UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Mercyhurst University women's hockey team will play its final games of the 2014 calendar year when it travels to College Hockey America-rival, Penn State University, for a two-game series on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13. Friday's faceoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. while Saturday's puck drop is slated for 2:00 p.m. from the Pegula Ice Arena.
The Lakers are a perfect 9-0-0 lifetime against the Nittany Lions, including a 17-0 exhibition victory on October 9, 1999 - the program's first-ever contest, which was played at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Mercyhurst is 4-0-0 at Penn State, outscoring the Nittany Lions by a 17-4 margin in those four contests.
Mercyhurst (16-2-2, 7-1-0 CHA) heads into the weekend series on an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1), which included a two-game sweep of Lindenwood at the Mercyhurst Ice Center last Friday and Saturday. The Lakers currently hold a three-point lead over second-place Syracuse in the College Hockey America standings.
Junior forward
Emily Janiga paces the Lakers with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points this season. She ranks 11th in the country by averaging 1.35 points per game. Janiga, a native of East Aurora, New York, also ranks ninth in the country in goals per game (0.70), second in power play goals (6), and tied for sixth in game-winning goals (3). Meanwhile, right on Janiga's heels is junior forward
Jenna Dingeldein, who has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points this season. Dingeldein had three goals and an assist in the series against Lindenwood and now needs just one point to become the 18th member of the 100-point club in program history.
Senior forward
Shelby Bram had three assists last weekend and is now just four points away from the milestone.
Goaltending and special teams have been a major strong point for the Lakers this season. Senior netminder
Amanda Makela has started every game and is 16-2-2 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .948 save percentage. She ranks second in goals against average, third in save percentage, and tied for second with seven shutouts - one shy of tying the program record. Meanwhile, the Lakers are 13th in the country in converting on the power play (19.3%) and trails only Wisconsin in penalty killing, allowing just four goals in 84 opponent chances (95.2%).
Penn State (8-7-3, 3-4-1 CHA) is fourth in the conference standings, but just two points behind third-place Lindenwood and four points behind second-place Syracuse. The Nittany Lions are in their third season as a full-fledged Division I member and have already set a program record for victories this season - one more than they had during the 2012-13 season.
Last weekend, Penn State split a road series at Robert Morris, winning game one by a 5-0 final before suffering a 4-2 loss last Saturday.
Sophomores Amy Petersen and Laura Bowman lead the way with 19 points apiece. Petersen has a team-high 10 goals while Bowman leads the squad with 11 assists. Junior Shannon Yoxheimer has chipped in with eight goals and four assists. The trio has combined to score 26 of Penn State's 39 goals and they have 50 of the team's 94 points.
Freshman Hannah Ehresmann (3-3-3, 1.95, .938) and junior Celine Whitlinger (5-4-0, 2.56, .923) have each started nine games in goal this season.
