HAVERHILL, Mass. - Sophomore
Christine Bestland and freshman
Shelby Bram earned weekly honors from College Hockey America, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. Bestland earned Player of the Week honors, while Bram was the Rookie of the Week.
Bestland and Bram each won their respective awards for the second time this season. Bestland earned the honors back on October 10, while Bram was awarded on October 31. All told, Mercyhurst has had five offensive players of the week, two goaltenders of the week, and three rookies of the week this season.
A native of Brunkild, Manitoba, Bestland had three goals, including both game-winning goals, and two assists in two mid-week victories over St. Lawrence University. Mercyhurst won by the scores of 5-3 and 4-1 as Mercyhurst extended its winning streak to nine games. The sophomore had a goal and an assist in the Lakers 5-3 win on Tuesday night. She assisted on the Lakers' game-tying goal early in the second period, and then scored the game-winning goal 1:08 into the third period. She had three shots and was a +3 on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Bestland scored a pair of first period goals, the second of which also proved to be the game-winner. She then had an assist on the Lakers' third goal of the day. Bestland is second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points.
Meanwhile, Bram, a native of Ste. Anne, Manitoba, accounted for four assists, including an assist on both game-winning goals, in the two victories over St. Lawrence this past week. She had two assists in each of the Lakers' 5-3 and 4-1 victories over St. Lawrence. Bram had an assist on the tying goal early in the second period and then assisted on Mercyhurst's game-winning goal in Tuesday's 5-3 victory. Then, she picked up two assists in the first period on Wednesday, including one on Mercyhurst's game-winning goal. Bram now leads all Mercyhurst rookies with 13 points this season (four goals, nine assists).
The Lakers (10-2-0), who have won nine consecutive games and moved up to #6 according to the USCHO.com Division I poll announced earlier Monday, have a weekend showdown with #3 Cornell (9-1-0) at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Friday, December 2 and Saturday, December 3. Faceoffs are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. The games against the Big Red will also be the "Pink at the Rink" weekend, with proceeds going towards breast cancer research.
