CANTON, N.Y. - The #9/10 Mercyhurst University women's hockey team will play its final non-conference series of the season on Friday and Saturday when it travels to St. Lawrence University for a pair of contests. Faceoffs are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon from Appleton Arena.

Note: Game times were changed earlier this week ... games were originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively

St. Lawrence holds a slim 13-12-2 margin over Mercyhurst in the all-time series. However, the Lakers have won ten of the last eleven meetings between the two schools.

The Lakers (17-4-3, 8-3-1 CHA) are coming off of a weekend where they took three of four points against Syracuse at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. After playing to a 1-1 overtime tie last Friday afternoon, Mercyhurst responded with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory on Saturday to maintain its lead in the CHA standings. With eight regular season contests remaining, the Lakers have a two-point lead on second-place Penn State and a five-point advantage over third-place Syracuse.

All three of Mercyhurst's goals on Saturday came during the third period. It was the team's first victory this season when trailing after forty minutes.

The Saints (12-8-3, 8-3-2 ECAC) won a pair of games last weekend, defeating Rensselaer last Friday, and then knocking off Union last Saturday. St. Lawrence is the only team in the country this season to put a blemish on top-ranked Boston College's record - the teams played to a 2-2 overtime tie on October 11.
      
THE SERIES...

•St. Lawrence holds a one-game lead in the all-time series against Mercyhurst - 13-12-2

•The Saints were 7-0-1 against the Lakers in the first eight meetings between the two schools but Mercyhurst has returned the favor by winning 10 of the last 11 meetings

•The teams have not met in Canton, NY, since December 11, 2010 when the Lakers defeated the Saints by a 7-3 final

•Mercyhurst is 4-6-2 lifetime against St. Lawrence at Appleton Arena

About MERCYHURST...

•Mercyhurst took three of four points against Syracuse last weekend in the team's first games after a 34-day layoff. Mercyhurst and Syracuse played to a 1-1 overtime tie on Friday afternoon before Mercyhurst came from behind to win 3-2 on Saturday afternoon

•The Lakers hold a two-point lead over Penn State atop the CHA standings with eight conference games remaining. Mercyhurst extended its lead to five points over third-place Syracuse for a first-round bye in the conference tournament

•Mercyhurst trailed 2-0 heading to the third period on Saturday before scoring three times to knock off the Orange. It was the Lakers' first win of the season when behind after two periods (1-2-0)

•Thanks to 18 minor penalties assessed to Mercyhurst over the weekend, Syracuse outshot the Lakers in both games over the weekend - the first times all season that Mercyhurst had been outshot. Mercyhurst also became the most penalized team in the country, averaging 11.0 penalty minutes per game

•Junior forward Jenna Dingeldein scored the game-winning goal on Saturday with 7:19 left in regulation. It was her fifth game-winning goal this season which leads the team and ties her for second nationally. She became the 18th member of the 100-point club with a goal in the first period of a Mercyhurst loss at Penn State on December 13

•Junior Emily Janiga scored two goals, both on the power play, in the Lakers' 3-2 win over Syracuse last Saturday. She is tops on the team, and in the country, with eight power play goals this season. She leads the Lakers with 19 goals and 13 assists this season and now has 114 points in 98 career games. She joined the 100-point club on November 22 against RIT and ranks 14th on the school's all-time scoring list

•Senior defenseman Molly Byrne had two assists in the Syracuse series to give her 108 career points. She beat Janiga to the milestone by one day (November 21 against RIT) and ranks 15th on the program's all-time scoring list

•Senior forward Shelby Bram had two assists in last Saturday's 3-2 victory over Syracuse. She now needs two points to become the 19th Laker player to reach the 100-point milestone

•Junior forward Hannah Bale is fifth on the team in scoring this season with six goals and eight assists for 14 points. During her first two seasons (46 games), Bale had two goals and one assist

•Junior defenseman Lauren Kilroy scored Mercyhurst's only goal on Friday - her first goal of the season and just her second in 98 career games. She has a career-high eight points and leads the team with 77 blocked shots

•The victory on Tuesday, November 25 against Colgate was win #400 in the history of the women's hockey program and was win #400 for head coach Michael Sisti. Sisti became the second coach in Division I history to reach 400 career wins while the program became the third-fastest to reach the plateau (545 games). Only Minnesota (502) and New Hamsphire (506) reached 400 faster

•Senior Amanda Makela posted back-to-back shutouts against Colgate on November 25 and 26 to give her seven shutouts on the season. She is one shy of tying the school record of eight held by Desi Clark during the 2001-02 season. She ranks fourth in the country in goals against average (1.20) and seventh in save percentage (.940)

•Mercyhurst ranks second in the country in killing off penalties, allowing only eight power play goals in 107 chances (92.5%). Only Wisconsin (95.9%) is better

About ST. LAWRENCE...

•St. Lawrence enters on a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) and is 12-8-3 overall and 8-3-2 in the ECAC. The Saints defeated Rensselaer last Friday and Union last Saturday

•The Saints are the only team in the country this season to put a blemish on top-ranked Boston College's (22-0-1) record. The teams played to a 2-2 overtime tie on October 11, one night after Boston College edged the Saints by a goal, 2-1

•St. Lawrence is 2-0-0 against teams from the CHA this season, having swept Robert Morris at home on October 17 (8-2) and October 18 (3-1)

•Sophomore Brooke Webster leads St. Lawrence in scoring with thirteen goals and nine assists for 22 points. Freshman Kennedy Marchment is right behind with 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points

•Senior Carmen McDonald is 7-5-2 with a 2.36 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. Freshman Brooke Wolejko has also seen significant minutes and is 5-2-1 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .900 save percentage

•Despite being four games over .500, the Saints have only outscored their opponents, 68-66, in 23 games. They average 2.96 goals per game and allow 2.87. Special teams has been a struggle - their power play is 29th at 9.6% and their penalty kill is 25th at 81.0%

•Former Laker Mare McDougall-Bare is in her eighth season as an assistant coach