU and has a record of 3-3-0, a 3.24 goals-against average and a .860 save percentage, while Valery Turcotte has a record of 5-9-0, a 3.35 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage.

Wayne State has converted 26-of-112 (.232) man-advantage opportunities and have killed off 77-of-99 (.778) opponent chances.

Scouting the Lakers
No. 1 Mercyhurst is having its best season in school history and earned its first number one ranking in the nation on Nov. 27. The Lakers have not lost since a 3-2 setback at then-No. 5 St. Lawrence on Nov. 18, a span of eight games. The Lakers swept visiting Cornell last weekend, 2-1 and 6-2, without the services of five key players who were competing in an international tournament in Germany.

The Lakers have four players with 20+ points and seven with 10+, led by freshman forward Meghan Agosta, who is tops on the team in goals (15), assists (18), points (33), short-handed goals (4) and game-winning goals (4). Sophomore forward Valerie Chouinard leads the team with 10 power-play goals.

Junior goaltender Laura Hosier has seen the majority of time in net and has a record of 15-1-0, a 1.31 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.

Mercyhurst has converted on 29-of-143 (.203) power play opportunities and have killed off 145-of-161 (.901) opponent chances. Mercyhurst has the seventh-best scoring offense in the nation and the third best scoring defense.

Up Ahead
After completing an eight-game homestand, the Warriors hit the road for eight games, starting with ECACHL-member Quinnipiac on Jan. 19-20 at 7:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively.