ERIE, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Mercyhurst University women's hockey team will host Lindenwood University this weekend, marking the third and fourth meetings between the two teams this season.  

Due to a water main break, on or near the Mercyhurst University campus, the games have been relocated.

Friday's game will now be played at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena in Jamestown, N.Y. Faceoff is still scheduled for 3:00 p.m. against the Lady Lions of Lindenwood University.

Saturday's game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m., will now be played at the Erie Insurance Arena in downtown Erie. Faceoff has been moved back to 2:00 p.m., also against the Lady Lions of Lindenwood University.

Also, due to the changes in venue, the games will not be broadcast on America One this weekend.

For directions to, or for additional information regarding the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena in Jamestown, N.Y., please click here.

For directions to, or for additional information regarding the Erie Insurance Arena, please click here. 
 
This weekend's contests will also mark the seventh annual Lakers “Skate for a Cure”. The Lakers will host a ceremonial puck drop in honor of the survivors before Saturday's contest.  The Lakers have been holding a coin drive over the last week around parts of campus.  There will also be a Mercyhurst Jersey auction and an American Greetings Gift Basket auction. Proceeds from a pink Mercyhurst Hockey hat sale ($5.00) and all 50/50  ticket sales will automatically be given to the charity.
 
Each team in the College Hockey America conference will host its own “Skate for a Cure” event where all the proceeds will be raised for Breast Cancer Awareness.  Last year, the CHA “Skate for a Cure” raised $12,391.52 and has amassed $65,000 in the past six years. 
 
Last weekend, Mercyhurst split with then second-ranked Boston College.  The Lakers fell to the Eagles 5-1 on Friday evening, but turned things around Saturday in a 3-2 victory. On Saturday, the Lakers scored first when freshman Emily Janiga scored at the 9:50 mark. That goal improved Mercyhurst's record to 10-0-0 when leading after the first period and to 15-0-0 when scoring the first goal of the game this season.  Junior captain Christine Bestland scored the contest's second goal just three minutes into the second period. Freshman Jenna Dingeldein eventually collected her first game-winning goal when she lit the lamp at the 4:34 mark of the third on a power-play goal. That marker snapped a 2-2 tie.
 
The Lakers (17-4-1, 8-2-0) are 6-0-0 against the Lady Lions. Lindenwood began competing in Division I hockey last season and is a new member of College Hockey America.  Mercyhurst swept Lindenwood in a weekend series in early November.  Bestland recorded her first collegiate hat trick November 2 in a 6-1 victory.  Dingeldein then collected her first collegiate hat trick the next day in a 6-0 shutout.
 
Lindenwood (2-21-1, 2-7-1) is fifth place in the conference heading into the weekend.  The Lady Lions two wins have come against CHA-newcomer Penn State and Robert Morris University this season.  Lindenwood has also recorded a tie against RIT back on December 16 to give themselves five points in the standings. Last weekend, Lindenwood fell to Syracuse 2-1, and 8-1. 

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ADDITIONAL NOTES:

THE SERIES

Mercyhurst holds a lifetime record of 6-0-0 against the Lady Lions of Lindenwood University. The two teams met previously this season on November 2-3, 2012. In the Lakers second set of conference games, Mercyhurst traveled to St. Charles, Missouri for the two-games. At the time Mercyhurst was ranked fifth in the nation, while Lindenwood was looking to pick up its first win of the season. The Lakers took two games away from the Lady Lions that weekend. On Friday, the Lakers won 6-1. Junior captain Christine Bestland tallied her first career hat trick,  scoring two power-play goals in the process. Bestland also contributed to each goal scored and had a season-high in points. Senior assistant captain Lauren Jones scored two goals while freshman Jenna Dingeldein notched three assists. Allysson Arcibal was the only Lady Lion who scored on sophomore goaltender Amanda Makela, recording her second goal of the season. On Saturday, the Lakers got strong goaltending from senior Stephanie Ciampa, who tallied her third shutout of the season in a 6-0 win. Dingeldein recorded the first hat trick of her career, while sophomore Vaila Higson recorded two goals and an assist.

ABOUT MERCYHURST

Last weekend, Mercyhurst split with then second-ranked Boston College. The Lakers fell to the Eagles 5-1 on Friday evening, but turned things around Saturday in a 3-2 victory. On Saturday, the Lakers scored first when freshman Emily Janiga scored at the 9:50 mark. That goal improved Mercyhurst's record to 10-0-0 when leading after the first period and to 15-0-0 when scoring the first goal of the game this season. Junior captain Christine Bestland scored the contest's second goal just three minutes into the second period. Freshman Jenna Dingeldein eventually collected her first game-winning goal when she lit the lamp at the 4:34 mark of the third on a power-play goal. That marker snapped a 2-2 tie.

Junior Christie Cicero had an assist on each goal scored last weekend. Senior Stephanie Ciampa made a career-high 40 saves Saturday against the Eagles, allowing only two goals to improve to 10-1-0 in the season. Ciampa remained undefeated against ranked teams this season (3-0-0). Mercyhurst finished 2-for-5 on the power-play Saturday and went 3-for-13 in the series. The Lakers power-play is ranked sixth in the country (24.19 %) and is fourth in both team offense (4.09) and defense (1.59).

ABOUT LINDENWOOD

The Lindenwood women's ice hockey team begins the second half of its CHA season this week with a two-game series at Mercyhurst. Lindenwood was swept at home last weekend by Syracuse by a score of 2-1 Friday and 8-1 Saturday. On Friday, Kendra Broad scored the equalizer at 14:42 in the Lady Lions on power-play goal. Lyndsay Kirkham and Chelsea Witwicke assisted on the tying goal, however Syracuse scored the go ahead goal early in the third period. Lindenwood's second-leading scorer Allysson Arcibal scored the only goal for the Lady Lions 37 second into the second period. Alison Wickenheiser tallied the only assist of the contest and increased her team-high in points to 15. Taylor Fairchild started in both games in the weekend series. She made 85 saves between the pipes, including 39 of 41 in Friday's game. Lindenwood has allowed just one power-play goal in the last three games and is 19-for-21 killing penalties over the last four games. Wickenheiser, Arcibal, and Broad all have scored four goals in the last three series. Wickenheiser leads the team with 15 points on seven goals and eight assists. Arcibal has 12 points and leads the team with eight goals, while Alyssa West is closely behind with eleven points. Goaltender Nicole Hensley leads the CHA in saves with 695 this season and averages a .906 save percentage. Lindenwood has an overall record of 2-21-1 and 2-7-1 in the CHA. The Lady Lions only two conference wins were against Penn State and Robert Morris. On the road, the team is 1-8-1, having tied to RIT. As a team, the Lady Lions are averaging 1.6 goals per game, while their defense is averaging 4.8 goals against.