GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's hockey team (8-9-3) will play its only road series in the month of January this weekend, as the Warriors battle the Quinnipiac Bobcats (11-7-6) in a pair of non-conference games. The puck drops at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn.

Wayne State earned its second two-game sweep of the season last weekend, shutting out conference rival Robert Morris, 1-0, on Friday and recovering from a two-goal deficit Saturday to win, 3-2. Quinnipiac traveled to College Hockey America member and then 10th-ranked Syracuse last weekend and swept the Orange in a pair of one-goal games (4-3 OT, 2-1).

The Warriors, who will only have conference games remaining following this series with the Bobcats, return to Detroit next weekend (Jan. 29-30) to face Syracuse. Following a weekend off, WSU will wrap up its home regular-season schedule Feb. 12-13 against Niagara.


BEHIND THE BENCH
Jim Fetter is 108-93-21 in his seventh season at the helm of the WSU women's hockey program. He earned his third consecutive 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.

Rick Seeley is in his second season as Quinnipiac's head coach and has a record of 14-33-11. In 10 years of coaching, which includes three years at Manhattanville and five at Clarkson, Seeley's record is 161-116-33.


THROUGH THE YEARS
Wayne State leads the all-time series against Quinnipiac, 10-0-1, dating back to 2004. The teams last met in the University of Connecticut Nutmeg Classic on Thanksgiving weekend 2008, a game which resulted in a 3-2 WSU victory. The Warriors, who last traveled to Hamden in January 2007, are 3-0-1 all-time at Quinnipiac.


IN THE POLLS
Wayne State was predicted to finish third in the 2009-10 CHA preseason coaches poll, while Quinnipiac was ranked ninth in the ECAC Hockey preseason poll.


SCOUTING QUINNPIAC
The Bobcats have made a remarkable turnaround this season after finishing with just three victories last year and five the season before. They are receiving votes in the national polls for the first time in program history, and come into this weekend's series with the Warriors having won four games in a row including three consecutive against nationally-ranked teams. The team has also already matched its school record with 11 victories.

Senior captain Kallie Flor contributed to five of Quinnipiac's six goals against Syracuse, tallying the game-winner in both contests. She ranks third on the team with eight goals and 12 points this season.

Quinnpiac's leading scorers are senior Janine Duffy, who has team-bests in points (20) and assists (11), and freshman Heather Hughes, who leads QU with 10 goals and is second with 19 points.

Rookie goaltender Victoria Vigilanti has started 23 games and leads a stingy Bobcat defense which ranks fifth nationally in goals allowed per game (1.62) and 12th in penalty killing (88.5 percent). Vigilanti's 1.54 goals-against average is the fifth-lowest in Division I, while her .939 save percentage ranks seventh.


LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore goaltender Delayne Brian recorded her third shutout of the season and helped her own cause with an assist as Wayne State escaped with a narrow 1-0 victory over Robert Morris on Friday at the City Sports Center.

After over 47 minutes of scoreless hockey, senior forward Katrina Protopapas' 10th goal of the season gave WSU the lead. Brian, meanwhile, stopped seven shots in the third period and 24 altogether for the fourth shutout of her career.

The scoring play began when Brian cleared the puck away from traffic in front of her crease. The pass found Alyssa Baldin on the right wing and, as she skated away from two defensemen along the boards, Baldin's centering pass found the stick of Protopapas who tucked it inside the far post beyond RMU goalie Kristen DiCiocco at the 7:31 mark.

The assist for Brian was the third by a WSU goaltender in program history and the first since Tina Thibideau's helper on Jan. 2, 2004 in an 8-1 win over Union.

On Saturday, Wayne State battled back from a two-goal deficit to defeat RMU, 3-2, and sweep the weekend series. After the Colonials scored a pair of 5-on-3 power-play goals less than 75 seconds apart in the second period, the Warriors responded with two goals in two minutes by Protopapas and Julie Ingratta.

The game-winner came on a short-handed goal by Veronique Laramee-Paquette at 6:45 of the third.
Colonial netminder Daneca Butterfield was pulled for an extra attacker with 50 seconds remaining, but Wayne State held its ground to preserve its fifth-straight home win against Robert Morris dating back to February 2008.

Brian improved to 5-3-2 on the year, totaling 27 saves and backstopping WSU to its second sweep of the season and first since Oct. 23-24 at Colgate.

With the two victories, the Warriors evened their conference record and moved into a three-way tie for second place in the CHA with Syracuse and Niagara.


BRIAN AND INGRATTA EARN CHA HONORS
Brian and Ingratta were selected as the CHA Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon following their individual performances against Robert Morris.

This is the third Defensive Player of the Week award of Brian's career and her first this season. Ingratta is the second Warrior this year to earn a Rookie honor.


WARRIORS MOVING UP RANKS
Protopapas moved into a tie for seventh place in career goals (24) with Jessica Haydahl (2002-06), and into a tie for sixth with Kelly Zamora (2001-05) in career power-play points (23). She is also fourth in career CHA goals (10). Protopapas, who is tied for the national lead with nine power-play goals this season, is two shy of matching the single-season school record.

Laramee-Paquette is in a five-way tie for 10th in single-season game-winning goals (3) and a three-way tie for seventh in career game-winners (4). She is tied for 12th in career game-winning points (7) and tied for fifth with Laura Monk (2004-07) and Haydahl with eight career CHA goals. Laramee-Paquette also claimed sole possession of eighth place on WSU's career CHA points list (17).

Brian, whose career .677 winning percentage is the highest in school history, is tied for ninth in single-season victories (5) and thus far leads the list of single-season goals-against averages (2.01). Her three shutouts rank in a tie for fourth in single-season history, while one more would match the school reocrd. She has 1870:40 minutes played and 743 saves in her career, approaching Tiffany Thompson (2004-08) for fourth in both categories (1878:36, 755).


OH CANADA
Two weeks ago, Fetter won a gold medal with Hockey Canada's National Women's Under-22 Team at the MLP cup in Ravensburg, Germany. Fetter, who was announced as an assistant coach for the team in June, worked under Margot Page, the former head coach at Niagara.

The 2009-10 season was Fetter's second in a row with the Under-22 Team, having won a silver medal at the 2009 MLP Cup. He was also an assistant coach with Canada's National Women's Under-18 Team during the 2007-08 season, winning a silver medal at the 2008 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championship in Calgary.


ROOKIE PRODUCTION
Two of Wayne State's seven freshmen are among the team's leading scorers. Ingratta is tied for second with 13 points, fourth-most among CHA rookies. Gina Buquet, who had an assist last Saturday, has 11 points.

Jenaya Townsend and Julie Hebert have six points apiece. Collectively, the freshman class has accounted for 39 of Wayne State's 113 points (34.5 percent).


HAPPY NEW YEAR
Wayne State has posted a winning record in the month of January each of the last four seasons. The Warriors were 5-2-1 in January last season, 6-1-1 two years ago and 4-3-1 in both 2007 and 2006.

Furthermore, the team has not posted a losing record in January since a 3-4-1 mark in 2003. WSU was 2-2-0 in 2005 and 4-4-1 in 2004.


WSU HOCKEY NOTES
• Including both games versus Robert Morris, WSU has played to a 0-0 tie through the opening period 12 times this season and are 6-4-2 in those games.

• Baldin has a career-long five-game point streak.

• WSU is 4-4 in one-goal games.