Pittsburgh, Pa. – Sophomore Vicki Bendus' goal with 7:38 remaining in the third period lifted the No. 5 / 6 Mercyhurst College women's hockey team to a 6-4 comeback victory over College Hockey America foe Robert Morris Friday evening at the RMU Island Sports Center. With the win, the Lakers improve to 16-5-0 on the season and remain perfect in conference play at 5-0-0. The Colonials, meanwhile, fall to 9-14-2 and 4-4-1 in CHA action.

Despite holding off Robert Morris with three goals through the first 35 minutes of play, Mercyhurst saw its 3-2 lead slip away late in the second period as the Colonials cashed in on two power-play opportunities just 21 seconds apart .

RMU's Kristen Miles knotted the game at 3-3 when she took a pass from classmate Samantha Ullrich and got it by freshman Hillary Pattenden at 15:04 while freshman Brianna Delaney produced the Colonials' first lead of the game at 15:25.

However, it would be short-lived as Mercyhurst stormed back with the next three goals. Senior Valerie Chouinard cleared the slate with her second tally of the game at 17:42 to take teams into the third period with a 4-4 score.

The Lakers closed out the contest with back-to-back scores in the final eight minutes while holding the Colonials to a single shot for the period . Bendus notched her ninth of the season to give Mercyhurst a 5-4 lead at the 12:22 mark right before junior captain Meghan Agosta added an empty-netter at 19:36.

Both teams traded goals early on in the game. Mercyhurst jumped out to a 1-0 lead when freshman Meghan Corbett struck with just 1:33 elapsed in the first period followed by an equalizer from Delaney at 5:58. The score remained 1-1 heading into the second where sophomore Jesse Scanzano and Kylie Rossler exchanged markers to make it 2-2. Shortly after the Colonial goal, Chouinard regained the lead at 3-2 with her 10th of the season at 8:08.

Mercyhurst finished the game with a 50-23 advantage in shots, including 17 apiece in the first and second periods. Pattenden earned her 13th win of the season with 19 saves.

Both teams were successful on the power-play, with Robert Morris converting 3-of-4 chances and Mercyhurst capitalizing on 1-of-6.

The Lakers return to action for game two of the series on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7:35 p.m.