ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team hosts College Hockey America (CHA) opponent Lindenwood on Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18 at Mercyhurst Ice Center. The series marks the final home games on the team's schedule this season.
 
The Lakers are also hosting two special events for their final two home games. On Friday, the Lakers will be wearing pink jerseys and work in association with Linked By Pink to raise money for breast cancer awareness. There will be a special puck drop by Linked By Pink's Managing Director Johanna Morgan.
 
On Saturday, the hockey program will honor Mercyhurst seniors Taylor Accursi, Megan Whiddon, Paige Horton, and Jillian Skinner as they play their final home games at Mercyhurst Ice Center. There will be a brief pregame ceremony to recognize the student-athletes which includes the presentation of the annual Bill Smith Award. The Bill Smith Award is given to a senior women's ice hockey player who exhibits exemplary qualities in the classroom and community as well as on the ice.
 
The Matchup
-Mercyhurst leads Lindenwood in the all-time series 18-3-1
-The Lakers and Lions split their two matchups early this season at Lindenwood.
-Mercyhurst won the initial matchup 4-0, before dropping the second game 3-1.
 
Scouting the Lions
-Lindenwood enters with a 5-20-2 overall record (3-12-1 CHA).
-The Lions are ranked sixth in College Hockey America and enter on a seven-game losing skid.
-In their most recent series, they lost two games at home to Penn State by the combined score of 6-1.
-Jolene deBruyn has been a bright spot for the Lions in net with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .912 save-percentage despite a 4-16-2 record.
-Britannia Gillanders is the Lions' leading goal-scorer with five goals.
-Cierra Paisley is Lindenwood's top point-scorer with ten points (two goals, eight assists).
 
Laker Outlook
-Mercyhurst sits at 11-17-2 overall and 7-8-1 in the CHA.
-The Lakers currently rank third in their conference.
-Mercyhurst has won three of its last four, including a series split at Syracuse last weekend.
-Brooke Hartwick continues to find the back of the net and has scored four goals in her past five games. She leads the Lakers in goals (15) and points (27).
-Sarah McDonnell has started four of the last five games in net for the Lakers and is 2-1-1 in those games with one shutout.
 
Follow The Action
-Watch both games live here: LIVE-STREAM
-Follow live statistics here: LIVE-STATS
 
Coming Up Next
-The Lakers end their regular season with a trip to R.I.T. next weekend Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25.
-Game time Friday is at 3:00 p.m. with puck drop on Saturday scheduled for 1:00 p.m.