MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University women's hockey team will look to right the ship this weekend when it travels to College Hockey America rival, Robert Morris University, for a pair of games at the 84 Lumber Arena on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Faceoffs are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and 3:05 p.m. respectively.

Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against Robert Morris by a 36-7-1 margin. However, the Colonials have picked up all seven of their victories against Mercyhurst over the course of the last 15 meetings. The Lakers did sweep Robert Morris earlier this season at the Mercyhurst Ice Center by the finals of 3-0 and 4-1 on October 31 and November 1.

The Lakers (17-6-3, 8-3-1 CHA) dropped out of both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls this week after suffering a sweep at the hands of St. Lawrence last weekend in Canton, N.Y. It marked the second time in the last three series that Mercyhurst has been swept and it dropped the Lakers to 1-4-1 over their last six games.

Mercyhurst does still, however, hold a two-point lead in the College Hockey America standings over second-place Penn State and it has a five-point lead over Syracuse and Robert Morris, which are tied for third in the standings.

The Colonials (8-14-3, 5-5-2 CHA) are coming off of a critical weekend sweep of Lindenwood last Friday and Saturday to stay alive for a top-two spot in the conference standings.

THE SERIES...

•Mercyhurst holds a 36-7-1 advantage in the all-time series against Robert Morris. All seven of the Colonials' victories have come in the last 15 meetings

•The Lakers are 15-4-1 at Robert Morris - the last series in Moon Township was a split on November 8 and 9, 2013

•The teams met earlier this season at the Mercyhurst Ice Center with the Lakers earning a 3-0 and 4-1 sweep over the Colonials on October 31 and November 1

About MERCYHURST...

•Mercyhurst was swept for the second time in the last three series last weekend after losing a pair at St. Lawrence. The Lakers lost 6-1 last Friday and 4-1 last Saturday to drop to 1-4-1 in their last six games overall

•It marked the worst series loss by the Lakers (10-2) since getting swept against Dartmouth on January 25 and 26, 2002 - 11-1 and 5-2

•The Lakers hold a two-point lead over Penn State atop the CHA standings with eight conference games remaining. Mercyhurst has a five-point lead over both Syracuse and surging Robert Morris for the other first-round bye

•Freshman Sarah Robello scored the Lakers' lone goal on Friday and then added an assist on Saturday. She leads all Laker rookies with seven goals and fourteen assists this season

•Freshman Jennifer MacAskill had an assist on Friday and then scored Mercyhurst's only goal on Saturday - her first goal since November 8 at Syracuse. She has two goals and four assists this season

•Junior goaltender Julia DiTondo relieved senior Amanda Makela on Friday - the first time anyone but Makela has appeared in goal this season. DiTondo allowed three goals and 22 shots in 31:01 of action

•Junior forward Jenna Dingeldein scored the game-winning goal on Saturday, January 17, 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 on Saturday, January 17. She is tops on the team, and tied for first 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 100 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 needs two points to become the 19th Laker player to reach the 100-point milestone. Meanwhile, senior goaltender Amanda Makela needs one victory for 50 in her career

•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 sixth in the country in goals against average (1.37) and eleventh in save percentage (.934)

•Mercyhurst ranks second in the country in killing off penalties, allowing only eight power play goals in 113 chances (92.9%). Only Wisconsin (96.3%) is better

About ROBERT MORRIS...

•Robert Morris enters the weekend series with an 8-14-3 overall record and a 5-5-2 mark in the CHA standings. The Colonials are 4-1 in their last five conference games to climb into a tie for third in the standings

•Last weekend, Robert Morris swept Lindenwood by the finals of 2-1 (in overtime) and 7-1. The seven goals last Saturday marked the most by the team in a regular season game this season

•Sophomore Mackenzie Johnston leads the Colonials in scoring with nine goals and seven assists for 16 points. Robert Morris has only scored 49 goals in 25 games this season - an average of 1.96 goals per game

•Senior forward Rebecca Vint has six goals and four assists in 20 games this season. She enters as the program's all-time leading scorer with 68 goals and 60 assists for 128 career points

•Sophomore goaltender Jessica Dodds has seen the most time in goal. She is 6-11-2 with a 2.89 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. Senior Courtney Vinet is 2-3-1 with a 2.40 goals against average and a .925 save percentage

•Paul Colontino, who played for Mercyhurst, and was an Associate Head Coach with the women's program, is 66-46-13 in his fourth season with the Colonials