GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's hockey team begins a four-game road swing this weekend with a series against the Colgate University Raiders.  The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at Starr Rink in Hamilton, N.Y.

The Warriors tied ninth-ranked Boston University, 4-4, last Friday before dropping a 4-2 decision the following afternoon.  The Raiders snapped a season-opening three-game losing streak, which included a 4-1 loss at Providence on Friday, with a 5-2 victory at Connecticut on Saturday.

Wayne State will travel to Bemidji State next weekend, Oct. 30-31, before playing its first conference series of the year Nov. 6-7 against #1 Mercyhurst, WSU's second and final home series in the 2009 calendar year.


BEHIND THE BENCH
Jim Fetter is 100-86-20 in his seventh season at the helm of the WSU women's hockey program.  He earned his third consecutive College Hockey America (CHA) Coach of the Year award two years ago in addition to being named the Women's Division I Coach of the Year by the American Hockey Coaches Association.

Scott Wiley is in his ninth season as Colgate's head coach and holds a career record of 105-117-25.


THROUGH THE YEARS
Wayne State and Colgate have split all nine two-game series they have played since 2000.  However, the Raiders lead the all-time series, 10-9-0, having won the first-ever meeting on Nov. 21, 1999, the only game played between WSU and Colgate that season.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was predicted to finish in third place by the CHA head coaches in the 2009-10 preseason poll, while Colgate was tabbed for eighth in the ECAC Hockey preseason poll.


SCOUTING COLGATE
After posting a 1-3-0 record on the road to start the 2009-10 season, the Raiders open their home schedule against the Warriors this weekend.  Colgate suffered defeats at New Hampshire, Boston College and Providence before Saturday's 5-2 victory at Connecticut.

Colgate returns four of its top six scorers from the 2008-09 squad, including senior forward Beth Rotenberg who had three points against Wayne State in last year's series.  Rotenberg is one off 11 upperclassmen on an experienced Raiders team which set a school record with 19 wins last season.

The scoring has been balanced through the first four games, as nine different players have accounted for Colgate's nine goals.  Seniors Ali Edell and Katie Stewart, as well as junior Jessi Waters, lead the team with three points apiece.

Playing time between the pipes has been split between junior Lisa Plenderleith (0-2-0, 4.00, .877) and sophomore Kimberly Sass (1-1-0, 3.02, .910), who was the 2008-09 ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Year in addition to her All-ECAC First Team and Rookie Team honors.


LAST TIME OUT
In the 2009-10 home opener, Wayne State skated to a 4-4 tie with ninth-ranked Boston University last Friday night at the City Sports Center.  The Terriers scored two extra-attacker goals within the final 1:23 of regulation, including Tara Watchorn's game-tying goal with two seconds remaining.

Senior Katrina Protopapas scored twice for her first career multiple-goal game, and freshman Jenaya Townsend finished with a pair of assists.  Rookies Julie Hebert and Jaclyn Stapleton also lit the lamp for the Warriors, who tied for the second straight game.

Sophomore Delayne Brian and Alissa Fromkin finished with 26 and 22 saves, respectively.

On Saturday, two straight Boston University goals ultimately led to a 4-2 loss for the Warriors, as Jenelle Kohanchuk scored a school-record four goals for the Terriers.  Sophomore Alyssa Baldin and Protopapas scored four minutes apart in the second period, but two consecutive power-play goals for Kohanchuk led to BU's second win of the year and first game to end in regulation.

Senior Lindsey Park stopped 20 shots in her second start of the year, while Melissa Haber finished with 18 saves and improved to 2-0-2 on the year.


OUT OF THE GATES
After Friday's game in Detroit, the Warriors have a 4-6-1 record in home openers.  Wayne State suffered a 3-2 loss to Bemidji State last year in the first home game of 2008-09, but won the previous two against Union in 2007 and Cornell in 2006.


PROTOPAPAS EARNS CHA HONOR
Protopapas was named the CHA Offensive Player of the Week following her performance last weekend against the Terriers, scoring three power-play goals.

This is the first CHA weekly award of any kind for Protopapas, who moved into a tie for fourth all-time at Wayne State in career power-play goals (8) and 10th place in power-play points (16).


SPECIAL TEAMS
After going 0-for-10 on the power play against Rensselaer three weeks ago, Wayne State was 3-for-9 in the BU series and is tied for 10th nationally in power-play efficiency (15.8).  The Warriors were able to take advantage of a Boston University penalty-killing unit which ranked second-to-last in the country, ahead of only Colgate.

This week the Raiders and Terriers flipped positions on that list, but Colgate's penalty-killing rate is still below 70 percent for the season (68.4).  Wayne State's penalty kill ranks higher, albeit slightly (75.0).
Colgate's power play unit hasn't been particularly effective either, with just two goals in 23 chances (8.7 percent).


WSU vs. ECAC HOCKEY
In 98 games against ECAC Hockey schools, Wayne State has a 35-50-13 record, including this season's loss and tie at Rensselaer.  The Warriors were 3-1-1 versus ECAC teams in 2008-09, their third straight season with a winning record against squads from that conference (8-5-1 in 2007-08, 7-6-1 in 2006-07).


CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Three of Wayne State's most productive scorers in history - Melissa Boal, Lindsay DiPietro, and Sam Poyton, who totaled a combined 600 points in four years - exhausted their eligibility last season.  Moreover, that trio along with Natalie Payne comprised the top four scorers of the 2008-09 campaign.

In total, 11 letterwinners including nine forwards from last year are gone.  As a result, there are many fresh faces on this year's team - eight newcomers in all, seven of whom are freshmen.  Of the 21 players on the roster, only five are upperclassmen (four seniors, one junior).

So far, the rookies have contributed on the stats sheet.  Gina Buquet and Hebert accounted for WSU's two goals in the RPI series, and three other freshmen - Townsend, Stapleton, and Julie Ingratta - earned their first collegiate points in the BU series.  In addition, 49 of the Warriors' 92 shots on goal (53.3 percent) have come from the freshman class.


WORKING OVERTIME
The Warriors own a 10-8-25 all-time record (.523) in 43 overtime contests.  Since the 2006-07 season, the Warriors have lost just one of 15 OT games (6-1-8).


BURNETT A PRESEASON FAVORITE
Defenseman Chelsea Burnett was the only Warrior and senior selected to the Preseason All-CHA Team.  Burnett, who matched her career high with 19 points a year ago, finished second in the conference behind Payne in overall scoring by a defenseman and posted the 16th-highest points-per-game average among blueliners in the country (0.61).


CAPTAIN JEFFERSON
Senior blueliner Christine Jefferson will wear the “C” on her jersey this season after two years as an assistant captain. She entered the 2009-10 season ranked sixth all-time at WSU in career plus/minus (+10) and ninth in career points by a defenseman (20).


WSU HOCKEY NOTES
• WSU is winless through four games for just the third time in school history and the first since 2005-06.

• Adrianna Pfeffer's assist on Friday was her first point since Feb. 8, 2008, snapping a 31-game pointless streak.

• Protopapas and Niagara forward Mary McKinnon are the only two players in the CHA with three power-play goals this season.