 |
 Natalie Payne leads all CHA defensemen with 16 points. |
Dec. 24, 2008
►GAME STORYLINES
The 10th-ranked Wayne State University women's hockey team (12-3-1, 4-0-0 CHA) opens the new calendar year with a trip to St. Cloud, Minn., for the Easton Showcase on Jan. 2-3 at the National Hockey Center. The Warriors face the host St. Cloud State Huskies at 8:07 p.m. ET on Jan. 2 and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux the following afternoon at 5:07 p.m. ET.
Wayne State, which won nine of its last 10 games in 2008, swept a conference series Dec. 5-6 at Niagara by respective scores of 5-3 and 4-2. St. Cloud State was blanked, 7-0, at Wisconsin on Dec. 5 before suffering a 6-2 setback the next day. North Dakota, meanwhile, had lost five of its last six before sweeping Bemidji State on the road Dec. 12-13, including a 4-3 overtime win in the series finale.
With only league games remaining after the Easton Showcase, a weekend off for the Warriors precedes a home series on Jan. 16-17 against Robert Morris. Wayne State will wrap up January with road sets versus Syracuse (Jan. 23-24) and Mercyhurst (Jan. 30-31).
►BEHIND THE BENCH
Jim Fetter is 91-78-17 in six seasons at the helm of the WSU women's hockey program. He earned his third consecutive College Hockey America (CHA) Coach of the Year award last season in addition to being named the Women's Division I Coach of the Year by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
St. Cloud State head coach Jeff Giesen has a career record of 39-40-14 in three seasons with the Huskies. Brian Idalski, who has a seven-year career mark of 122-54-18, is 14-33-7 in two seasons at North Dakota.
►THROUGH THE YEARS
The all-time series between Wayne State and St. Cloud State is tied, 4-4-0, despite the fact that the Warriors have won the last three meetings and four of the last five. WSU swept SCSU in Detroit in 2005, the last time these two programs competed against each other.
Wayne State is seeking its first-ever victory against North Dakota, which leads the all-time series, 7-0-1, dating back to 2002. A 2-2 overtime result at WSU in 2003 is the Warriors' only non-loss against the Fighting Sioux. Wayne State and North Dakota have not met since 2004, when the Sioux swept the Warriors in Grand Forks.
►IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was predicted to finish second by the College Hockey America head coaches in the 2008-09 preseason poll. WSU is also ranked 10th in both the USA Today/USA Hockey and the USCHO.com/CSTV Women's Division I national polls.
St. Cloud State and North Dakota were picked fifth and seventh, respectively, in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association 2008-09 preseason women's coaches poll.
►SCOUTING ST. CLOUD STATE
The Huskies, who had their five-game winning streak snapped by top-ranked Wisconsin, are preparing to host the Easton Showcase for the first time. SCSU will face Rensselaer on Jan. 3 following its showdown with the Warriors.
Senior forward Megan McCarthy leads the team with 18 points. She is tied for team-high honors with junior forward Caitlin Hogan in goals (7) and junior defenseman Danielle Hirsch in assists (11). Junior forward Holly Roberts has 15 points including six goals, five of which have come on special teams (3 PP, 2 SH).
Playing time between the pipes has largely been controlled by sophomore Ashley Nixon, who is 7-7-1 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
►SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
After posting a 4-26-6 record last season, North Dakota has already more than doubled its win total from a year ago. A road sweep of Bemidji State improved UND's mark to 10-7-1 in 2008-09 entering its Jan. 2 matchup with RPI.
The Fighting Sioux are led offensively by senior forward Melissa Jaques (12-12--24), who has team-high totals in all three categories.
Three of North Dakota's top five scorers are underclassmen. Freshman Alyssa Wiebe and sophomore Stephanie Roy have 14 points apiece, while rookie Sara Dagenais has 12 points including a team-best four power-play goals.
UND's goaltending tandem has split playing time nearly equally this season. Junior Brittany Kirkham is 5-4-1 in 10 starts with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage. Freshman Stephanie Ney, meanwhile, has amassed a 5-3-0 record with a 2.72 GAA and a .915 SV% in eight starts.
