ERIE, Pa. – The third-ranked Mercyhurst College women's hockey team snapped its two-game losing streak to conference foe Niagara with a 6-1 victory over the Purple Eagles on Friday evening at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers, winners of four in a row, improve to 11-2-0 on the season and 4-0-0 in College Hockey America play.

Mercyhurst put on a dominating performance in winning its first game against Niagara since a 2-0 victory Jan. 30, 2010. The Lakers outshot the Purple Eagles 46-9 and scored six goals against them for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

The Laker offense, ranked No. 1 in the country with a 5.31 goals per game average, saw five different players find the back of the net including freshman Christine Bestland, who led the team with two goals and an assist for a game-high three points.

Four players totaled two points apiece, with senior Vicki Bendus and junior Jess Jones scoring a goal and an assist and seniors Meghan Agosta and Cassea Schols dishing out a pair of helpers.

Junior Kelley Steadman and freshman Christie Cicero both scored once as the Lakers tallied at least four goals in a game for the 11th time this season.

The Lakers did most of their damage early on, scoring three times in the first period and twice in the second. Both teams then traded goals in the third, with Mercyhurst stretching its lead to 6-0 before Niagara broke up the shutout with 3:50 to play.

Sophomore Stephanie Ciampa, making her second career start in net, earned the win with eight saves through 60 minutes of play. She is now 1-0-0 on the season and 2-0-0 at Mercyhurst.

On special teams, Mercyhurst converted two of its five power-play opportunities while Niagara went scoreless on seven tries.

Both teams close out the two-game series on Saturday, Dec. 4 with a 2 p.m. contest at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.