(RV) MERCYHURST (9-7-2, 6-3-1 AHA) vs STONEHILL (6-7-1, 6-5-1 NEWHA)
Friday, Nov. 27 - 5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET
Nashville, Tenn.  
TV: YouTube
 
(RV) MERCYHURST (9-7-2, 6-3-1 AHA) vs No. 1 WISCONSIN (14-1-1, 10-1-1 WCHA)
Saturday, Nov. 28 - 3 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. ET
Nashville, Tenn.  
TV: YouTube
 
The Mercyhurst women's hockey team will spend Thanksgiving preparing for a pair of games in Nashville, Tennessee at the NCAA Smashville Women's Hockey Showcase. They play the first game on Black Friday against Stonehill. They then face off against the defending national champions, No. 1 Wisconsin, on Saturday, Nov. 28. 
 
Previous Results
The Lakers are 9-7-2 overall and 6-3-1 in AHA play. They hosted No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth in their first series and dropped two close matchups. Game one ended 4-3 in overtime and game two ended 5-3. The second series was on the road at New Hampshire where they swept the Wildcats. Game one ended 3-2 and game two finished in a 4-0 shutout. The Lakers then hosted No. 10 St. Lawrence in a series split. They picked up their second shutout of the season in game one, 1-0, and dropped game two 3-0. Mercyhurst then played No. 6 Penn State on the road. The Nittany Lions proved to the toughest opponent yet as they took the series 3-0 and 6-1. The Lakers then hosted No. 8/9 UConn. The two sides played to a 1-1 draw in game one. The second game featured seven goals, with the Huskies prevailing 4-3. Mercyhurst then swept Delaware. The Lakers won the first game 3-2 in OT and blanked the Blue Hens 4-0 in game two. They then swept RMU 5-1 and 7-2, earning a pair of AHA Player of the Week nominations in the process. The Lakers then split their series with RIT at home as both games ended 1-0. Most recently, Mercyhurst tied 2-2 with Syracuse in game one and won 3-2 in game two. That 3-2 victory was Michael Sisti's 599th win. 
 
Matchup History
This is the first matchup between Mercyhurst and Stonehill. Stonehill is in their fourth year as a hockey program. Mercyhurst competes against Stonehill in other sports in the NEC, but their hockey teams compete in different conferences. The Skyhawks compete in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) and the Lakers in Atlantic Hockey America (AHA).
 
The Badgers and Lakers have faced off 13 times. The first series occurred in the 2000-01 season, where the Badgers won 5-3 and 2-0. The biggest matchup between the two occurred in the 2008-09 season. The Lakers had one of their best seasons. They went undefeated in conference play and were undefeated at home. They beat Niagara 8-2 in the CHA semifinals and Wayne State 6-1 in the CHA finals. In the NCAA Tournament, they beat St. Lawrence 3-1 and made it to the Frozen Four. The Lakers beat No. 2 Minnesota 5-4 to advance to the national championship against No. 1 Wisconsin. The score was 0-0 after the first period. Despite outshooting the Badgers 37-32, the Lakers fell 5-0. The most recent matchup between these teams occurred in the 2018-19 season, where the Badgers won 6-1 and 5-3. 
 
This is the fifth year of the Smashville Showcase and the Laker's second. The only other time the Lakers competed in the tournament was in the 2021-22 season, where they fell to No. 3 Minnesota 4-0 and beat Boston College 4-2. 
 
Lakers to Look Out for
Julia Perjus leads the Laker's goals and points column with eight goals and five assists for thirteen points. Perjus has two multi-goal games this season, a .532 faceoff win percentage, and is tied for the fourth-highest net rating at +7. The Stockholm native scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win against No. 10 St. Lawrence in the Laker's second home series. She also netted two goals against Delaware and one against RMU.
 
Julia Schalin is another forward who has been on an impressive run of form. Schalin had a league-high five points against RMU, scoring 2 goals and registering three assists. The reigning AHA Rookie of the Year earned her first AHA Forward of the Year award after that performance. The Espoo, Finland native also scored two goals in a 2-2 matchup against Syracuse last weekend. 
 
