Warriors start with split

By Tom Balog / Wayne State Beat Writer

The Wayne State Warriors scored three second period goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Vermont Catamounts at the City Sports Center on Friday night.

Katrina Protopapas led the Green and Gold with a pair of goals giving her a team high and career best nine on the season. Her second marker was also her eighth of the year on the power-play which ranks second in the nation.

Jill Szandzik and Micheline Frappier also scored in the Warriors sixth win of the year and Alyssa Baldin added an empty-net goal with just one second left in the contest.

The win marked the first home victory and just the second game this season in which Wayne State has scored at least 5 goals.

Maggie Walsh and Celeste Doucet scored third period goals for the Catamounts.

Lindsey Park sparkled in net with 20 saves and Kristen Olychuck made 30 saves for UVM.

The loss was costly for the Warriors who lost Julie Ingratta to a concussion. She did not return to action and Wayne State was forced to play with just 10 forwards for the remainder of the weekend.

Saturday afternoon the Warriors offense sputtered and the Warriors dropped a 2-1, penalty-filled decision to UVM back in Detroit.

The win snapped an eight-game losing streak for Vermont and also earned the Catamounts their first victory (1-7-2) all-time against WSU.

Walled Lake’s Chelsea Rapin started the scoring with a power-play tally in the first period and Erin Wente added the game-winner just past the midway mark in the second.

Chelsea Burnett provided the lone goal for the Warriors, ripping a slapshot over Olychuck’s left should on the power-play at 56-seconds of the third period.

Wayne State pulled Park for the extra skater late, but couldn’t get the equalizer and dropped to 1-4-1 at home this season.

Park finished the day with 24 saves and Olychuck with 28.

Wayne State (6-9-1, 2-4-0 CHA) will return to the City Sports Center next weekend for a pair of CHA conference games against Robert Morris.

ICE CHIPS…

- Wayne State Head Coach Jim Fetter missed the UVM series as he was with Canada’s U22 team for the Six Nations Tournament in Ravensburg, Germany. After clipping the Swede’s in overtime on Friday, 4-3, the Canadians destroyed the Swiss 9-0 to take home the gold medal.

It was the seventh tournament win in eight years for the Canadians.

- WSU’s penalty-killing unit held UVM to 1-for-15 on power plays in the series

- Of the 55 total shots in Saturday’s game, 41 came on the power play

- Burnett has a point in five of the last six games and six of the last eight and Baldin has a three-game point streak and four in the last five contests.