ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's hockey team looks to improve after a slow start to the College Hockey America season when it hosts the Syracuse Orange Friday, Nov. 11 at 3:00 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2:00 p.m. at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
 
Last Time Out

• Mercyhurst split its two-game home series against Penn State last weekend, winning in comeback-fashion 6-4 on Nov. 4.
• On Nov. 5, the Lakers rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to send the game to overtime, but the Nittany Lions scored in OT to win 3-2.

History Against Syracuse

• Mercyhurst leads the overall series against Syracuse 32-3-3
• Mercyhurst is 15-1-2 against the Orange at Mercyhurst Ice Center
• In their most recent matchup, Mercyhurst defeated Syracuse 4-3 in overtime to clinch the 2015-16 CHA Tournament title. 

Scouting the Orange

• Syracuse is tied for seventh in the country in team defense, allowing just 1.70 goals per game.
• The Orange are lead by Alysha Burriss (3 goals, 3 assists), Stephanie Grossi (2 goals, 4 assists) and Jessica Sibley (1 goal, 5 assists) with six points this season.
• Syracuse was chosen as the preseason favorite in College Hockey America's preseason coaches' polls, ranked just ahead of Mercyhurst.
• Goaltender Abbey Miller has started nine of Syracuse's ten games, posting a 1.52 goals-against average and a .935 save-percentage to go along with a 2-4-3 record.
• Syracuse went 0-1-1 against CHA-leading Robert Morris in their last two matchups, tying the Colonials 2-2 on Nov. 4 and losing 2-1 on Nov. 5. 

Lakers' Outlook

• Taylor Accursi has had the hot hand for Mercyhurst, scoring three goals in two games last weekend against Penn State, including the game-winning goal in Nov. 4^th's 6-4 comeback victory.
• Accursi (5 goals, 2 assists), Brooke Hartwick (4 goals, 3 assists) and Jillian Skinner (7 assists) lead Mercyhurst with seven points this season.
• Accursi ranks sixth nationally with three power play goals.
• The Lakers rank 19^th in the country defensively, allowing just 2.30 goals per game.
• Sarah McDonnell got the bulk of the playing time in net last weekend, posting a 1-1-0 record while stopping 40 of 45 shots.

Following the Action

• Watch the game live here: LIVE STREAM
• Following live statistics here: LIVE STATS

Up Next

• The Lakers travel to Colgate for a rare weekday series against Colgate on Tuesday Nov. 22 and Wednesday Nov 23.
• Tuesday game time is 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday puck drop is 3:00 p.m.