COLUMBUS, Ohio- The #8/8 Mercyhurst women's hockey team won, 3-0, at Ohio State Tuesday evening.
Amanda Makela made 16 saves for her fifth shutout of the season.
Special teams played a key role in the second frame, as seven penalties were called. The Lakers killed off all four of their penalties, including a 40-second 5-on-3 chance for Ohio State. At the 10:36 mark, the Buckeyes were called for bodychecking, giving Mercyhurst a power play opportunity. The Lakers quickly cashed in, taking a 1-0 lead on a
Sarah Robello goal.
J'nai Mahadeo shot from the right point, where
Molly Byrne deflected the puck to the left side of the net. Robello was in position and beat Kassidy Sauve for a goal at the 11:08 mark. The goal was Robello's fourth of the year and earned Byrne her 99
th career point.
Later in the period, the Lakers continued their man-down success, keeping the Buckeyes off the board on another power play.
The third period featured more penalties and plenty of post-whistle activity by both sides. After the Lakers killed off a penalty early in the frame,
Jennifer MacAskill found
Hannah Bale for a goal at the 7:12 mark. MacAskill won a battle for the puck along the left board and knocked the puck toward Bale, who beat the Ohio State goaltender on the blocker side for a 2-0 advantage.
The Laker defense had more work to do, however, as
Caroline Luczak was called for a five-minute major for contact to the head at 13:24, putting Mercyhurst down two skaters. The penalty kill unit was once again up to the task, keeping OSU off the board.
Jenna Dingeldein sealed the decision with an empty-net goal from
Emily Janiga and Bale with 47 seconds to go.
In the first period, each team tallied five shots on goal. The Lakers nearly scored on a power play, but Kassidy Sauve stopped shots by
Kirsten Miller and Robello to keep it scoreless. Makela then came up with a pair of saves in the final few minutes, sending the teams into their locker rooms deadlocked through twenty minutes.
Makela tallied 16 saves for her fifth shutout of the year and 14
th of her career. The Lakers are now 52-54 on the penalty kill this season.
Mercyhurst improved to 10-2-1 on the season, while OSU dropped to 7-4-0 this year.
The Lakers are off this weekend before hosting RIT in a College Hockey America series November 21-22 at the MIC.
