POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

PHOTO GALLERY

DETROIT - In its first game of 2011, the Wayne State women's hockey team (7-12-0, 1-6-0 CHA) dropped a 3-0 result to Niagara (5-12-4, 2-2-1 CHA) on Friday night at the City Sports Center.

The Purple Eagles scored once in each period, handing the Warriors their fourth shutout loss of the season.

Wayne State finished with a 27-15 advantage in shots on goal, out-shooting an opponent for the first time in nine games, but Niagara goaltender Jenni Bauer steered aside all 27 shots in her second shutout of the year.

Freshmen Jessica Hitchcock and Kristen Richards, who are Niagara's co-leaders with eight points apiece, scored in the first and third period, respectively. Kaleigh Chippy lit the lamp in the second period.

Capitalizing on a turnover in the WSU defensive zone, Hitchcock fired in a wrist shot from the slot at 3:33 past goaltender Delayne Brian (Winnipeg, Man./Notre Dame Hounds), who finished with 12 saves in the game.

Early in the second, Kathleen Bortuzzo carried the puck along the right wing and found Chippy, who crashed the net and gave NU a 2-0 lead at 2:13.

Richards made it a 3-0 game at 8:14 of the third with a shot from the left wing, her sixth goal of the season.

Neither team was able to capitalize on power-play chances, as Wayne State finished 0-for-8 while Niagara was held to 0-for-3. The Warriors have killed 15 straight penalties over their last four games.

The teams will meet again Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

NOTES
Niagara's 15 shots marked the lowest total by a WSU opponent since Jan. 16, 2009, when Robert Morris managed only eight shots in a 7-3 Warrior victory … the Purple Eagles had not shut out the Warriors since the semifinals of the 2005 CHA Tournament (3-0) … Gina Buquet (Lafayette, La./Ohio Flames) and Lauren Coxon (Kitchener, Ont./Waterloo KW Rangers) led WSU with five shots each.