Dec. 7, 2006

Detroit, Mich. -

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The Wayne State women's hockey team (5-9-0) and the No. 9 Princeton Tigers (8-4-2) will both try to end losing streaks as they battle this Friday and Saturday at City Ice Arena. Game times are 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively. The Warriors are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, while the Tigers are on a four-game slide.

The Series
This will be only the fourth and fifth meetings between the schools. Last year in New Jersey, Princeton won the opener, 5-2, and settled for a 2-2 tie the next day.

Behind the Bench
Jim Fetter is in his fourth season with Wayne State and has a 47-57-12 record.

In his 11th year at Princeton, Jeff Kampersal has a record of 164-123-27.

Scouting the Warriors
Wayne State returns to the ice after a week off. The Warriors are currently on a three-game losing streak.

Two weeks ago, on Nov. 25-26, the Warriors participated in the University of New Hampshire Tournament, where they lost to the then-second-ranked hosts, 7-1, then fell to Boston College the next day, 5-4.

Sophomore forward Melissa Boal scored the only goal for Wayne State against the Wildcats, after the score was already 6-0.

WSU had a little better luck against the Eagles, scoring four times against then-ninth-ranked BC. WSU knotted the game at two on goals by sophomore forwards Lindsay DiPietro and Sam Poyton. But the Eagles would take a 3-2 lead with just 12 seconds remaining in the opening period. Poyton and freshman blueliner Chelsea Burnett scored in the second and third periods, respectively.

Junior goaltenders Valery Turcotte and Tiffany Thompson have split time between the pipes this season. Turcotte has a record of 3-7-0, a 3.59 goals-against average, and a .881 save percentage. Thompson has a record of 2-2-0, a 3.80 goals-against average, and a .845 save percentage.

Wayne State has converted on 19-of-77 (.247) power-play opportunities and have killed off 51-of-71 (.718) opponent chances.

Scouting the Tigers
After starting the season 8-0-1, Princeton has lost four straight. All four losses have come to ranked teams (Dartmouth; Harvard; and Mercyhurst twice). The sweep by the Lakers was the first against Princeton. PU managed to score one goal in the two-game set, a second-period tally on Friday by Melanie Wallace. Mercyhurst would later score the next five goals in the series.

Princeton is led in scoring by senior forward Kim Pearce with 16 points and 10 assists. She is second in goals behind junior forward Marykate Oakley, who has notched nine. Oakley also leads the team with four power-play goals, while junior forward Brittany Salmon has tallied a team-leading three game-winning markers.

Sophomore Kristen Young has seen the majority of time in goal and has accumulated a record of 5-2-2, a 2.99 goals-against average, and a .900 save percentage.

Princeton has converted on 11-of-82 (.134) power-play opportunities and have killed off 82-of-95 (.863) opponent chances.

Up Next:
The Warriors will stay in the comforts of home as they begin College Hockey America play when Niagara comes to town on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17. The last time these teams met was the CHA semifinals at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, when the Purple Eagles came back to defeat the Warriors, 4-3, in overtime.