Nayeon Kim is currently the joint-highest assist leader with nine. The freshman from South Korea is tied with Perjus in points (13) and scored her first career goal against Delaware. Kim is also second on the team with a +9 net rating. She had a three-point weekend against RMU, where she scored two goals and recorded an assist. Kim assisted the lone goal in the team's 1-0 win against RIT and scored the game-winning goal in the Laker's recent 3-2 victory at Syracuse. 
 
Defensively, Abby Poitras and captain Makayla Javier have been all over the ice. Poitras recorded four assists against RMU a few weeks ago and has seven assists in her last eight games. Her nine assists are tied for the team's most with Kim. Javier scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win against New Hampshire and recorded a career-high three assists in the 4-0 win in game two. Poitras leads the team in blocks with 40, which is the ninth-most in the nation. Javier's 35 blocks are second on the team and twelfth in the nation. 
 
Maja Alenius and Holly VanNetten are two freshman defenders who have contributed to the Laker's success as of late. VanNetten was named the AHA Defender of the Week a few weeks ago after assisting the game-winning goal in overtime against Delaware and recording a multi-point game in the 4-0 win in game two. The Simcoe, Ontario native has 2 goals and 3 assists for five points this season. Alenius has one goal and is tied for second on the team with seven assists. 
 
Magdalena Luggin started between the pipes against No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth and recorded a career-high 47 saves in the first game and another 28 saves in the second game. Luggin was the winning netminder in game one of the New Hampshire series. The Austrian native then posted 25 saves and a shutout victory against No. 10 St. Lawrence, which led to her being named the AHA Goaltender of the Week. 
 
Luggin made 37 saves in a 1-1 draw against No. 8/9 UConn and 30 saves in the 4-3 loss. She recorded a league-high 59 saves against RMU. This helped her earn her second AHA Goaltender of the Week award. Two weeks ago, she made 24 saves and recorded her second shutout of the season in the Laker's 1-0 win against RIT. 
 
Scouting Stonehill 

• The Skyhawks opened their season at home against Syracuse. The Orange swept them 3-2 and 8-2. 
• They opened conference play on the road at Saint Anslem where they fell 3-1. 
• Their first win of the season came in a series sweep of Sacred Heart at home. Here, they won 3-2 in OT and 2-0 in the series finale. 
• They played Saint Anslem again the following weekend and won 4-3 in OT. 
• On Halloween weekend, they played LIU on the road and tied 1-1, won the shootout, and beat them 4-2 in the second game. 
• On Nov. 7, Stonehill beat Assumption 4-1. 
• Their six-game unbeaten run ended in game two of this series as Assumption won 3-0. 
• They then got swept 5-4 in OT and 4-2 to Franklin Pierce. 
• Most recently, the team hosted Post, where they split by losing3-2 and winning 3-0. 
• The Skyhawks currently sit fourth in the NEWHA standings with 19 points. 
• Maddi Achtyl (9G, 2A, 11 PTS), Lily Geist (3G, 7A, 10 PTS), Maddi Whynot (3G, 7A, 10 PTS, 21 BLKS), and Sydney Russel (3G, 7A, 10 PTS, 23 BLKS) currently lead the teams in goals, assists, points, and blocks.

Scouting No. 1 Wisconsin 

• The defending national champions opened the season right where they left off, beating Bemidji State 9-2 and 5-0. 
• The Badgers then swept Maine 5-0 in both games of that series. 
• They then swept No. 4/5 Minnesota Duluth 4-3 and 4-0. 
• They beat Vermont, Union, and Minnesota State twice before losing their first and only game of the season to No. 3 Minnesota 5-1 in the first game of that series. They beat the Golden Gophers 7-2 in game two. 
• The Badgers beat No. 10/12 St. Cloud State 5-1 and tied 4-4 in game two. 
• Most recently, Wisconsin swept St. Thomas 8-0 in game one and 4-3 in OT of game two. 
• The Badgers sit second in the WCHA with 31 points.
• They are behind Ohio State, who has 32 points. 
• Cassie Hall (12G, 10A, 22 PTS), Caroline Harvey (9G, 21A, 30 PTS), and Vivian Jungels (2G, 8A, 10 PTS, 20 BLKS) lead the team in goals, assists, points, and blocks.