ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team got two goals from senior Brooke Hartwick but came up short in its comeback efforts in a 3-2 loss to #9 Robert Morris Saturday afternoon at Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Both of Hartwick's goals came in the third period, with Alexa Vasko, Jennifer MacAskill, Maggie Knott, and Rachel Marmen all earning assists.

Mercyhurst (14-14-4) drops to 11-4-3 in College Hockey America play and sit two points behind RMU (18-7-4) for first place in the standings. RMU moves to 12-3-3 in the CHA.

After a scoreless first period, Robert Morris finally scored against Kennedy Blair for the first time over the weekend. Jaycee Gebhard scored twice in the second period at 5:47 and 11:24 to open a two-goal advantage for the Colonials.

Mercyhurst struck back with Hartwick's first score at 2:13 in the third after a slick pass in front by Alexa Vasko on the backhand to cut the deficit to one.

After a Laker penalty at 3:08, Robert Morris extended its lead back to two on a power-play marker Brittany Howard's at 3:51.

Hartwick scored her second from a sharp angle at 11:31 to make it 3-2 RMU. The Lakers' pulled Blair from the net for the extra skater but came up empty as time expired.

Blair finished the game with 22 saves and now has a 7-7-1 record. 

The Lakers conclude their regular season next weekend, Feb. 23-24, at RIT with a chance to clinch a first-round bye in the CHA tournament. Friday's game begins at 2:05 with Saturday's puck drop set for 1:05 p.m.