ITHACA, N.Y. – In a battle of two of the perennial powers in Division I women's hockey – teams loaded with plenty of offensive firepower on both rosters – it was a pair of unsung heroes who provided all of the offense as Mercyhurst and Cornell played to a 1-1 overtime tie at Lynah Rink on Monday night.

The Lakers extended their unbeaten streak to six games and moved to 14-2-2 overall while Big Red moved to 3-6-1 on the season.

Cornell got its goal from junior defenseman Morgan Richardson, who picked up her second goal of the season and just her fourth in 78 career games. Mercyhurst countered with a goal from junior forward Hannah Bale, who registered her fourth goal of the year and her sixth goal in 64 career contests.

The schools' non-conference rivalry has heated up over the past few years with Big Red holding an advantage during the regular season while the Lakers have had the upper hand in the playoffs. Including Monday night's result, Cornell moved to 5-1-2 over the last eight regular season meetings against Mercyhurst. But, it has been the Lakers who have knocked Big Red out of the NCAA postseason in each of the last two years – both upsets at Lynah Rink.

Aided by an 11-0-1 record in the first dozen meetings between the two programs, the Lakers hold a 15-6-3 advantage in the all-time series.

Richardson gave Big Red a 1-0 advantage in the opening period, breaking a shutout streak of 138:17 by Mercyhurst senior goaltender Amanda Makela, with Cornell's only tally of the game at the 13:31 mark. Senior Brianne Jenner and freshman Erin O'Connor had the assists.

Jenner, one of the aforementioned stars playing on Monday night, moved to within 14 points of 200 for her career.

The hosts held a 10-8 shot advantage in the opening twenty minutes.

Bale tied the game at 1-1 with her fourth goal of the season, beating Cornell netminder Paula Voorhees at the 10:56 mark of the second period. Sophomore Taylor Accursi and freshman Brooke Hartwick had the assists. Entering Monday night, the trio had combined to score 20 points in 128 collegiate contests.

Mercyhurst outshot Cornell, 14-6, in the middle stanza.

The goaltenders did the rest, albeit against limited chances. Both teams were held to just four shots on goal apiece in the third period with Cornell outshooting the Lakers, 3-2, in the five-minute overtime session.

Makela moved to 14-2-2 on the season, stopping 22-of-23 Cornell shots on goal. Voorhees stopped 27-of-28 Mercyhurst shots to move her record to 3-5-1.

The Lakers went 0-for-3 on the power play while Big Red did not score in their only opportunity. Mercyhurst has now killed off 74-of-77 opponent power play chances this season.

Mercyhurst will return home to square off against conference-foe, Lindenwood University, on Friday, December 5 and Saturday, December 6. Faceoffs are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. respectively.