Complete Mercyhurst Game Notes

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MADISON, Wisconsin - The eighth-ranked Mercyhurst women's hockey team breathed a collective sigh of relief last Sunday after hearing their name called during the selection show. They knew, despite suffering a disappointing 3-2 loss to Robert Morris in the CHA Championship, they were moving on with an opportunity to claim the ultimate prize - the NCAA Division I National Championship.

The task, however, certainly won't be easy.

The Lakers enter the tournament as the #8 seed and will take on the top-seeded Badgers of Wisconsin University in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Saturday in Madison. Mercyhurst has squared off with Wisconsin seven times in the series history, with the Badgers claiming victory in all seven meetings. Two of the seven meetings have occurred during the NCAA tournament, with the Badgers winning an epic 2-1, double overtime game in the quarterfinals of the 2006 tournament. Wisconsin also defeated the Lakers 5-0 for the national championship in 2009, the closest Mercyhurst has been to winning the title.

Mercyhurst seems to relish the idea of being the underdog. "We didn't want it to be our last game," senior defenseman Jill Szandzik said in an interview with Victor Fernandes from the Erie Times-News. "We didn't care who we played," senior defenseman Pamela Zgoda reiterated during the same interview.

The Lakers have made the tournament for the eighth consecutive season, an NCAA Division I record. The Lakers were tied with Minnesota-Duluth for the longest consecutive streak of making the postseason, but when the Bulldogs were left out of the final eight teams on Sunday, Mercyhurst now holds the record by itself - an incredible accomplishment considering the schools and traditions that the Lakers have to compete against year in and year out. Boston College, Minnesota, Harvard, Cornell, Minnesota-Duluth ... the list goes on and on. One of those powers, Wisconsin, is whom Mercyhurst is getting ready for on Saturday.

The Badgers come in as the defending National Champions, defeating Boston University 4-1 in the title game last March at the Tullio Arena in downtown Erie. In fact, Wisconsin has won four of the last six national championships. They have also been the top-ranked team in the country for every week except for one this season. They are led by Brianna Decker, a top three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, who has 36 goals and 42 assists for 78 points. She is joined by Hilary Knight, the all-time leading scorer at Wisconsin, and fourth all-time in NCAA history with 258 career points.

Meanwhile, senior Bailey Bram leads the Lakers in scoring with 27 goals and 41 assists for 68 points. She was a top ten finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, but did not make the final three, which was announced earlier this week. Over the weekend, Bram became the fourth player in Mercyhurst history to record 200 points for her career. She is joined by sophomore Christine Bestland (58 points) and senior Kelley Steadman (52 points) as the top three scorers this season.

The Lakers certainly enter the contest as the heavy underdog, especially considering the game will be played at the 15,000-plus-seat Kohl Center, where numerous fans dressed in red and white will be present. Mercyhurst is happy to be playing this weekend and now, even after losing the conference championship for the first time in 11 years, they have a golden opportunity standing right in front of them. It defintely will not be easy, but at this point of the year, nothing comes easy.

"We have to beat three great teams to win the title," Sisti said on Sunday. "They're (Wisconsin) the best of the best."

Faceoff from the Kohl Center is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. (EST).