ERIE, Pa. – Senior captain Meghan Agosta and freshman Christine Bestland scored two goals and totaled three points apiece as the fourth-ranked Mercyhurst College women's hockey team rolled past College Hockey America foe Robert Morris, 7-3, on Friday evening at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers (6-1-0, 1-0-0 CHA), used a six-goal first period to bounce back from their first loss of the season and defeat the Colonials for the 24th straight time (24-0-0).

Agosta and Bestland's combined six-point effort was only a fraction of the team's total as nine other players helped accumulate 20 in the victory.

Senior Melissa Lacroix dished out three assists for three points. Senior Vicki Bendus and junior Bailey Bram each had two helpers, and junior Jess Jones marked her first points of the season with a goal and an assist. Junior Kelley Steadman and freshman Jessica Christofferson rounded out the goal scorers, while seniors Cassea Schols and Jesse Scanzano and sophomore Lauren Jones all added an assist.

Mercyhurst pounced on the Colonials with its largest first period scoring output since netting six goals in the opening stanza of an 11-1 victory over Quinnipiac Oct. 11, 2004.

Bestland put the Lakers out to a 1-0 lead when her backhander trickled off the glove of netminder Kristen DiCiocco and into the net at the 1:22 mark. Christofferson then stretched the lead to two at 8:26, taking a pass from Lauren Jones at the right circle and rifling it through the legs of the Colonial netminder. After a faceoff win in Mercyhurst territory, Jess Jones made it a 3-0 advantage by connecting off a pass from Agosta on a rush up ice with just 37 seconds to play before the midway point.

Following a goal from Robert Morris' Theo Imbrogno less than a minute later, Steadman restored the three-goal edge with a sharp-angled shot from the left circle after weaving through traffic.

Agosta closed out the period with back-to-back goals just 20 seconds apart, scoring at 19:27 and 19:47.

Mercyhurst used a fast-paced style of play to control the first period and hold a 22-5 advantage in shots.

DiCiocco eventually settled down in goal and held the home team scoreless through the second period while her team cut the deficit to four on a lamplighter by Sara O'Malley at the 13:11 mark. After the break, however, Bestland snapped the scoreless streak when she jammed home a puck on the doorstep with nearly 19 minutes to play.

Both teams combined for 19 penalties and 17 power-play opportunities in the game. Mercyhurst finished 1-for-8 with the extra man while RMU converted one of its nine chances late in the third.

Junior Hillary Pattenden earned the win for Mercyhurst with 11 saves through 59:35 worth of action. She is now 6-1-0 on the season. DiCiocco, meanwhile, suffered the loss with 32 stops.

With a short break, Mercyhurst returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 2, with a 7 p.m. contest against second-ranked Cornell in a rematch of the 2010 NCAA Women's Frozen Four Semifinal in Ithaca, N.Y.