►LAST TIME OUT (DEC. 5-6)
Despite a hat trick by Niagara forward Frances McPhail, Wayne State recovered from an early two-goal deficit on the road to defeat Niagara, 5-3, on Dec. 5 at Dwyer Arena. Senior forward Melissa Boal became just the fifth player since women's hockey became a recognized NCAA Division I sport in 2000-01 to reach 100 career goals with her first of two lamplighters on the night.
Veronique Laramee-Paquette also scored twice for WSU, while Natalie Payne, Jill Szandzik, and Lindsay DiPietro each picked up two assists.
Wayne State came from behind again to earn a 4-2 victory and a road sweep the following afternoon. Despite being assessed 48 penalty minutes including three 10-minute misconducts, the Warriors battled back from two one-goal deficits to win their ninth in the last 10 games and remain undefeated in conference play.
DiPietro enjoyed a three-point afternoon with two goals and a helper, while Amanda Hungle scored the game-winning power-play goal in the third period. Boal also lit the lamp for her third goal in the series.
Lindsey Park and Delayne Brian split the series in net for WSU. Park made 23 saves for her second straight win in the opener. Brian collected 24 saves for her eighth victory of the year and held the Purple Eagles scoreless on their nine power-play chances in the second game.
►CAREER MILESTONES
With 102 career goals, Boal is tied with Minnesota's Natalie Darwitz for fourth on the NCAA list, which dates back to the 2000-01 season. Sam Poyton, who scored an empty-net goal in the series opener at Niagara, has 99 career tallies and is looking to follow Boal beyond the century mark. Boal and Poyton are the top active goal-scorers in the country.
Boal, the leading active player with 190 points, is tied with Harvard's Jennifer Botterill for ninth on the national list. Poyton (175 pts. - 14th) and DiPietro (164 pts. - T19th) have advanced in the NCAA points category as well.
DiPietro has 119 helpers and surpassed Harvard's Nicole Corriero for eighth on the NCAA career assists list. Poyton's 24 career game-winning goals, three short of the national record, rank in a tie for second all-time, while Boal's 38 power-play goals are the fifth-most all-time.
►NATIONAL LEADERS
Boal is tied with Minnesota Duluth's Elin Holmlov for sixth nationally with a 1.75 points/game average this season. Poyton ranks eighth (1.71) and DiPietro is in a three-way tie for 13th (1.50). Both Boal (1.00 - 6th) and Poyton (0.94 - T8th) rank in the top 10 in goals/game as well.
DiPietro is sixth with a 1.00 assists/game average, while Boal and Poyton are tied for ninth with five power-play goals, and Payne's 1.00 points/game pace is tied for first nationally among defensemen.
As a team, Wayne State is fourth in scoring offense (4.00), power-play average (26.0), and winning percentage (.781).
►STARTING STRONG
Wayne State has its best record in school history through the first 16 games, having won 12 of those contests. The team has exceeded the 8-6-2 start posted by the 2003-04 and 2007-08 squads. Last year's team won its 12th game Jan. 19 against Quinnipiac, improving its record to 12-6-2.
►SPECIAL TEAMS
After starting the season 1-for-26 (3.8 percent) on power-play opportunities through the first three games, the Warriors are 26-for-78 (33.3) in the last 13 games, raising their season average to 26.0 percent which leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally. Moreover, 27 of the team's 64 goals this season have come with a skater advantage. On the other side, WSU's penalty-killing rate of 83.5 is third in the CHA.
During the 2007-08 campaign, the Warriors had a power-play average of 19.5 percent and matched the school record with 38 power-play goals. Their penalty-killing unit averaged 80.6 percent.
►SWEET NOVEMBER
The Warriors finished the month of November with a 7-1-0 record and outscored their opponents, 36-20, in the eight games. No WSU team had ever won seven games in one calendar month (last year's squad posted six wins in both January and February).
►ROOKIE SCORING
The Warrior freshman class has contributed 42 of the team's 165 points (25.5 percent). Laramee-Paquette is at the head of the class with 14 points, fourth among all freshmen in College Hockey America. Right behind her is Alyssa Baldin, whose 11 points put her in a tie for fifth in the league among rookies.
►COACHING CONNECTION
North Dakota assistant coach Grant Kimball previously served four years on the coaching staff at Wayne State. He was promoted to associate head coach for the 2006-07 season, his last in Detroit. Kimball helped guide the Warriors to two 15-win seasons (2003-04, 2006-07), the school record until last year's squad won 22 games.
