Complete Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - The fifth-ranked Mercyhurst women's hockey team scored two goals 66 seconds apart late in the third period and hung on for a 3-1 victory over Syracuse on Saturday afternoon to complete a weekend sweep of the Orange. The victory improved the Lakers to 21-6-2 overall on the season and 7-1-2 in College Hockey America play. Meanwhile, Syracuse dropped to 9-20-3 overall and 0-7-3 in conference play.

Mercyhurst got goals from three different players and received a 23-save performance from senior Hillary Pattenden en route to the victory. Freshman Shelby Bram, sophomore Christine Bestland, and senior Kelley Steadman all scored for the Lakers, who improved to 17-0-1 lifetime against Syracuse with the win.

Bram got Mercyhurst on the board just 1:03 into the game. Good passing inside the Syracuse zone freed up Bram, who was cutting down the slot. Bestland hit her with a pass and the freshman did the rest, beating Syracuse goaltender Kallie Billadeau over the glove hand for a 1-0 Mercyhurst lead. Senior Jess Jones had the other assist on the goal.

Shots favored Mercyhurst, 18-10 in the opening twenty minutes.

The score remained 1-0 until the 16:22 mark of the third period when Billadeau misplayed the puck in the goal crease. Bestland was there to poke home the goal, giving Mercyhurst a 2-0 advantage. Freshman Vaila Higson took the initial shot that Billadeau thought about covering up, while senior Bailey Bram picked up the other assist. Just 1:06 later, Steadman let a shot go from just outside the circles that went through the five-hole of the Syracuse netminder for a 3-0 lead. Steadman's team-leading 29th goal of the season was assisted by seniors Jess Jones and Jill Szandzik.

Syracuse would end Pattenden's bid for a shutout just 15 seconds later, at the 17:43 mark of the third period. Holly Carrie-Mattimoe poked home a rebound, cutting the Mercyhurst lead to 3-1. Kaillie Goodnough and Nicole Ferrara had the assists on the goal. The Orange would pull Billadeau with 1:56 left in regulation, but Pattenden and the Laker defense held their ground and did not allow another good scoring chance by Syracuse.

Pattenden stopped 23 shots in the victory, improving to 18-6-2 on the season. It was her 98th career victory, just two shy of becoming the first goaltender in NCAA history to reach 100 career wins. Meanwhile, Billadeau played a strong game in defeat, stopping 44 Mercyhurst shots on goal. She dropped to 5-12-2 on the season.

It was a relatively penalty-free game, as both teams combined for just six penalties in the game. Syracuse's Julie Knerr was assessed a major penalty for boarding in the second period, but the Lakers could not score on the five-minute power play. Mercyhurst was 0-for-4 on the power play for the game, while Syracuse went 0-for-2.

Mercyhurst will play its final regular season games of the season next Friday and Saturday nights in a home-and-home series with Robert Morris. The teams will play at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Friday night, February 17 beginning at 7:00 p.m. and then the two teams will square off in suburban Pittsburgh on Saturday night, also at 7:00 p.m. The teams went 1-1 earlier this season. Mercyhurst won 4-2 at Robert Morris on January 20 as Steadman scored all four Mercyhurst goals. Robert Morris returned the favor at Mercyhurst the following night, winning by the score of 3-2 for its first-ever victory over the Lakers.