Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst Women's Ice Hockey team returns home this weekend for a matchup with Lindenwood. After suffering two losses at Penn State this past weekend, the Lakers will look to get back in the win column and keep their bid for a home playoff series alive.
History Lesson
The Lakers lead the all-time series over the Lions 41-8-1. In 25 home meetings, the Lakers are 24-0-1 all-time. In the last six games, the Lakers are 6-0 against the Lions, including a series sweep earlier in the season.
Flashback
This past weekend the Lakers traveled to Penn State for a two-game series with a lot on the line within the CHA. The Lakers went 0-2 suffering a 4-0 loss on Friday, and a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in overtime on Saturday. In Friday's loss, Ena Nystrøm stopped 35 shots. In Saturday's loss, Vanessa Upson gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead. Just 11 seconds later, Thea Johansson extended the lead to 2-0. It was the second-fastest pair of goals scored by a CHA team this season. After trailing going into the third period, the Nittany Lions scored early to cut the lead in half. With just over a minute left in the game, the Nittany Lions scored to tie the game and send it to overtime. In overtime, the Nittany Lions scored just 19 seconds in and got the win 3-2. Nystrøm stopped 28 more shots on Saturday.
Stats Leaders
Sara Boucher has 15 goals, 18 assists for 33 points this season. Those are all good for first on the Lakers. Boucher is second in goals and assists, and third in points in the CHA this season.
Vanessa Upson has 11 goals, 15 assists for 26 points this season. Those 11 goals and 26 points are good for second on the team. Upson is third on the team in assists, behind Sofia Nuutinen and Sydney Pedersen. Upson in second in the CHA in total face-offs won this season, only trailing Tessa Janecke of Penn State.
Sydney Pedersen leads the CHA in blocked shots with 57 and leads the CHA in assists among defensemen with 16.
Thea Johansson scored this past weekend, bringing her season total to 14. This puts her in a tie for fourth in the CHA. Those 14 goals are second on the Lakers, just behind Sara Boucher.
Sofia Nuutinen has 16 assists on the season, which puts her in a tie for third in the nation among freshmen. Nuutinen is also tied for fourth nationally in freshman scoring with 25 points.
Ena Nystrøm is 14-14-1 in net with a .924 save percentage, 2.34 GAA, 828 saves, and five shutouts.
A Look at the Opponent
The Lions are 11-15-2 on the season with a 6-8-2 record in the CHA. Morgan Neitzke leads the Lions in goals with 23 and points with 39. Neitzke is first in the CHA in goals and goals per game at .82. Neitzke is also second in points, just trailing Tessa Janecke of Penn State. Sarah Davies leads the Lions in assists with 17. Natalie Ferenc leads the Lions in wins with eight and saves with 628. Ava Mcillmurray leads the Lions in save percentage at .883 and goals allowed average with 3.49.
Inside the CHA
Penn State and Mercyhurst are the first two teams to clinch a postseason berth in the CHA tournament. Both teams currently hold the top two spots with the Nittany Lions in first with 26 points and the Lakers in second with 20 points. Robert Morris holds the three spot with 16 points, and Lindenwood holds the four spot with 14 points. No team in the CHA has been mathematically eliminated from the tournament yet. The top two teams in the CHA standings will host home playoff series, so if the season ended today, Penn State would host Lindenwood, and the Lakers would host Robert Morris.
