ITHACA, N.Y. - The showdown between fifth-ranked Mercyhurst and third-ranked Cornell lived up to the hype for the first two periods.

Then, Cornell began an onslaught in the third period, scoring four goals and outshooting the Lakers 23-5 en route to a 5-1 victory over the Mercyhurst women's hockey team at the Lynah Rink on Cornell University's campus. The loss dropped Mercyhurst to 19-6-2 overall while Cornell improved to 22-3-0 on the season.

The teams played nearly dead even for the first two periods. Mercyhurst and Cornell scored first period goals 35 seconds apart late in the first period and shots favored Big Red 17-15 through forty minutes. Then the roof caved in for the Lakers, who suffered their first-ever loss at Lynah Rink.

Both teams had a number of chances in the opening minutes of the contest. Mercyhurst's line of seniors Bailey Bram and Jess Jones, along with junior Stephanie DeSutter created three opportunities within the first sixty seconds. A shot by DeSutter was blocked, but went right to the stick of Bram, whose shot trickled just wide. Bram got the rebound and found Jones wide open in front, but her one-timer was robbed by Cornell goaltender Lauren Slebodnick.

Just moments later, after a giveaway by the Lakers just inside the Cornell zone, Cornell developed a 2-on-0 breakaway with its two leading scorers Rebecca Johnston and Brianne Jenner coming in all alone on senior goaltender Hillary Pattenden. Jenner took the shot, which went off the glove of Pattenden and wide of the net.

The Lakers also had to kill off a 5-on-3 power play during the early stages of the period.

Then, with less than two minutes left in the first, and with the Lakers on the power play, Mercyhurst struck first. Freshman Molly Byrne took a shot from the point that was blocked in front of the Cornell goal. However, the puck found the stick of senior Kelley Steadman, who slid a backhander past Slebodnick for her leading 28th goal of the season at the 18:05 mark. Jess Jones had the other assist.

The lead, however, would be short-lived.  Just 35 seconds later, a centering pass from Jenner found a wide-open Johnston in front of Pattenden. Johnston deposited the shot just under the crossbar and over the glove of the Lakers' netminder, tying the game at 1-1. Alyssa Gagliardi had the other assist.

Shots on goal in the first period were dead even at eight apiece.

Despite a scoreless second period, the middle stanza provided fast-paced action that resulted in both teams getting some decent scoring chances. Steadman, looking for her second goal of the game, hit the crossbar about four minutes into the period. Then, Cornell generated some opportunities, most notably a one-timed slapshot from Emily Fulton from the right-wing circle that Pattenden slid over to make a glove save midway through the period.

The twenty minutes ended with the teams still deadlocked at 1-1. Shots favored Cornell in the second period, 9-7.

Big Red took their first lead of the night with 13:55 left in the third period. Pattenden made a brilliant, initial pad save on Fulton, but the long rebound came all the way to the right point. Hayleigh Cudmore blasted a shot that beat the Laker netminder just inside the far post, giving the home team a 2-1 advantage. Kendice Ogilvie had the other assist.

Then, with Cornell on the power play, Big Red struck again at the 9:56 mark of the third period. Good puck movement inside the Mercyhurst zone resulted in a blast from the point by Erin Barley-Maloney that beat Pattenden through traffic. Gagliardi and Chelsea Karpenko had the assists on the goal.

Less than two minutes later, at the 11:43 mark, Cornell continued its third period barrage. Catherine White, who started in the left wing corner, deked her way through the Mercyhurst defense and found herself all alone in front of Pattenden. White beat Pattenden with a backhander for a three-goal Big Red lead. Cudmore picked up the lone assist.

The lead grew to four goals with 6:17 left, as Cornell capitalized on its second power play of the period. This time, Rebecca Johnston cut through the Mercyhurst defense to get a shot off on Pattenden. Again, Pattenden made a great initial save, but the defense could not clear away the rebound. Brianne Jenner pinched in from the left point and banged home the rebound. Laura Fortino had the other assist.

The Lakers finished the night 1-for-4 on the power play, while Cornell converted 2-of-6 opportunities.

Despite allowing five goals, Pattenden played well. The senior kept the Lakers in the contest for much of the night. Rebounds that were not cleared away by the Mercyhurst defense plagued Pattenden and the Lakers in the third period. The Laker netminder stopped 35-of-40 Cornell shots. She dropped to 16-6-2 overall on the season. Slebodnick stopped 19-of-20 Laker shots in the victory.

Mercyhurst will return home on Friday and Saturday afternoons for a weekend series with Syracuse. Friday's faceoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. - the first game of a doubleheader with the men's team. Saturday's game will begin at 2:00 p.m. The Lakers went 1-0-1 in Syracuse earlier this year, winning 8-4 in game one, before playing to a 1-1 tie in game two.