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ERIE, Pa. – The tenth-ranked Mercyhurst University women's hockey team looks to extend their 25-game unbeaten streak against Syracuse University in a weekend conference series. The Lakers travel to Syracuse, New York on Friday, January 31 for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff against the Orange. The series will conclude on Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 p.m.

Mercyhurst owns a 24-0-2 lifetime against the Orange including a 1-0-1 series earlier this season at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Sophomore J'nai Mahadeo tallied her first goal of the season to force overtime in the 3-3 tie in game one. The Lakers then completed a 5-3 win with the effort of senior Christie Cicero who scored two goals and an assist.

Goaltender Amanda Makela also looks to continue an unbeaten streak as she is 3-0-1 in her career against the Orange. This season Makela is 13-5-3 in the 22 starts this season with a 2.08 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. Makela has also collected a season-high five shutouts in the effort between the pipes.

The Lakers moved their way back into the national poll after facing back to back nationally ranked opponents throughout the month of January. Mercyhurst did not waste anytime easing back into the regular season after the three-week holiday break as they hosted then No. 3 Cornell University. The Lakers came out with a tie in the home series and fell 6-4 after an empty net goal on Saturday.

Last weekend, Mercyhurst hosted No.8 Robert Morris and went 1-1-0 on the weekend with a 5-3 victory on Saturday after not allowing a single shot from the Colonials in the opening period (17-0). All told, Mercyhurst is now 2-2-2 against nationally ranked opponents this season and have a scoring margin tied at 17 all throughout the six games.

Senior Christine Bestland became the third player in program history to capture 125 assists as she tallied two against Robert Morris on Saturday, January 25 to reach the milestone. This season Bestland leads the team with 38 points on 14 goals and 24 assists after marking a three point weekend. Sophomore Emily Janiga trails Bestland with 30 points and holds a four game scoring streak, all against nationally ranked opponents, heading into the weekend.

Syracuse is looking to capture their first win in program history against the Lakers and it would be an important win as the Orange are just three points behind Mercyhurst in the conference standings. Syracuse swept Penn State last weekend to improve to 14-9-2 on the season and 6-4-2 in the CHA. The team is outscoring their opponents 33 to 28 in conference play and currently leads the CHA in power-play percentage with a 18.7 conversion.

Melissa Piacentini and Margot Scarfe each recorded four points against the Nittany Lions in the sweep with Piacentini scoring three goals and an assist while Scarfe tallied three assists and a goal. Goaltender Jenessica Drinkwater is on a four game winning streak heading into the weekend with a combined two shutouts in the streak. She currently holds a 1.99 goals against average and a .915 save percentage on the season.