Warriors earn CHA year-end honors

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Five members of the Wayne State hockey team received All-College Hockey America year-end awards at the 2009 CHA tournament banquet on Thursday night in Erie, Pa.

Senior forward Melissa Boal and senior defenseman Natalie Payne were named to the First Team All-CHA, while senior forward Lindsay DiPietro and junior blueliner Chelsea Burnett earned Second Team All-CHA honors. Defenseman Jill Szandzik was also selected to the CHA All-Rookie Team.

Wayne State's all-time leader in every career offensive category, Boal has been named to the First Team all four years of her tenure. She is second in the league this season in points (54), goals (29), and power-play points (23), and fifth in assists (25) and power-play goals (8). Boal is one of only four players in NCAA history to reach 100 goals and 100 assists in her career, and her 216 points ranks as the ninth-highest total in NCAA history.

Payne is the first defenseman in WSU history to earn First Team accolades. She joined the Warriors for the final year of her career and made an immediate impact, as her 29 points are the most by a Wayne State defenseman in a single season, while her 0.97 points per game average leads the conference and ranks second among all blueliners in the nation. Prior to arriving at WSU from Mercyhurst, she was a two-time First Team All-CHA selection and twice led the league's defensemen in scoring.

This season marks DiPietro's third career Second Team honor. She is fourth in the league with 47 points, second in assists (28), and her career-high 19 goals rank in a tie for fifth. DiPietro, who has never missed a game in her career (133 straight), has 131 career assists, tied for fifth-most in NCAA history, and 186 points.

Burnett, who has been named to the Second Team All-CHA in consecutive seasons, trails only Payne in scoring by a defenseman (4-14-18), with 11 of her 18 points this year coming in conference games. Her career totals of 52 points and 39 assists are the most in school history among blueliners.

Szandzik, the fourth-highest scoring defenseman in the league this season (2-13-15), matched Burnett's school record for most points by a freshman blueliner in a single year, while her +16 plus/minus rating is the best in WSU history among rookie defensemen. She has tallied nine of her 15 points against CHA opponents.

In addition to the All-CHA accolades rewarding on-ice achievements, the league also recognized the CHA All-Academic Team. Nine Warriors were selected: Emily Berzins, Boal, Burnett, DiPietro, Amanda Hungle, Christine Jefferson, Katrina Protopapas, Becky Sonn and Tina Vanderhoeven.

Sonn became a four-time honoree, while Boal, DiPietro and Vanderhoeven earned their third academic award. Berzins, Burnett, Hungle, Jefferson, and Protopapas were all selected for the second time in their careers.