ERIE, Pa. – For the second straight afternoon, Mercyhurst could not quite "catch a tiger by the toe."

The visiting Princeton Tigers scored solo goals in each of the first two periods and held on to defeat the Mercyhurst University women's hockey team, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Ice Center to sweep the weekend series. Princeton improved to 2-0 in the young season while the Lakers fell to 0-5-1.

Princeton, a 3-2 winner Friday afternoon, scored on its first shot on goal of the afternoon when freshman Karlie Lund parked one behind Lakers' freshman netminder Sarah McDonnell at 4:27 of the opening period. There was no further scoring in the first twenty minutes, during which Mercyhurst enjoyed an 8-5 advantage in shots.

The second period started with more frustration for the home team when Lakers' senior forward Jenna Dingeldein rang a shot off the goal post and Princeton junior Morgan Sly followed, moments later, with her second goal in as many days at 2:43. Cristin Shanahan and Lund had the assists.

But, Mercyhurst got back in the game at 12:27 when freshman Molly Blasen registered her first collegiate goal with help from sophomore Sarah Robello and junior Paige Horton. The Lakers had a power play opportunity shortly after Blasen's lamplighter, but failed to convert. The Tigers then threatened after the penalty kill, but senior Cristin Shanahan's shot hit the pipe.

Mercyhurst, which had five power play chances in the second period, outshot Princeton, 11-2, but still trailed by one after forty minutes.

Neither team was able to score in an evenly-played third. Both teams had nine shots. Mercyhurst, outscored 8-1 in the third in its previous five games, pulled McDonnell (0-1-1) for an extra attacker in the game's final 90 seconds, but couldn't get the equalizer.

Mercyhurst outshot Princeton 28-16, but failed on seven power play chances is now just 2-of-27 in its first six contests.  Princeton finished 0-for-5 with the skater advantage. The two teams were a combined 0 for 19 with the extra skater in the two games.

McDonnell made 14 saves in defeat while senior Kimberly Newell (2-0) stopped 27 of 28 for the Tigers.

The 0-5-1 start by the Lakers represents the program's worst since the 2000-01 season - Mercyhurst's second season of women's varsity hockey. That season, the Lakers finished with their only losing record in program history - 14-16-3 - and started 0-6-2 before picking up their first win of the year.

Mercyhurst will have another opportunity to take down a tiger next weekend as it will open College Hockey America (CHA) play when the Tigers of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the defending conference champion, visits for a pair of games Friday and Saturday. Friday's game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. while Saturday's begins at 1:00 p.m.