ORONO, Maine – The Mercyhurst College women's hockey team ran its winning streak to four games and completed the series sweep of Maine Sunday afternoon, downing the Black Bears by a score of 6-1 at Alfond Arena.
Freshman
Christine Bestland scored a goal and dished out three assists to lead an offense that has averaged 6.5 goals per game over its first four games (4-0-0). Senior captain
Meghan Agosta and junior
Kelley Steadman both scored two goals apiece and senior assistant captain
Vicki Bendus tickled the twine once.
Junior
Pamela Zgoda matched Bestland's assist output with three of her own. She now has seven assists on the season and is one away from tying her career high set during the 2009-10 campaign.
Mercyhurst took command of the game in the first period, scoring four times while outshooting the Black Bears 20-1. Agosta and Steadman scored back-to-back within the first three minutes, including at the 26-second mark, before Bestland and Bendus lit the lamp in the final three minutes.
The Lakers tacked on insurance markers in the final two periods, with Agosta adding her team-leading sixth goal at 16:29 of the second and Steadman nabbing her fifth at 5:29 of the third.
Junior
Hillary Pattenden turned aside 15 of 16 shots to earn the win. Maine's Brittany Ott recorded 45 saves in the loss. Both teams combined for 20 power-play opportunities in the game, with the Lakers going 0-for-12 and the Black Bears finishing 1-for-8.
Mercyhurst continues its road swing next weekend with a two-game series at Bemidji State, beginning on Friday, Oct. 15 at 2:07 p.m.
