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ITHACA, N.Y. - After a pre-game skate on Tuesday morning, the fifth-ranked Mercyhurst women's hockey team is ready for their showdown with third-ranked Cornell on Tuesday night at the Lynah Rink. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
The all-time series favors Mercyhurst 13-3-1, but Big Red has won three-of-the-last five meetings between the two schools.
Mercyhurst and Cornell played back on December 2 and 3 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, with the two teams splitting that two-game series. Cornell took game one of the series by a 5-4 final, before Mercyhurst rebounded for a 5-2 victory in game two.
Quick Notes About Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst went 1-0-1 over the weekend against Niagara, moving its record to 19-5-2 overall and 5-1-2 in conference play. The Lakers got goals from five different players in Friday's 6-1 win in Niagara. Senior
Bailey Bram was the only multiple goal scorer in the win, finishing the night with two. It was her fi rst goals since scoring against Lindenwood at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on December 15. Seniors
Kelley Steadman and
Jess Jones, along with freshmen
Molly Byrne and
Kristine Grenier also scored for Mercyhurst in the victory. On Saturday, the Lakers had a one-goal lead on three separate occasions, only to see the Purple Eagles comeback all three times and skate to a 3-3 overtime tie. Mercyhurst held a 3-2 lead on a goal by junior
Stephanie DeSutter, only to see the Purple Eagles score with eight seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Mercyhurst had eight shots on goal in overtime, but could not crack the scoreboard again.
Bram now has 24 goals this season, three behind team- and nation-leading
Kelley Steadman, who has 27. Bestland, meanwhile, has 19 goals, which establishes a personal-best. Bestland had 18 goals as a rookie a year ago. She also has 50 points this season, becoming the second player on this year's squad with at least 50 points. Bram has 59 to lead the country in points per game (2.46). Both Bestland and Bram are eight points away from reaching milestones. Bestland needs eight to reach 100
career points while Bram needs eight to become the fourth player in school history to record 200 career points.
Meghan Agosta (303),
Jesse Scanzano (225), and Valerie Chouinard (200) are the others who have reached the milestone for the Lakers. Agosta's total is the all-time NCAA record.
Senior goaltender
Hillary Pattenden earned her 16th win of the season, and 96th of her career on Friday night. She has already broken the NCAA record for career wins, and is now just four wins shy of becoming the first goaltender to reach 100 career victories. Freshman
Molly Byrne had two points over the weekend, giving her five goals and 23 assists for 28 points this season. She is second among Division I defensmen in points per game, trailing only Cornell's Laura Fortino in that department. She tallied Friday's game-winning goal, which was her second game-winner of the year.
About Cornell
Coming off back-to-back appearances in the Frozen Four, Cornell (21-3-0) is looking to make its way back again this year. Starting the new year with eight consecutive wins, the Big Red has almost solidified its third consecutive ECAC Hockey Championship and sits atop the league standings with 32 points. As the Big Red's regular season winds down, that conference title appears to be in reach. For an excellent January where she scored 15 points and notched three game-winning goals,
forward Rebecca Johnston was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Month. Johnston now has 17 goals and 20 assists this season, leading Cornell in goals and points (37). Johnston becomes the second Cornell player honored with a monthly award this year as Jillian Saulnier twice earned Rookie of the Month. In its last 17 games against ranked opponents from the start of the 2009-10 season until now, the Big Red holds a 12-5 record.
