The Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team heads to Buffalo, N.Y., for the College Hockey America Tournament playoffs on March 5-7.
The Lakers earned the number one seed, as the CHA Regular Season Champions and will receive a first-round bye on Thursday. Mercyhurst will play the lowest-remaining seed in the semifinals on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
CHA Standings
1 – Mercyhurst (29)
2 – Robert Morris (28)
3 – Syracuse (24)
4 – Penn State (19)
5 – RIT (12)
6 – Lindenwood (8)
CHA Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals – March 5
(3) Syracuse vs (6) Lindenwood – 3:00 p.m.
(4) Penn State vs (5) RIT - 6:00 p.m.
Semifinals – March 6
(1) Mercyhurst vs lowest remaining seed 12:30 p.m.
(2) Robert Morris vs highest remaining seed 4:00 p.m.
Finals – March 7
4:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Lakers finished the regular season with a split weekend series at Penn State. The Lakers won 3-0 on Friday before falling 2-0 the next night.
Emma Nuutinen and
Alexa Vasko had one goal and one assist each while
Megan Korzack had the other Laker goal.
K.K. Thiessen,
Sarah Nelles and
Maggie Knott had one assist each.
In net,
Kennedy Blair made 20 saves in her fourth shutout of the season on Friday and 16 saves on Saturday.
All-Time Series
Penn State: Mercyhurst leads the all-time series 19-4-9
RIT: Mercyhurst leads the all-time series 29-5-0
Lindenwood: Mercyhurst leads the all-time series 29-7-1
Laker Outlook
Mercyhurst ended the regular season with a 19-10-5, 13-4-3 record.
Nuutinen is on top of the Lakers roster with 29 goals and 39 points.
Summer-Rae Dobson is next with 32 points while
Sam Isbell is leading with 25 assists and has 31 points. Knott has 27 points and Vasko has 26 points.
In net, Blair has a 15-8-3 record with a 2.06 goals against average and .918 save percentage.
Jenna Silvonen has a 4-2-2 record with a 2.13 GAA and .913 save percentage.
Leah Klassen has played in one game making eight saves.
National Polls
Mercyhurst received one vote on the USCHO.com Poll this week.
National Rankings
Nuutinen is ranked 13th in the nation with 0.66 goals per game and ranked with 1.22 points per game. She is tied for fourth with eight power play goals.
Isbell is ranked seventh in the nation with 0.94 points per game as a defenseman and 14th with 0.76 assist per game.
Blair is ranked 11th in the nation and second in the CHA with a .635 winning percentage.
The Lakers are ranked ninth in the nation and second in the CHA with a 3.15 scoring offense. They are ranked 13th in the nation and first in the CHA with a 2.15 scoring defense. They are ranked 10th in the nation and first in the CHA with a 1.00. scoring margin.
Special Teams
Mercyhurst is ranked seventh in the nation and second in the CHA on the power play with 19.6 percent. The Lakers are ranked 10th in the nation and first on the penalty kill with 88.5 percent. Their combined special teams are ranked 10th in the nation and second in the CHA.
Undefeated Lakers
Mercyhurst finished the home schedule undefeated on home ice with a 12-0-4 record. This marks the first time since the 2008-09 season and the second time in program history that this achieve has been accomplished.
CHA Goalie of the Week
Blair was named the CHA Goaltender of the Week for the second straight week.
CHA Banquet Awards
Nuutinen was named the CHA Player of the Year, Vasko was named the CHA Best Defensive Forward and head coach Mike Sisti was named the CHA Coach of the Year. Nuutinen and Robillard were named to the All-Conference First Team while Isbell and Knott were named to the Second-Team.
Stay Connected
Keep up with the team by following their social media:
Twitter: @HurstWHockey
Facebook: facebook.com/hurstwhky
Instagram: @HurstWHockey
