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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The eighth ranked Mercyhurst University women's hockey team with play in its third NCAA Frozen Four appearance on Friday, March 22.  The Lakers will face third-ranked Boston University for the first time this season. 
 
The game is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. central/ 9:00 p.m. eastern at Ridder Arena.  The winner of the NCAA semifinal will take on the winner of Minnesota/ Boston College in the championship contest on Sunday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. central/ 4:00 p.m. eastern.
 
The Lakers (29-6-1) finished their regular season with the programs 13^th straight regular season conference title, and the team's 10^th College Hockey America Tournament Championship.  Mercyhurst won its first NCAA quarterfinal road contest last Saturday against Cornell University 4-3 win in overtime.  Freshman Jenna Dingledein tallied her second game-winning goal of the season 4:49 into the extra period. 
 
The Lakers return to the Frozen Four for the third time in the last five years. Head Coach Michael Sisti, addressing the media after prctice today, said: “It's been a fight since the beginning of the season, and we've gotten better each week. We fought through our league playoffs, which were really challenging, and we found a way to win the CHA playoff championship. Then, last week we had another gut check, but our players and staff did a great job supporting us, and it was an exciting college hockey game.”
 
Boston University (27-5-3) and Mercyhurst have had a competitive history. The last two seasons, Boston University and Mercyhurst have eliminated each other on home ice in the NCAA quarterfinals. Mercyhurst won 4-1 in Erie in 2010 and the Terriers returned the favor 4-2 in Boston in 2011. The Lakers lead thre all-time series 4-2. 
 
“They're a very good team. I don't think you could get here if you're not a great team. They're very deep; they have good goaltending, a great set of D, and very skilled forwards.” Sisti said, “We respect them very much and have had some great games against them in the past. We have both ended each other's season in the past, so it should be an exciting game.”
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:

THE SERIES
The Mercyhurst University women's hockey teams owns a lifetime 4-2-0 record against Boston University.  At the Mercyhurst Ice Center the Lakers remain unbeaten, 3-0 and are 1-2 at the Walter Brown Arena.  This will be the first meeting between the teams at a neutral site.  Throughout the six game series, the Lakers have outscored the Terriers by a 22-to-16 margin and have outshot them 206-to-145.  Mercyhurst has had a successful power-play, converting 11 of the 32 attempts for 34.4 percent.  Boston University has been 6 for 39 (15.4%) in the six prior games and has converted just two of its last 32 power-plays (6.3%).  Only two current players on the Mercyhurst University team competed in both of the NCAA quarterfinal games against the Terriers.  Seniors Stephanie DeSutter and Lauren Jones are looking for their first points against the Terriers.  Junior's Christine Bestland and Christie Cicero both competed against Boston University in the last meeting, with both also held pointless.  Boston University has six players who have competed in both quarterfinal contests, combining for four points, while four others have competed in the most-recent meeting and combined for five points.  On Fridays, the Lakers are 12-4-1 overall compared to the Terriers' 6-1.  Boston University is on a nine game-winning streak, with their their last loss coming against Harvard 3-0 on February 12.  The Lakers are on an 8 game-winning streak and haven't lost since a 4- setback against Robert Morris on February 8.  The last time these two met, Mercyhurst fell 4-2 in Boston Massachusetts in the NCAA quarterfinals.  Alumna Megan Agosta tallied the only two goals for the Lakers in the defeat.  The Terrier' Kerrin Sperry got the victory between the pipes and will be in goal again in Friday's contest.  Senior Stephanie Ciampa has not faced Boston University in her career, but was undefeated against nationally ranked teams this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mercyhurst University women's hockey program beat Cornell University 4-3, to advance to its third NCAA Frozen Four.  With the win on March 16, the Lakers picked up their only road victory throughout their NCAA quarterfinal run (1-5).  The Lakers own a lifetime 14-5-1 against the Big Red and have improved to 7-2-1 at Lynah Rink.  Mercyhurst was the first to score at the 8:34 mark when senior assistant captain Gina Bouquet slipped the puck between Big Red goalie Lauren Slebodnick's pads.  Mercyhurst is now 26-1-0 this season after scoring the first goal of the contest.  Cornell rebounded with back to back goals in the second, as  the Big Red took a 2-1 lead heading into the third period.  Senior Stephanie DeSutter tallied the equalizer at 7:29 into the third and sophomore Caroline Luczak scored her third goal of the season at 18:47 to give the Lakers the lead.  Cornell pulled their goalie with a minute remaining and got the tying goal.  The overtime lasted slightly less than five minutes, as freshman Jenna Dingledein scored the game-winner during a scramble in front of the Cornell net.  Compared to their last meeting, Mercyhurst outshot Cornell 34-to-32.  Senior Stephanie Ciampa continued her winning streak, stopping 29 shots to improve to 20-1-0 this season.  The Lakers were held to 0-for-5 on the power-play, and allowed one Big Red power-play goal out of five.   
 
MERCYHURST IN NCAA PLAYOFFS
Mercyhurst is 4-8 lifetime in the NCAA Tournament.  The Lakers have made the postseason nine consecutive seasons, reaching the Frozen Four for the third time and finishing as the national runner-up in 2009.  The Lakers' first appearance in the tournament came in 2005 and resulted in an epic 5-4 triple-overtime loss at Harvard.  Mercyhurst goaltender Desi Clark stopped 78 shots in the loss, which was an NCAA record until recently.  The following year, Mercyhurst lost at Wisconsin 2-1 in double overtime.  The Lakers made their first-ever Frozen Four appearance in 2009, knocking off St. Lawrence 3-1 in Erie.  Mercyhurst went on to defeat Minnesota in the semifinals before falling to Wisconsin in the National Championship.  Last season, the Lakers faced Wisconsin for the third time in the NCAA playoffs and Wisconsin prevailed 3-1 in the Quarterfinals.  The Lakers picked up their first ever road victory in the NCAA quarterfinals last week at Cornell.
 
LIFETIME AT RIDDER ARENA
The Mercyhurst Lakers are looking to end their curse at Ridder Arena.  The Lakers are currently 0-4 at Ridder including a loss at the 2010 Frozen Four.