Princeton, NJ. - The Mercyhurst Women's Ice Hockey team hits the road this weekend for a road non-conference matchup with Princeton. The Lakers are 5-8-1 this season and are looking for a ranked road series win to set themselves up for nice run the rest of the way.
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History Lesson
The Tigers took both games in a weekend series with the Lakers a season ago, taking game one 6-5, and game two 5-1. In that series Thea Johansson had two goals and two assists, Vanessa Upson scored twice, and Kylee Mahoney scored once.
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Flashback
This past weekend the Lakers were on the road for their CHA road opener at RIT. The Lakers split the series with the Tigers, taking game one 3-1, but dropping game two 3-2 in OT. In the game one win, RIT took an early 1-0 lead, but the Lakers answered right back with a goal from Sofia Nuutinen. The game remained tied at one as they entered the third period. Early in the third, Sara Boucher gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead with her seventh goal of the year. Sydney Pedersen added to the lead late in the third with an empty net goal to make it 3-1. In game two, a powerplay goal by Sydney Pedersen gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead. RIT answered back just four minutes later to make it 1-1. Henlee Mahoney netted her first career goal of a deflection from the point making it 2-1 in favor of the Lakers. RIT tied it early in the second period, and there was no scoring in the third. RIT scored just 42 seconds into OT to come away with a series split. Ena Nystrøm stopped 57 shots total on the weekend.
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Stats Leaders
Sydney Pedersen leads the team in assists with 12, points with 15, and blocked shots with 28. Pedersen leads the CHA in assists and assists per game with 0.86 per game. Pedersen is also second in the CHA in points, and third in blocked shots. Sara Boucher leads the team in goals with seven, tied for second in assists with six, and second in points with 13. Boucher is second in the CHA in goals with seven and is one of three players in the CHA to record a hat trick this year. Thea Johansson is tied for second on the team in goals with six, tied for third in assists with five, and third in points with 11. Ena Nystrøm is 5-8-1 in net with a .917 save percentage, 2.64 goals allowed average, and three shutouts. Vanessa Upson is fourth in the country in face-off wins with 176, and Kylee Mahoney is fifth in the country with 147. The Lakers are tied for seventh in the country in total assists with 62 and tied for tenth in goals with 36.
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Inside the CHA
The Lakers currently sit at 2-2 in the CHA and are tied for third with RIT at four points. The Lakers have outscored their opponents in conference play 16-9. Penn State currently sits atop the CHA with a 4-0 record in conference play and eight points. Robert Morris is second at 3-1 with six points. Lindenwood is fifth with a 1-3 record and two points, and Syracuse is in sixth at 0-4 with zero points. Since conference play began, Sara Boucher is tied for first in goals with four, Sydney Pedersen is second in assists with six and tied for first in points with eight.
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A Look at the Opponent
The Princeton Tigers are ranked #14 in the country with a 4-3-1 record overall, and a 2-3-1 record in the ECAC. They currently sit in seventh in the ECAC with seven points. Sarah Fillier leads the Tigers in goals with five and tied for first in points with eight. Issy Wunder leads the Tigers in assists with six and tied for first in points with eight. Maggie Johnson and Kate Monihan are tied for the team lead in blocked shots with ten. Uma Corniea is 2-3-1 in net with a .943 save percentage, and 1.32 goals allowed average.
Puck-drop for Friday's game is set for 3 PM at the Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, NJ.
