Box Score

ERIE, Pa. - Senior assistant captain Lauren Jones recorded her first career hat trick as the 7th-ranked Mercyhurst women's hockey team rebounded from a disappointing 4-2 setback Friday to trounce conference-rival Robert Morris 9-1 Saturday at the Ice Center. The Lakers' win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Colonials and maintained their hold on first place in College Hockey America (CHA). Mercyhurst improved to 22-6-1 overall and to 13-3 in CHA while Robert Morris fell to 11-12-3 and 7-8-1 respectively.

Jones scored twice in the last 30 seconds of the first period, one in which the Lakers outshot the Colonials 11-2 and outscored them 4-0. Senior defenseman Stephanie DeSutter started the onslaught with her 5th goal of the season at 11:17. It was the first of three points on the afternoon (two assists), a career one-game best. She was assited on the goal by freshmen Jenna Dingledein and Emily Janiga. Janiga scored the eventual game-winning goal, her 18th lamplighter and 4th game-winner of the season, six-and-a-half minutes later. Sophomore defensemen Molly Byrne and Caroline Luczak helped. Jones finished the period and RMU netminder Kristen DiCiocco with a pair of goals, 22 seconds apart, in the period's last seconds. The first came on a Mercyhurst power play while the second marker came from a goal-mouth scramble while Jones was lying on her stomach. DiCiocco left after only one period, allowing four goal on eleven shots. In three prior meetings with Mercyhurst this season, the RMU senior had turned aside 87 of 91 Lakers' shots.

Senior Delayne Brian took over for DiCiocco at the beginning of the second period and quieted the Lakers' offense a bit. Aided by back-to-back Mercyhurst penalties, Robert Morris sliced the deficit to 4-1 when junior forward Thea Imbrogno scored in a 5-on-3 at 10:23 of the middle period.  But senior Gina Buquet deflected a Vaila Higson blast past Brian at 16:28 and junior sniper Christine Bestland followed suit with a power play goal 90 seconds later. It was Buquet's fifth of the season and Bestland's team-leading 22nd. Despite being assessed five minor penalties in the period, Mercyhurst outshot Robert Morris 9-5.

The third period was all Mercyhurst. Bestland scored her second of the game at 5:00, senior Jenna Hendrikx finished a Mercyhurst one-gamne high of four points with her 6th of the year, and Jones completed her hat trick with her 10th goal of the season at 13:59. Robert Morris went to sophomore netminder Courtney Vinet after Hendrikx' goal while Mercyhurst senior goalie, Stephanie Ciampa, was replaced by freshman Julia DiTondo with less than seven minutes left. The Lakers outshot the Colonials 9-5 in the third and 29-12 over sixty minutes.

Ciampa, who absorbed her first career loss in a 2-1 loss to Robert Morris in December, improved to 13-1-0 this season and to 18-1-0 in her career.

The Lakers' power play, held to one goal in 18 prior chances against the Colonials, came to life Saturday. Mercyhurst finished 2 for 4 with the skater advantage Saturday and 3 for 20 during the four-game regular season. Robert Morris finished 1 for 9 on only five total shots. The nine Mercyhurst goals were second only to the ten scored against Lindenwood on January 25 and the most allowed by Robert Morris this season.   

The Lakers, with momentum entering a two-game conference series at second-place Syracuse next weekend, got goals from six different plays and points from a dozen.

Mercyhurst and Syracuse will play next Friday and Saturday at 7 and 2p.m. respectively.