Warriors sweep Minnesota State

by Tom Balog / Wayne State Beat Writer

Friday night there were 6 goals in the first 40 minutes of play.

Saturday, there was just 1 in a full 60 minutes.

And in both games not one puck made it's way into the Wayne State (7-7-0, 1-3-0 CHA) net as the Warriors used a pair of different methods to sweep the once hot Minnesota State Mavericks.

Despite being out shot 31-24 on Friday night, the Warriors got goals from six different skaters to blank the Mavericks, 6-0.

Blueliner Cari Coen notched the eventual game winner with her first collegiate goal, scored on the power-play at 11:30 of the opening period.

"We came out with some intensity," said Coen. "We went over the video and noticed they keep the middle open on the PK. We could hear everyone calling middle and I shot it to the middle and we scored. This win gave us a huge confidence boost."

Veronique Laramee-Paquette, Alyssa Baldin, Adrianna Pfeffer, Julie Ingratta, and Julie Hebert rounded out the scoring as WSU set a new season high water mark for goals scored.

Delayne Brian (pictured) was stellar in net again, stopping all 31 shots she faced for her third shutout of the season.

Alli Altmann turned away 15 shots for MSU in just over 55 minutes played. Danielle Butters filled in for 4:47 at the start of the second period and stopped just one shot and also gave up Pfeffer's second goal of the season.

After two scoreless periods on Saturday, Ingratta followed up a shot just 13-seconds into the third period to give the Warriors a 1-0 victory and series sweep.

Brian made another 36 saves for her second consecutive shutout and the eighth of her career.

"The most important thing is that we got two wins in a row and we're back to .500", said Brian. "Putting the puck in the net six times yesterday was definitely a confidence builder for us. We stress through whether we're up six or just one, the back checking, so it's good to see us playing both ends of the ice."

Altmann's lone mistake was on the Ingratta blast and she finished with 22 saves.

After winning four game in a row, the Mavericks have lost four straight to drop to 6-9-1 on the season.

The pair of wins evens the Warriors record at 7-7-0 as they prepare to hit the road for their next four games. The journey will start in upstate New York next weekend with a pair of CHA battles against the Syracuse Orange. Wayne State will close out the year with two games at Ohio State on Dec. 30 and 31.

Photo Courtesy of WSU Athletics