ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University women's hockey team returns to the Mercyhurst Ice Center for the first time since January 16 and 17 when it hosts Penn State University on Friday, February 13 and Saturday, February 14 for an opportunity to clinch the College Hockey America regular season championship for the 13th consecutive season. The weekend will also be full of promotions and giveaways, including the team's first-ever Winter Tail-Great located in the parking lot adjacent to the Ice Center. Faceoffs are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Mercyhurst students will be eligible to win a $100 Visa gift card on Friday afternoon and a $200 Visa gift card on Saturday while all fans are invited to join in the first annual Winter Tail-Great beginning at 11:00 a.m. For $25 per person, or $40 per couple, fans will get all-you-can-eat food from Calamari's, all-you-can-drink beverages from Erie Beer, and a ticket to Saturday's game. All proceeds will be donated to a combination of Linked By Pink, The A.N.N.A. Shelter, and Side Project, Inc.

On Friday, all kids wearing their youth hockey jersey will receive free admission while Saturday afternoon's contest will also serve as Senior Day as the team will honor four seniors - Shelby Bram, Molly Byrne, Caroline Luczak, and Amanda Makela - and give out the annual Bill Smith Hustle, Pride, and Desire Award prior to the opening faceoff.

Mercyhurst will be looking for its 15th straight regular season title with the first two coming in the Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association and will be looking to avenge a two-game sweep at the hands of the Nittany Lions in State College back on December 12 and 13. The Lakers (20-7-3, 11-4-1 CHA) currently hold a three-point lead over Penn State (15-11-4, 9-5-2 CHA) for the top spot in the conference.

The Lakers have won nine of the first eleven meetings between the two schools and, including a 17-0 exhibition victory in the program's first-ever game (October 9, 1999), have outscored the Nittany Lions at the Mercyhurst Ice Center by a 44-1 margin (5-0-0).

THE SERIES...

•Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against Penn State, 9-2-0 (including exhibition win), and has outscored the Nittany Lions, 65-12, in the process

•Penn State, however, earned its first two victories against Mercyhurst earlier this season (December 12 and 13) in State College. The Nittany Lions won by the finals of 2-1 and 5-3

•Mercyhurst's first-ever game in program history was a 17-0 exhibition victory over Penn State at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on October 9, 1999. Seanna Murphy had five goals and two assists while Mercyhurst Athletic Hall-of-Famer, C.J. Ireland, had two goals and four assists in the win

•The Lakers are 4-2-0 in State College, outscoring Penn State, 21-11. The Lakers are 5-0-0 in Erie (including the exhibition victory) with a 44-1 goal differential

About MERCYHURST...

•Mercyhurst earned its first weekend sweep since December 5 and 6 against Lindenwood with a pair of victories at RIT last weekend. Mercyhurst won by the finals of 5-1 and 3-0 and extended its lead to three points over second-place Penn State in the CHA standings. The Lakers are now 4-5-1 in their last ten games after starting the season 16-2-2

•Junior forward Emily Janiga was named the CHA Player of the Week after scoring four goals and an assist against the Tigers. She had two goals in each game - the first time this season she has had multiple goals in back-to-back games. She leads the team with 26 markers this season

•Junior goaltender Julia DiTondo earned CHA Goaltender of the Week honors after posting both wins last weekend. It was the first time in her collegiate career that she started back-to-back contests. She allowed one goal on 37 shots and posted her second career shutout with 20 saves on Saturday. DiTondo's other shutout came against Penn State on December 7, 2013

•Senior forward Shelby Bram scored a first period goal on Friday, February 6 to become the 19th Laker player overall, and fourth this season, to reach the 100-point milestone. She has 27 goals and 73 assists in her four-year career

•Freshman Kirsten Miller registered her first career multiple-point effort last Friday with a pair of assists. Meanwhile, in that same game, freshman Brooke Hartwick scored her second goal of the season - first since opening day against Providence on October 3

•On Saturday, sophomore defenseman Paige Horton scored her second goal of the season - first since the second game of the year on October 4 against Providence

•Dingeldein became the third member to reach the program's 100-point-club this season (18th overall) when she scored a first period goal against Penn State on December 13. In 104 career games, Dingeldein has 108 career points and ranks 16th on the school's all-time scoring list

•Senior goaltender Amanda Makela recorded her 50th career victory Friday's 2-1 overtime win over Robert Morris on January 30. Makela has started 28 games this season and sports an overall record of 50-20-8 in her career. She has seven shutouts this season - one shy of tying the school record of eight held by Desi Clark during the 2001-02 season. Her 16 career shutouts ranks fifth on the school's all-time list

•Mercyhurst ranks second in the country in killing off penalties, allowing only nine power play goals in 129 chances (93.0%). Only Wisconsin (96.8%) has been better

•Junior Emily Janiga scored the overtime winner in the 2-1 victory over Robert Morris on January 30 - her fourth game-winning goal of the season. The goal came during a Laker power play, which gave the junior nine power play goals this season. That figure leads the team and is tied for the national lead

•Janiga now has 120 points in 104 career games and ranks 14th on the school's all-time scoring list. She joined the 100-point club on November 22 against RIT

•Senior defenseman Molly Byrne beat Janiga to the 100-point-club by one day (November 21 against RIT) and ranks 15th on the program's all-time scoring list with 111 points

•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

About PENN STATE...

•Penn State earned a split at Lindenwood last weekend to remain in second place in the CHA standings. However, the Nittany Lions lost ground on the battle for the regular season crown and now trails Mercyhurst three points

•Penn State won 11 games in its first two seasons combined, but has won 15 games this season and is 15-11-4 overall and 9-5-2 in the CHA

•Sophomore Laura Bowman leads the Nittany Lions with 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points while sophomore Amy Peterswn has 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points. Junior Shannon Yoxheimer has ten goals and seven assists

•The trio of Bowman, Petersen, and Yoxheimer have combined to score 37 of the team's 66 goals this season. The three combined to score four of the team's seven goals in the sweep of Mercyhurst in December. Bowman, in fact, had a hat trick in the 5-3 win over the Lakers on December 13

•Junior goaltender Celine Whitlinger has seen a majority of the time in goal. She is 11-6-1 with a 2.11 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. Freshman Hannah Ehresmann is 4-5-3 with a 2.29 goals against average and a .927 save percentage

•Josh Brandwene is in his third season as the head coach of the Nittany Lions. He is 26-66-9.