ERIE, Pa. --
Brooke Hartwick scored two goals, helping the Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team to a 2-2 tie against Penn State in Saturday's College Hockey America action at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. With the tie, the Lakers clinched the outright CHA regular-season championship and will be the top-seeded team in the 2016 CHA Tournament.
Hartwick found the net twice in a span of 3:12 during the second period. Her first goal -- a power-play tally -- came just 58 seconds after Amy Peterson gave PSU a 1-0 near the midpoint of the second period.
Emily Janiga and
Sarah Robello had assists on the first Hartwick goal.
Later in the second, Hartwick gave the Lakers their only lead, receiving an assist from
Megan Whiddon.
Laura Bowman notched the game's final goal for Penn State, connecting on the power play early in the third period.
Sarah McDonnell finished with 12 saves for Mercyhurst (17-10-5, 14-3-3) while Hanna Ehresmann made 32 stops for the Nittany Lions (10-18-6, 6-8-6).
The Lakers held a 34-14 shot advantage and went 1-for-6 on the power play. Penn State was 1-for-2 on the power play.
"I am so proud of my staff and players for their efforts in claiming our league regular season championship this year," Mercyhurst coach
Michael Sisti said. "We had more injuries this season than ever before and had a slow start to the season, but found ways to grind out victories and stay resilient through adversity.
"I want to thank all our past and present staff members and players for all their hard work and dedication over the years. Each of them has contributed in key ways that have helped our program maintain an impressive longevity of success. Our league games were extremely competitive this season and our players should be very proud of finishing in first place."
Mercyhurst will play next in the CHA Tournament semifinals, taking place on Friday, Mar. 4, at the Harbor Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
