ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's hockey team scored five goals in the third period to smother Stoney Creek 10-1 on Saturday.  It was the first of two Mercyhurst exhibition games this season. The Lakers will entertain Durham January 4, 2013.

Mercyhurst wasted no time putting up its first goal on the board scoring six minutes into the first period.  The power play goal was credited to sophomore Molly Byrne.  She was assisted by sophomore defender Vaila Higson.  Junior Christie Cicero scored a second power play goal a minute later giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead.  Senior transfer Jenna Hendrikx recorded her first assist as a Laker. 

Stoney Creek would answer on a  power playf its own.  Olivia Atkinson scored what proved-to-be the Junior Sabres only goal of the game, taking a pass from Briann Kennelly eight minutes into the first, making it 2-1. The Lakers outshot the Junior Sabres 13 to 6 in the first period.

One minute into the middle period, freshman Emily Janiga scored her first goal in a Laker uniform at 1:07 then tallied again at 10:09 to give the Lakers a 4-1 lead.  She was assisted by Caroline Luczak on her first lamplighter and by freshman Jenna Dingeldein and sophomore Shelby Bram on her second tally.  Freshman Maggie Rothgery increased the lead to 5-1 before the period ended.  Mercyhurst owned a 17-4 shot advantage in the second period.

The Lakers came out strong again in the last period, scoring again in the first minute.  This time, Luzcak took advantage of another power play, lighting the lamp at 1:15.  Cicero notched her second and third goals of the night at 13:52, and 15:58, senior assistant captain Lauren Jones found the bak-of-the-net at 15:13 while Dingeldein scored the final goal with help from Hendrikx'with three minutes left. The Lakers owned an 18-3 shot advantage in the third and 48-13 overall for the 60 minutes. 

Senior Stephanie Ciampa split time in goal with sophomore Amanda Makela.

The Lakers got goals from seven different players.  Cicero finished with five points (3g, 2a).  Bram, Hendrikx, and Higson all recorded two assists, while Luzcak and Dingeldein both had a goal and an assist apiece.
 
The Lakers will kick off their season on the road against 2012 NCAA Division III champions Rochester Institute of Technology.  This is RIT's first season in the CHA conference.  The games will be held at Ritter Arena in Rochester, N.Y.  The puck is set to drop Friday, September 28 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, September 29 at 2 p.m.