Dec. 5, 2006

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GAME STORYLINES
In its second straight week of conference play, the Wayne State University men's hockey team (3-12-0, 1-3-0 CHA) makes its final road trip of 2006 this weekend to take on first-place Niagara (8-6-3, 4-1-3 CHA) in a two-game series at Dwyer Arena.

Both games are slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on WDTK 1400 AM.

Wayne State was swept at home this past weekend by Bemidji State, 1-0 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday.

Niagara fell, 6-2, at 19th-ranked Massachusetts on Friday, snapping the Purple Eagles' seven-game unbeaten streak.

BEHIND THE BENCH
Bill Wilkinson is in his eighth season as Wayne State's head coach and his 25th year as a collegiate head coach. Wilkinson's overall record stands at 417-435-77, while his mark at WSU is 104-134-24.

Niagara's Dave Burkholder has spent his entire six-year head coaching career behind the Purple Eagles' bench, posting a record of 96-89-15.

THROUGHOUT THE YEARS
Wayne State leads the all-time series, 13-11-3, although the Warriors have only defeated the Purple Eagles twice in the last 13 meetings since 2003 (2-9-2 in that span).

IN THE POLLS
WSU was selected to finish fifth in the College Hockey America preseason coaches poll.

Niagara, the defending CHA regular-season champion, was tabbed for second.

ON THIS DATE
The Warriors have played twice on December 8 in their history, shutting out AIC, 7-0, in 2000 and skating to a 3-3 overtime tie against Alabama-Huntsville the following year.

On December 9, Wayne State again blanked AIC, 1-0, in 2000 and defeated Merrimack, 3-2, last season.

SCOUTING NIAGARA
The Purple Eagles, who received 10 votes this week in the USCHO.com poll, have outscored conference opponents, 33-22, this season.

Since starting the 2006-07 campaign with a 2-4 record, Niagara has lost just twice in its last 11 games (6-2-3).

Niagara possesses the top four point scorers in the conference - sophomores Les Reaney (12-17--29) and Ted Cook (14-13--27), senior Sean Bentivoglio (9-15--24), and freshman Chris Moran (4-16--20).

Cook's nine power-play goals are also a league-high, while Moran's 20 points leads all CHA rookies.

Sophomore goaltender Juliano Pagliero ranks second in the CHA in both goals-against average (3.43) and save percentage (.900).

WSU NOTES
In its first home series in five weeks, Wayne State was swept by Bemidji State this past weekend.

Friday's 1-0 defeat marked the Warriors' fifth shutout loss of the season.

Sophomore defenseman Matt Krug was named CHA Defensive Player of the Week, scoring a short-handed goal in the second period of Saturday's 4-2 loss. It was Wayne State's second short-handed tally of the season and Krug's first goal since Oct. 21 at Alabama-Huntsville.

Junior forward Derek Bachynski's power-play goal on Saturday broke a team scoreless streak of 162:31 and was the Warriors' first power-play tally in their last 20 chances.

Senior forward Mark Cannon played in his 100th career game on Friday.

Senior Dan Iliakis (2-6--8) and freshman Jeff Caister (1-7--8) are tied-for-third in the CHA among defensemen in points.

Caister also ranks second in the league in points among rookies.

The Warriors are averaging just 2.00 goals per game this season, fifth-lowest in the nation.

Wayne State will return home to play Western Michigan on December 16 in the Warriors' final game before the new year.

WSU CAPTAINS
Jason Bloomingburg, Mike Forgie

WSU ASSISTANT CAPTAINS
Nate Higgins, Taylor Donohoe