ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's hockey team had goals scored by five different players and
Taylor Accursi notched three assists to put the Lakers past College Hockey America conference foe R.I.T. 5-2 on Friday evening.
Sam Isbell scored twice in her last two games entering the game and she continued her streak with the game's first goal 4:49 in. After
Molly Blasen pinched in from the blue line to keep play in the offensive zone,
Rachael Smith found Isbell wide open in front of the net for a one-timer. Isbell's sixth goal of the season made it 1-0.
The Lakers added to their lead just over a minute later. After an R.I.T. penalty, Mercyhurst went to the power play at 5:12 and at 6:22,
Jillian Skinner put a shot on net that was redirected by
Taylor Accursi and stopped by Tigers' goalie Terra Lanteigne.
Sarah Hine was camped out in front and jammed the rebound back on goal where it bounced around and eventually found the cage for her fourth goal of the season, putting the Lakers ahead by two.
In the second period, R.I.T. cut into the Laker lead thanks to Brinna Dochniak. She carried the puck from the Tigers' blue line all the way into the offensive zone and backhanded a puck towards the net where it ricocheted off a Laker defender past
Jessica Convery. The score read 2-1 at the 3:08 mark in the second period.
Mercyhurst bounced back to retake a two-advantage at 8:54.
Megan Whiddon found Accursi in the offensive zone and she pushed a puck towards the net. After Lanteigne made the initial save,
Callie Paddock crashed the net from her blue line position and cleaned up the loose change. Her second of the season put Mercyhurst ahead 3-1.
In the third period, the Lakers got their fourth goal of the evening from Whiddon. After
Jennifer MacAskill advanced a puck to Accursi in the neutral zone, Accursi found Whiddon skating down the center of the ice. Whiddon went to the backhand one-on-one against the goalie Lanteigne to give Mercyhurst the 4-1 advantage at 4:19. The assist was Accursi's third of the evening.
R.I.T. tried to make its way back into the game and got a goal from Caitlin Wallace at 12:29 to bring the Tigers back within two, but the Lakers closed out the game with 2:24 remaining.
Paige Horton took a slap shot from the blue line that found its way into the net for her first goal of the season. The Lakers went on to claim the 5-2 victory for their fourth conference win of the season.
The Lakers (8-14-1, 4-5-0) host the Tigers tomorrow, Jan. 14 at 1:00 p.m.
