Place: Tennity Ice Pavilion
Dates: January 26-27
Times: Friday @ 7:00 p.m. | Saturday @ 3:00 p.m.
Watch: SYRACUSE LIVE STREAM
Statistics: LIVE STATS
Twitter: MERCYHURST ATHLETICS | MERCYHURST WOMEN'S HOCKEY
 
SETTING THE SCENE
This series against Syracuse marks the 27th and 28th games of the season for Mercyhurst. It is the first road series for the Lakers since their Jan. 2-3 trip to Bemidji St. and the final regular-season meeting against the Orange.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Mercyhurst and Syracuse last met Dec. 8-9 of 2017 at Mercyhurst Ice Center. The Lakers swept the Orange with a 4-1 win and a 2-1 overtime win. Emma Nuutinen scored three times over both games, including the OT game-winner on Dec. 9. Vilma Tanskanen tallied five points (1G, 4A) in the series while Kennedy Blair earned both wins in goal.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Mercyhurst holds a 36-5-3 advantage in the all-time series against the Orange. Mercyhurst has outscored Syracuse 87-46 over that span. Mercyhurst has never been swept by Syracuse in a two-game series dating back to their first series on Nov. 14, 2008.
 
HITTING THEIR STRIDE
Mercyhurst has won five-straight games for the first time since the final five games of the 2016-17 season. During the win streak, Mercyhurst has outscored opponents 21-4 and have only trailed for 24:06 during that stretch. The Lakers have had 11 different goal scorers over the past five games.
 
GOOD TIMES IN THE CHA
Mercyhurst has outscored College Hockey America opponents 39-13 in its 12 conferences games this season. Maggie Knott and Vilma Tanskanen are tied for second in conference-game scoring with 14 points (Brittany Howard RMU, 20 points).
 
SPECIAL-TEAMS SPECIALISTS
When scoring a power-play goal this season, Mercyhurst is 9-1. The Lakers have converted on six of their last 16 power plays (37.5%). Freshman Summer-Rae Dobson leads the team with five power play goals and Maggie Knott is tied for second in conference play with eight power-play points. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst's penalty-kill unit remains the best in the CHA, thwarting 107-of-122 (87.7%) opponents power plays this season.

SCOUTING THE ORANGE
Syracuse ranks third in the conference standings and features one of the stingiest defensive teams in the country. The Orange rank third in the CHA in scoring offense (2.58 G/GM) and scoring defense (1.92). The Orange have the top penalty-killing unit in conference games with season at 55-of-59 (93.2%).
 
Syracuse's leading scorer is senior forward Brooke Avery with 9 goals and seven assists. Her three game-winning scores are tops among the Orange and tied for second in the conference.
 
Sophomore defenseman Lindsay Eastwood ranks fourth among conference defenseman in scored with 15 points (2G, 13A) and tied for 7th in conference play with six power-play points.
 
Senior forwards Stephanie Grossi and Alysha Burris have combined to score 79 goals and 189 points in 256 combined games.
 
Senior goaltender Abbey Miller has started 21 games and has a 7-12-2 record with a 2.24 GAA and .913 save percentage.