The Wayne State women’s hockey team is ready to give the CHA championship tournament another run for the fourth consecutive time.
In the past three seasons, the Warriors have been upset in the championship rounds by the No. 1 ranked Mercyhurst Lakers.
The City Sports Center arena in Detroit will be hosting the CHA tournaments this season. Quarterfinals begin March 4, at 3 p.m., and will end with a crowned champion March 6.
The Warriors (9-17-4, 5-10-1 CHA), who are ranked fourth in their conference, will play the No. 5 Robert Morris Colonials (10-22-1, 3-12-1 CHA) in the first round of the CHA quarterfinals.
Wayne State will face the same opponent they faced in the season-finale, Robert Morris. After splitting the series one game apiece, Wayne State leads the all-time record against Robert Morris 19-3-0.
Although the Warriors have had a few ups and downs this season due to a developing roster of seven freshmen, there is enough determination from experienced players to balance throughout the playoffs.
Junior Adrianna Pfeffer has appeared in two of the last three CHA championship rounds and knows exactly what to expect.
“I know every CHA tournament is very hard and every team comes to compete,” Pfeffer said. “I think that just in the locker room getting the girls ready and pumped for the weekend is going to be a key role of mine.”
Freshman Lauren Lovold looks to keep her head in the game and learn from the experience.
“I hope to stay focused,” she said. “We’re going to face some tough matches and keep working.”
The playoffs are mental games for the Warriors at this point, and coach Jim Fetter strongly believes that if his team thinks big, they will play big.
“We need to play well, go out, work hard, battle and compete,” Fetter said. “Whether if we win or lose, we play with some confidence, we’ll see good things.”
Fetter also said that no major changes will be made in the line-ups. As who will maintain the goaltending position still remains up in the air.
“We’ll see this weekend in practice, see who practices well and we’ll make our decision before Friday night,” he said.
The winner of the opening round matchup between Wayne State and Robert Morris will move on to face Mercyhurst the following day.
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