March 1, 2006

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GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's hockey team (14-13-5, 4-2-2 CHA) travels to College Hockey America foe Niagara University (7-20-4, 1-8-1 CHA) to conclude the regular season with a two-game set at Dwyer Arena.

Friday's game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday's game will begin at 2:00 p.m.

Wayne State earned a pair of 7-0 victories last weekend against Robert Morris. The Warriors have won four straight and are unbeaten (8-1-1) in nine of their last 10 games.

Niagara is coming off a two-game series split at Northeastern. The Purple Eagles' 5-2 win on Sunday snapped a four-game losing skid.

Wayne State will host the 2006 CHA Championships next weekend, March 9-12, at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum.

BEHIND THE BENCH
Jim Fetter is in his third season as Wayne State's head coach. He has a career record of 42-45-12 with the Warriors.

Interim head coach Heather Reinke is in her first season with the Purple Eagles.

SERIES HISTORY
Niagara leads the all-time series, 11-6-0, but Wayne State has won four of the last six regular-season meetings, including sweeps at Niagara last season and in Detroit two weeks ago.

IN THE POLLS
Wayne State and Niagara were ranked in a tie for second in the preseason CHA coaches' poll. WSU also received a vote in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine national poll.

ON THIS DATE
The Warriors have played just once on March 3 in their history, dropping a 7-1 decision at 12th-ranked Ohio State to conclude the 2000-01 season.

On March 4 of last season, Wayne State fell, 5-0, at seventh-ranked Mercyhurst.

SCOUTING NIAGARA
The Purple Eagles have won just two games in 2006, after posting a 6-9-1 record going into the new calendar year.

Senior Amy Jack leads the NU team with 10 assists and 17 points this season. Sophomore Charde Hoyle-Levy has a team-high nine goals.

Melanie Mills leads all Niagara freshmen in scoring (5-6--11), and has a team-high three power-play goals.

Junior Allison Rutledge has seen the majority of time between the pipes for the Purple Eagles this season. She has a record of 7-16-3, with a goals-against average of 2.82 and a save percentage of .923.

WARRIOR CAPTAIN
Jessica Snelgrove

WARRIOR ASSISTANT CAPTAINS
Ashley King, Peyton Patterson, Kristi Thome

NOTES
Freshman Melissa Boal was named CHA Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight week, coming off her eight-point performance, including a school-record four goals last Saturday, in the series against Robert Morris. She has 46 points this season, which leads the CHA and ranks sixth in the nation.

Sam Poyton is riding a 10-game goal-scoring streak, a school record. She leads the CHA, and is tied for the national lead, with 27 goals.

Lindsay DiPietro has 11 points (2-9) in her current four-game point streak.

Goaltenders Valery Turcotte (Friday) and Tiffany Thompson (Saturday) each earned a shutout last weekend. It marked Turcotte's second shutout in as many starts, and her fourth of the season. For Thompson, it was her first career shutout.

Eight Warriors had at least one multi-point game in the series against RMU.

Junior Laura Monk has at least one point in each of the Warriors' eight series of the calendar year 2006.

Senior Jessica Snelgrove broke a 14-game goal-less streak last Saturday, while classmate Sarah Campbell snapped a streak of 18 games. Each goal marked their second of the season and came on 5-on-3 power plays. Campbell leads the WSU senior class with 10 assists and 12 points this season.

Since being shut out, 3-0, by Wisconsin on Jan. 7, Wayne State has outscored its opponents, 42-19.

The Warriors have a power-play goal in each of their last nine games. Their 32 power-play goals this season leads the CHA.