Complete Game Notes

ERIE, Pa. - Despite losing three of the program's top scorers, and two of the program's top defensemen, the Mercyhurst women's hockey team is in position for an unprecedented 13th consecutive regular season title this weekend.

Mercyhurst did have proven scorers, seniors Bailey Bram, Kelley Steadman, and Jess Jones, along with sophomore Christine Bestland, returning for the 2011-12 season. Those four have combined for 88 of the team's 137 goals and 207 of the team's 374 points this season. Also back was senior Hillary Pattenden, who had won 80 career games in her first three seasons with the Lakers.

But, many thought this was a rebuilding year for the Lakers, especially given the fact that nine of the team's 20 players were new faces. However, led by freshmen Molly Byrne and Shelby Bram, and senior transfer Jill Szandzik, the newcomers have made immediate contributions and have the Lakers poised for another regular season crown and the top seed in the upcoming College Hockey America tournament, hosted by Robert Morris on March 2 and 3.

It won't be easy though. The Lakers (21-6-2, 7-1-2) will have to win one game this weekend against conference-rival Robert Morris. The Colonials (17-8-3, 6-2-2) enter with a school-record 17 victories under first-year head coach Paul Colontino. The two teams split earlier this season, with each team winning on the road. Steadman scored all four goals in a 4-2 win on January 20, but the Colonials responded for its first-ever victory over the Lakers with two goals in the final 2:38 the following night.

The teams will play a home-and-home series, beginning 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. Friday's faceoff will mark senior night, as six Lakers will be playing their final regular season home game in a Mercyhurst uniform - Bram, Steadman, Jones, Pattenden, Szandzik, and team captain Pamela Zgoda.

QUICK NOTES

The Lakers are 29-1-0 lifetime against Robert Morris dating back to the 2005-2006 season - the year the Colonials started their program. The two teams split earlier this season, with each team winning on the road. Senior Kelley Steadman scored all four Laker goals in a 4-2 win over the Colonials on January 20. Robert Morris responded in Erie with the program's first-ever victory over Mercyhurst - a 3-2 win on January 21. Mercyhurst led 2-1, but Robert Morris scored two goals in the final 2:38 for the victory.

ABOUT MERCYHURST

The Mercyhurst women's hockey team went 2-1 for the week, moving its record to 21-6-2 overall on the season. It marks the 11th consecutive season that the Lakers have won at least 20 games and they have now won at least 20 games in 12 of the 13 seasons in the history of the program. The only year they missed the mark was the 2000-01 season, when Mercyhurst went 14-16-3. Mercyhurst suffered its worst loss of the season on Tuesday with a 5-1 setback at third-ranked Cornell. Senior Kelley Steadman had the lone goal for Mercyhurst, with senior Jess Jones and freshman Molly Byrne picking up the assists. The game was tied 1-1 heading to the third period, but Cornell exploded for four goals in the final twenty minutes, outshooting the Lakers 23-5. Mercyhurst then rebounded with a pair of victories over league-rival Syracuse, winning by scores of 6-2 and 3-1 on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Mercyhurst improved to 17-0-1 lifetime against Syracuse after the weekend sweep. Sophomore Christine Bestland had two goals on Friday, her fourth multi-goal game of the season. Byrne tied a career-high with four points on Friday, registering a goal and three assists in the victory. She had four assists earlier this season at Lindenwood on October 29. Steadman and fellow senior Bailey Bram also had multi-point games with two points apiece. Senior Jill Szandzik scored her fourth goal of the season on Friday, setting a new personal-best. She had three goals on two different occasions with Wayne State before transferring to Mercyhurst this season. On Saturday, freshman Shelby Bram got Mercyhurst on the board with her seventh goal of the season, but just her first since scoring against Lindenwood on December 15. It was just her second point since the calendar changed to 2012. Bestland had a goal and an assist while Steadman scored the other goal for Mercyhurst. Steadman leads the team with a career-high 29 goals the season. Her output has shattered her previous best of 17 she scored last season. Bestland had four points during the week, giving her 96 for her career. She has played in just 64 career games, but is just four points shy of reaching the century mark. Bailey Bram has 195 career points, just five points shy of becoming the fourth player in Mercyhurst history to reach 200 career points. Senior Hillary Pattenden went 2-1 for the week, improving to 18-6-2 on the season. She now has 98 career victories, two shy of becoming the first goaltender in NCAA history to reach 100 career victories. She is 98-18-5 for her career. Senior Jess Jones is quietly having arguably her best season. She is point shy of tying her personal best of 46 points she scored as a sophomore. She picked up her 150th career point with a first period assist in Saturday's victory.

ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS

Freshman Rebecca Vint netted her record fifth game-winning goal of 2011-12 to break the school record for overall goals in a season as she led Robert Morris to a 6-1 thumping of Niagara in the front end of a home-and-home series Friday. Vint entered the evening tied for RMU's single-season goals record with 18, but she would soon stand alone as she batted home a puck out of the air just 54 seconds into the second stanza. She added a third-period tally, registering her sixth multi-goal game, to become the first Colonial to post a 20-goal season and simultaneously moved into the top 10 in career scores. The Colonials extended their program-record win total to 17 and clinched one of the top two seeds for the CHA Tournament, guaranteeing their highest-ever finish in the conference standings. Junior defenseman Jamie Joslin joined Vint in topping program goals records Friday. Her second-period tally was the 11th of her career, which made her the highest-scoring defensemen in Colonial history. With their six scores Friday, the Colonials broke their record for goals in a season, ending the evening with 88. Robert Morris also posted new all-time highs for goals (6), assists (9) and points (15) in a conference game. Vint continued to top records as she assisted on both Colonial goals to break RMU's single-season assist mark and hit 40 points for the season. Sophomore Thea Imbrogno also registered a multi-point effort Sunday to finish the weekend series with five points. Imbrogno put home the game's opening goal and added a primary assist to move into a tie for second in single-season points with 32. Robert Morris went a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill Sunday and has killed off 90% of opposition power plays within league play.