ERIE, Pa – Fresh off a two-game sweep over RIT, the Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team will conclude their regular season play inside of the Mercyhurst Ice Center this weekend as they play host to Syracuse in a series that will play a big factor in determining seeding for the CHA postseason tournament.

Laker Overview

The Lakers are coming off a two-game sweep over RIT last weekend in a series that saw Mercyhurst blow out the visiting Tigers by a 5-1 scoreline in Friday night's opener. Chantal Ste-Croix led the way for the Lakers by scoring two goals in the game. During the second contest on Saturday, the Lakers needed overtime to escape the Tigers as it was Vanessa Upson who scored the game-winning goal to push the Lakers into a tie with Penn State for the second spot in the CHA standings.

Against the Orange 

This Friday's meeting between the two teams will mark the 59th time that the Mercyhurst and Syracuse women's hockey programs will have matched up against one another. Mercyhurst has dominated the all-time series holding a 44-11-3 series against the Orange, the Lakers have also outscored Syracuse 126-84. Most recently, Syracuse was victorious in the last time these two teams met back in December when the Orange came away with a 3-1 victory at home.

Scouting Syracuse 

The Orange will enter Friday's contest holding on to the top spot of the CHA standings. They have a 10-3-1 mark in conference play as well as a 12-9-6 overall record. In the series between the two teams earlier this season, Mercyhurst and Syracuse split.

Abby Moloughney and Sarah Marchand have led the way for the Orange on offense this season. Moloughney has amassed 13 goals and 14 assists to lead the team with 27 points. Marchand leads the team with 15 assists to go along with nine tallies in her Freshman season.

Notables
 

• With Chantal Ste-Croix being awarded CHA Forward of the Week for her three-goal performance against RIT, the Lakers now have had six different skaters earn the award at some point this season.

 

• Vanessa Upson scored her second overtime game-winning goal of the season this past Saturday, the other time came against RPI in a 2-1 game back on September 24th.

 

• This past Saturday's game marked the 150th career game that Mercyhurst graduate student Alexa Vasko has played as a member of the Mercyhurst women's hockey team. She joins fellow graduate students K.K. Thiessen and Kristy Pidgeon as Mercyhurst skaters who have played in over 150 career games.

 

• Two Mercyhurst women's hockey players average a point or more during their time with Mercyhurst. Sophomore Sara Boucher has 47 points  in 47 career games played while Vanessa Upson has 30 points in her 29 games as a freshman.

 

Up Next 

The Lakers will close out their 2021-22 regular season schedule at Lindenwood next weekend on the road, the Lakers swept Lindenwood during their first series this year.

White Out the MIC

High attendance is expected for Wednesday's games, so fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by clicking here. Fans can also purchase tickets via phone by calling 814-824-2560. Fans are reminded that everyone is required to wear a mask while inside the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

The Mercyhurst SAAC also encourages fans to wear white to support the Lakers during Saturday's contest. The organization will be passing out "whiteout" shirts to the first 300 fans in the MIC lobby as well.