Erie, Pa. – The No. 8 Mercyhurst College women's hockey won its eighth straight game Friday evening by knocking off No. 4 St. Lawrence 5-2 before a raucous crowd at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. With the win, the Lakers improve to 11-4 overall while the Saints drop to 11-3-3.

Mercyhurst freshman Kelly Steadman scored the lone goal of the first period at 3:27 with help from freshman Bailey Bram and sophomore Vicki Bendus.

Junior captain Meghan Agosta extended the lead to 3-0 in the second period with back-to-back goals just 45 seconds apart. Her ninth of the season at 11:00 came on the Lakers' second power play of the game and her 10th of the year came at 11:45 with a teammate in the penalty box.

St. Lawrence junior defenseman Courtney Sawchuk got the Saints on the board at 13:06 when she scored during a 4-on-4 opportunity. SLU had five power play chances in the period, including a pair of five-on-threes, but could only manage Sawchuk's even-strength lamplighter. The Lakers had 19 of the period's combined 30 shots.

The teams combined for three goals in the last 3:08 of the third. With the SLU net empty, senior Hayley McMeekin restored Mercyhurst's three-goal lead with her seventh of the season at 16:52.  Saints' winger Alison Domenico cashed in a power-play goal at 18:25, SLU's lone power play goal in eleven tries, but sophomore Jesse Scanzano finished the Saints and the scoring off with her 11th goal of the season into an empty net at 19:02.

Mercyhurst outshot St. Lawrence 46-24 and finished 1-for-6 on the power play. The Lakers killed 10-of-11 penalties and have now quashed 51 of the last 53. Freshman Hillary Pattenden outdueled Saints' junior netminder Brittony Chartier (11-3-3), and improved her rookie record to 10-1-0.

The two teams will conclude the weekend series Saturday at 2:00pm.