Erie, Pa --- The Mercyhurst University Women's Hockey team will be back on the ice at the Mercyhurst Ice Center this weekend after being off last week. The Lakers are set to host the Saints of St. Lawrence University for a two-game series. Game one will begin at 6:05 p.m on Friday while puck drop for game number two is scheduled for 2:05 p.m on Saturday.
The Matchup
The Mercyhurst and St. Lawrence women's ice hockey programs have squared off against one another 33 times in their all time series. The Saints hold a 17-13 advantage over the Lakers while the teams have tied three times including the last meeting between the two teams back in 2017 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, that score being 1-1.
Lakers Overview
After getting some much deserved rest last weekend, the Women are sitting with an 8-4-1 record, most recently the team split its CHA opening series vs Penn State.
In the first game of that series, the Lakers jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage courtesy of goals from
Sara Boucher and
Vanessa Upson. The Nittany Lions responded by putting up two goals of their own, however
Marielle Parks scored her fifth goal of her freshman season to give the Lakers a 3-2 lead going into the final period.
In that final period
Sydney Pedersen put in her first career collegiate goal that would push Mercyhurst past Penn State to give the team its 8th win on the campaign.
In the second game of the series, Penn State shut out the Lakers 3-0.
Up Front
The Forward group has been led by both under and upperclassmen throughout the beginning of the season.
Vanessa Upson,
Sara Boucher, and Marielle parks lead the way for the freshman and sophomores, Upson leads the team in goals (8) and points (16) while Boucher has added 11 points after her impressive rookie campaign a season ago. Erie Native
Marielle Parks has added some scoring ability to Coach Mike Sisti's lineup, the freshman has five goals already this season.
In terms of the upperclassman forwards it has been
Liliane Perreault,
Kristy Pidgeon, and
Alexa Vasko leading the way. Perreault leads the team in assists with nine, she has also tacked on two goals. Pidgeon and Vasko are tied with Parks for second on the team in goals with five.
On the Blueline
Sydney Pedersen scored the second goal of the season for the Lakers defensive unit when she scored the game-winning goal over Penn State on Friday. Pederesen joined Forward turned Defenseman
Jersey Phillips as the lone Laker blueliner to find the back of the net.
Alexane Rheaume leads the unit in blocks with 20, she is followed by
Jordan Mortlock (15) and
Sara Boucher (14). Pedersen leads the group in assists, she has totalled six assists in the season followed by
Alexandria Weiss with three.
The Last Line of Defense
Coach Mike Sisti decided to play just one goaltender in a series for the first time this season as Ena Nystrøm started in both of the contests vs Penn State. Nystrøm stopped 71 shots between the two games, she now holds a .934 save percentage on the year while going 5-2 in games that she has started.
Jenna Silvonen has continued to split time in net with Nystrøm, the junior has amassed a 3-2-1 record in six starts while posting a .908 save percentage for the Lakers. Both Silvonen and Nystrøm have spent time with their respective national teams, Silvonen in the Summer for team Finland at the IIHF World Championships. Nystrøm is currently competing with team Norway in Olympic Qualifiers.
Norwegian National Team
Speaking of Nystrøm and the Norwegian National team, they will compete in the IIHF 2022 Women's Final Olympic Qualification this upcoming week in The Czech Republic.
Team Norway will play a series of three round robin style games against The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Their first game played against The Czech Republic on Thursday November 11th at 2:00 p.m Central European Standard Time. They will follow against Hungary on Saturday the 13th, Norway will conclude their qualifying play on Sunday vs Poland.
The first-ranked team of the tournament qualifies for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and will play in Group B of the Olympic women's ice hockey tournament in Beijing.
Upson Honored Nationally
Vanessa was recently honored nationally as the Hockey Commissioners Association Rookie of the Month. The award is voted on, and given to the best rookie for that month in all of Women's Division I College hockey.
Upson has burst onto the scene at Mercyhurst where she led the team in goals scored and points during her first month as a Laker. Upson has already compiled a number of highlight reel type plays at Mercyhurst, one of those highlight goals was shown on Sportscenter's "Top Ten" earlier in the month.The Stoney Creek Ontario native had a career high, five point game on October 8th when the Lakers defeated Franklin Pierce University 9-1. Upson currently ranks 1st amongst Division I Freshman in goals (8) ,and points (16).
Scouting St. Lawrence
The Saints will enter the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Friday holding a 5-4-2 record. St. Lawrence has played CHA members Syracuse, Penn State, and RIT so far this season. They were victorious over all three teams in at least one game. Abby Hustler leads the Saints in points right now, she has two goals and six assists this season.
Up Next
After the series with St. Lawrence, the Lakers will turn their attention back to conference play as they will travel to Rochester New York for their third and fourth CHA games of the season vs RIT.
