ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College women's hockey team scored four goals in the first period and never looked back, as the top-ranked Lakers completed the two-game sweep of Colgate with an 8-2 victory Saturday afternoon at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Juniors Vicki Bendus and Jesse Scanzano led a high-flying offense that saw six Lakers accumulate two or more points and 11 players get on the stat sheet.

Bendus scored two goals and added two assists to increase her season point total to 26 and move within a tally of cracking the century mark. With one more point she will become the 10th player in program history with 100 points in a career. Scanzano matched Bendus' four-point effort with a goal and three assists.

Sophomores Bailey Bram and Jess Jones added three points apiece, with Bram scoring a goal and adding two assists and Jones dishing out three helpers. Sophomore Kelley Steadman and freshman Lauren Jones each contributed two points with a goal and an assist.

Mercyhurst (12-1-1) staked a 4-0 lead in the first period on goals by Bram, Scanzano, junior Ashley Cockell and Bendus. Bram opened the scoring with one of the Lakers' three power-play goals (3-for-5) in the game just 78 seconds into the contest. Scanzano followed suit on a 5-on-5 opportunity at the 4:00 mark. After a short break, Bendus and Cockell struck within a four-minute span at 10:14 and 14:06.

The second period saw the Lakers add two more tallies to the scoreboard, as Steadman gave the team its ninth short-handed marker of the year at 9:59 while junior Kylie Rossler added her first in a Laker uniform at 10:37.

Colgate got in on the action when Jordan Brickner cashed in a power-play goal with 2:16 remaining in the period. The Raiders finished the game 1-for-7 with the extra man.

Bendus and Lauren Jones made it an 8-1 game with back-to-back goals in the opening minutes of the third period. Bendus tallied her second of the game just eight seconds into the frame on the power play, followed by Jones with her second of the season at 3:45.

The Raiders closed out the scoring with Katie Stewart's ninth goal of the season on a delayed penalty call at 5:03.

Sophomore Hillary Pattenden improved her record to 12-1-1 on the season with 15 saves and one goal allowed through 43:45. Freshman Stephanie Ciampa played the remaining 16:15 with seven saves. Mercyhurst outshot Colgate 34-24.

Mercyhurst resumes College Hockey America play next weekend when Robert Morris visits the Mercyhurst Ice Center for a two-game series on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.