The Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team is back to College Hockey America action when it travels to Robert Morris on Dec. 6-7 for a two game weekend series. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m. on Friday and 5:05 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Last Time Out
Mercyhurst welcomed non-conference opponent Union to the Mercyhurst Ice Center and came away with a 4-3 overtime win on Friday and 2-0 shutout on Saturday, to stay perfect on home ice.
 
On Friday, Summer-Rae Dobson scored the overtime game-winner 36 seconds into overtime while Emily Pinto and Alexa Vasko had the other two Lakers goals. Dobson also tallied two assists and single assists were credited to Alexane Rheaume, Rachel Marmen, Sam Isbell, Emma Nuutinen and Maggie Knott.
 
In net Kennedy Blair made 17 saves for her eighth win of the season.
 
On Saturday, Jenna Silvonen got her first collegiate start in net for the Lakers. She earned her first collegiate win and shutout as she stopped all 15 shots that came her way.
 
Sarah Nelles and Nuutinen scored the two goals while Isbell, Vasko, Pinto and Knott had one assist each.
 
Previous Matchup
Last season the Lakers and Colonials met for two weekend series during the regular season. Both teams came out with two wins and two losses.
 
At the MIC in the beginning of the season, Mercyhurst won 4-2 before falling 5-1 the next day. Later on in the season, Mercyhurst won 5-2 before falling 4-1 the next day at Robert Morris.
 
For Mercyhurst, Mary Katherine Gialames, Michele Robillard, Pinto, Vasko, Dobson, Isbell, Marmen and Nuutinen record points. Blair made 26 saves in the 5-2 win and 27 saves in the 4-1 loss.
 
For Robert Morris, Emilie Harley, Lexi Templeman, Angelica Diffendal, Sarah Lecavalier, Jaycee Gebhard, Natalie Marcuzzi and Emily Curlett had points. Arielle DeSmet made 25 saves in the 4-1 win.
 
All-Time Series
Mercyhurst leads the all-time series 45-14-3 and holds a 165-66 goals scored advantage. Mercyhurst holds a 5-4-1 edge in the last 10 contests.
 
Scouting the Colonials
Robert Morris is coming into the weekend series with a 9-5-2, 4-0-0 CHA record. They are coming off of a 3-2 win and 1-1 tied with St. Lawrence.
 
Gebhard is leading the roster with 21 assists and 31 points. Templeman is next with 21 points and Curlett has 19 points. Michaela Boyle is on top of the roster with 12 goals.
 
In net, Raygan Kirk has a 6-2-1 record with a 2.15 goals against average and .921 save percentage. She is ranked eighth in the nation with a .722 winning percentage. Arielle DeSmet has a 3-3-1 record with a 2.64 GAA and .903 save percentage. Molly Singlewald has played in one goal making two saves.
 
Gebhard is ranked fourth in the nation with 1.31 assists per game and fifth in the nation with 1.94 points per game. 
 
Templeman is tied for ninth in the nation with 1.06 assists per game and is tied for 23rd in the nation with 1.31 points per game.
 
Boyle is ranked 10th in the nation with 0.75 goals per game. She is tied for second in the nation with six power play goals.
 
Curlett is ranked first in the nation with seven power play goals. She is ranked third in the nation with 1.19 points per game as a defenseman.
 
Emily Harley is ranked 19th in the nation with 0.69 points per game as a defenseman.
 
Robert Morris is ranked fourth in the nation on the power play going 26.2 percent and ranked 18th on the penalty kill with 84.1 percent.
 
Laker Outlook
Mercyhurst is coming into the weekend with a 9-4-1, 4-0-0 CHA record.
 
Nuutinen is leading the roster with 10 goals and 20 points. Isbell is leading with 14 assists and has 18 points. Vasko is next with 14 points while Dobson has 13 points and Pinto has 12 points.
 
In net, Blair has an 8-4-1 record with a 1.97 GAA and .923 save percentage. Silvonen has a 1-0-0 record with a 0.56 GAA and a .958 save percentage.
 
CHA Player of the Week
Pinto was named the CHA Player of the Week for her efforts against Union. She recorded two goals and one assist during the weekend sweep.
 
National Polls
Mercyhurst is back to receiving votes on the national polls with five votes on the USCHO.com Poll and one vote on the USA Today Hockey Poll.
 
National Rankings
Nuutinen is ranked 13th in the nation with 1.43 points per game. She is ranked 16th with 0.71 goals per game.
 
Isbell is ranked 10th in the nation with 1.00 assists per game and 26th in the nation with 1.29 points per game.
 
Vasko is ranked 24th in the nation with 0.75 assists per game.
 
Blair is ranked 18th in the nation with a 1.97 GAA and 19th with a .923 save percentage. She is 14th in the nation with a .654 winning percentage.
 
Mercyhurst is ranked seventh in the nation with a scoring offense of 3.57 and ranked 10th with a scoring defense of 1.86.
 
The Lakers are 11th in the nation with a .679 team winning percentage.
 
Euro Hockey Tour
Nuutinen and Silvonen were named to the Finish National Team for the 2019-20 Euro Hockey Tour. They will play with Team Finland on Dec. 12-15 in Germany.
 
Special Teams
The Lakers are ranked third in the nation on the penalty kill with 93.5 percent. They are ranked seventh on the power play with 22.2 percent. Their combined special teams is ranked third in the nation at 59.1 percent.
 
Next Up
Mercyhurst will host. St. Cloud on Dec. 13-14 for its last weekend series of the year. Puck drops. At 6:05 p.m. on Friday and 2:05 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Stay Connected
Keep up with the team by following their social media:
Twitter: @HurstWHockey
Facebook: facebook.com/hurstwhky
Instagram: @HurstWHockey

Sarah Nelles and Coach Sisti preview our upcoming weekend series at Robert Morris! ???? pic.twitter.com/MzqlGeRKy1

— Mercyhurst W. Hockey (@HurstWHockey) December 5, 2019