ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team has added three transfers from the University of North Dakota -- forwards
Emma Nuutinen and
Vilma Tanskanen and goaltender
Kennedy Blair -- after the Fighting Hawks' program was dropped by their school after the 2016-17 season.
Nuutinen and Tanskanen, both of Vantaa, Finland, are members of the Finnish National Team. Both women played in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and have appeared in three Four Nations Cups and two International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships each. Tanskanen also has one Nations Cup appearance. Tanskanen is a junior in 2017-18 while Nuutinen is a sophomore.
Nuutinen played in 34 contests during her freshman year with UND. She totaled 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points. She ranked second on the team in goals and third in points. She had one power-play goal and three game-winning goals. Two of her game-winners occurred in overtime: once in a 4-3 triumph against Minnesota State (Oct. 15) and again in a 2-1 victory over Ohio State as she ended game three in a best-of-3 first-round series in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament.
Nuutinen also has an Olympic goal to her credit, having connected in a 4-2 quarterfinal loss to Sweden in 2014.
Tanskanen made 70 appearances in her two seasons as a Fighting Hawk. She has seven goals and six assists for a total of 13 points. Tanskanen also has credit for 25 blocked shots.
Blair sat out her true-freshman year and has four years of NCAA eligibility remaining. A native of Bismarck, N.D., she played at the Tier 1 level for the Minnesota Revolution and at the high school level for Bismarck High School. While playing for the Bismarck Blizzard, she was a two-time all-state honoree and two-time all-state tournament performer. She was named the state tournament's most valuable player in 2013 when helping BHS to the North Dakota State Championship.
In 2016, Blair was invited to the United States Women's National Team Goaltending Camp.
North Dakota finished with a 16-16-6 record last season, finishing its season with a 2-1 loss in the WCHA Tournament semifinals to eventual NCAA runner-up Wisconsin. The Fighting Hawks visited Mercyhurst on Sept. 30 and Oct 1, taking a 3-1 victory and 1-1 tie against the Lakers.
"As I enter my 25th year at Mercyhurst," Mercyhurst head coach
Michael Sisti said. "This may be the most excited I've been for a season to begin. We have a great staff assembled, a wonderful group of returning student-athletes and a stellar class of freshmen. ... And now we add three outstanding transfers to complete our 2017-18 team. The added bonus is we may have anywhere from one-to-four past and present players competing in this year's Olympics, so things set up for an intriguing year."
