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GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's hockey team (8-14-0, 1-7-0 CHA) will wrap up its six-game homestand this weekend against Syracuse University (10-13-3, 4-4-0 CHA) at the City Sports Center in Detroit. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday and 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Among the highlights this weekend is the fifth annual Doc Andrews Alumni Night on Friday, with proceeds benefitting the Doc Andrews Scholarship Endowment. In addition, there will be a WSU Alumni Game following Saturday's contest.

Wayne State split a series last weekend with No. 10 Quinnipiac, winning Friday's opener, 2-1, before dropping a 3-0 decision Saturday. Syracuse was swept for the second time in its last three series, 1-0 and 3-1, at Niagara.


BEHIND THE BENCH
Jim Fetter is 117-116-22 in his eighth season at the helm of the WSU women's hockey program. He is a three-time College Hockey America (CHA) Coach of the Year and was named Women's Division I Coach of the Year by the American Hockey Coaches Association in 2008.

The 2010 CHA Coach of the Year, Paul Flanagan has a record of 35-46-7 in his third season at Syracuse. He has a career mark of 265-129-31 which includes nine seasons at St. Lawrence, where he led the Saints to four NCAA Frozen Four appearances.


THROUGH THE YEARS
The all-time series between Wayne State and Syracuse, dating back to SU's inaugural 2008-09 season, is even at 5-5-0. The Warriors won the first five meetings, while the Orange have taken the last five including a sweep in early December in Syracuse.


IN THE POLLS
Syracuse and Wayne State were predicted to finish in second and fifth place, respectively, by the CHA head coaches in the 2010-11 preseason poll.


SCOUTING SYRACUSE
Since sweeping the Warriors in the first series Dec. 3-4, the Orange have won just two of their last nine games. Syracuse has been shut out three times and has been outscored, 31-17, during the nine-game span.

After a pair of losses last weekend at Niagara, the Orange have fallen behind the Purple Eagles into third place in the CHA standings, with two games remaining against each of the four teams in the conference.

Forward Isabel Menard, the 2009-10 CHA Freshman of the Year, has avoided a sophomore slump by leading her team in scoring with 13 goals and 18 assists. Her 31 points are sixth-most in the CHA.

Senior forward Julie Rising has 24 points, including a team-best six power-play goals. Senior defenseman Ashley Cockell (7-11--18), who is tied for second in points among league blueliners, and junior forward Megan Skelly (7-10--17) have also been productive.

The bulk of playing time between the pipes has been shared by freshmen Kallie Billadeau (5-5-2, 2.85 GAA, .895 SV%) and Jenesica Drinkwater (4-8-1, 3.17, .893).


LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State snapped its six-game losing streak with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over 10th-ranked Quinnipiac last Friday night at the City Sports Center. Clinging to a 2-0 lead late in the third, the Bobcats scored an extra-attacker goal with 1:19 remaining in regulation, but subsequent scoring chances were stymied by the Warriors, who defeated a ranked opponent for the first time in over two years.

After a scoreless first period, Micheline Frappier snapped the tie with her fourth goal of the season at 4:48 of the second, with helpers from Julie Ingratta and Adrianna Pfeffer, who assisted on both Warrior tallies in the game.

Midway through the third, Jill Szandzik scored her second of the year, crashing the net on a pass from the corner by Veronique Laramee-Paquette.

Regan Boulton cut the Bobcats' deficit in half when her blast from inside the blue line sailed in through heavy traffic in front of Delayne Brian. With Victoria Vigilanti still on the bench in the waning seconds, Quinnipiac could not find the equalizer.

The Warriors split the weekend series following Saturday afternoon's 3-0 setback. Kate Wheeler scored twice for the Bobcats, and Vigilanti made 20 saves for her seventh shutout of the season.

Brian finished with 31 saves, her 16th performance with 30-plus saves this season, and 59 saves for the series.

Less than 24 hours after WSU snapped an 18-game winless streak against ranked opponents, the Bobcats handed the Warriors their fifth shutout loss of the year and out-shot the Warriors, 34-20.

A turnover in the WSU defensive zone led to Wheeler's first goal 2:44 into the contest. She later scored on a power-play at 13:39 of the second period, snapping WSU's streak of 23 straight killed penalties. Just 17 seconds later, Amanda Colin popped in a rebound off a shot from Kelly Babstock to make it a 3-0 game.


WARRIORS MOVING UP RANKS
With her goal Friday, Szandzik moved into a tie for seventh all-time at WSU in game-winning points (10) with Ashley King (2004-08), Laura Monk (2004-07), and Kim Spaulding (2000-04). She also matched Laura MacKenzie (1999-2000) and Melissa Wenzel (2000-04) for sixth place in career goals by a defenseman (7).

Szandzik also tied her own 2008-09 single-season mark for points by a blueliner (16), fourth-highest in school history.

With 700 saves this season, Brian has the second-highest total in program history. Last weekend she moved up from fifth place, surpassing Valery Turcotte (647; 2007-08), Anna VanderMarliere (653; 2002-03), and Turcotte again (677; 2006-07). The school record for saves in a season is 935, set by VanderMarliere in 2000-01.

Friday was Brian's eighth win of the year, passing Turcotte (2004-05) and VanderMarliere (2002-03) to tie for sixth. Brian also has the seventh-highest single-season total for minutes played (1309:11), eclipsing her own total from her freshman campaign in 2008-09 (1214:04).


DOC ANDREWS ALUMNI NIGHT
The WSU Athletic Alumni Association will celebrate the Fifth Annual Doc Andrews Alumni Night on Friday. A pre-game reception at Z's Villa will begin at 5:00 p.m., and the cost ($20 for members, $25 for non-members) includes includes appetizers, two beverage tickets, shuttle service to and from the game, and a game ticket. Proceeds go to support the Doc Andrews Scholarship Fund.

The late Mark E. “Doc” Andrews, a legendary Detroit sportscaster and media personality, received the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame Honor Award, which recognizes distinguished individuals who have assisted Wayne State Athletics, posthumously in 2005.


LOOKING AHEAD
The Warriors will travel to Mercyhurst next weekend before playing their final home series of the season Feb. 11-12 against Robert Morris. A trip to Niagara and an idle weekend precede the 2011 CHA Tournament in Syracuse.


WARRIOR NOTEBOOK
Prior to Friday, WSU's most recent victory over a ranked opponent was Nov. 15, 2008, on the back end of a sweep against No. 10 Northeastern … Frappier has four points in the last six games ... the Warriors are 0-11-0 when their opponents score first.