(RV) MERCYHURST (10-8-2, 6-3-1 AHA) vs LINDENWOOD (5-13-2, 3-6-1 AHA)
Friday, Dec. 5 - 5 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 6 - 12 p.m.
Erie, Pa.  
TV: Flo Hockey 
 
The Mercyhurst women's hockey team will play their final series of the Fall semester this weekend at home against Lindenwood. Game one will take place Friday, Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. The first 250 fans will receive a Chick-fil-A voucher. There will also be raffles, giveaways, and all donations will be given to Shriner's Children Hospital. Puck drop for game two is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Previous Results
The Lakers are 10-8-2 this season and 6-3-1 in AHA play. They hosted No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth in their first series. 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. The Lakers 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. At Syracuse, game one ended in a 2-2 tie where the Orange took the shootout. The Lakers edged them in game two, 3-2. Over Thanksgiving, Mercyhurst traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the Smashville Showcase. They beat Stonehill 6-1 in Michael Sisti's 600th career win. They fell 5-1 to No. 1 Wisconsin in their second game. 
 
Matchup History
Mercyhurst is ahead of the matchup record by a large margin. They hold a record of 46-9-1 against Lindenwood all time. The first series took place in Missouri in October of 2011, where the Lakers outscored the Lions 21-1 across both games. The Lakers won the first 11 matchups before they tied 2-2 on Feb. 22, 2014. The first time Lindenwood won was Feb. 20, 2015, 3-1. Most recently, the Lakers swept the Lions 3-1 and 5-2 in January of 2025 at home. Notably, Mercyhurst is 26-0-1 at home against Lindenwood and is averaging 4.23 goals per game in all competitions against them. 
 
Lakers to Look Out for
Julia Perjus leads the Laker's goals and points column with nine goals and seven assists for sixteen points. Perjus has two multi-goal games this season, a .525 faceoff win percentage, and is tied for the third-highest net rating at +8. 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. Most recently, Perjus had a three-point game against Stonehill, scoring one and assisting two others. 
 
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. Most recently, Schalin recorded a hat trick off assists in the 6-1 win over Stonehill. 
 
Nayeon Kim is currently the joint-highest assist leader with nine. The freshman from South Korea is third 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 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 eight assists in her last 12 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 41, which is the tenth-most in the nation. Javier's 35 blocks are second on the team and fifteenth 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 last month 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 two goals and is third on the team with eight assists. 
 
Magdalena Luggin started between the pipes against No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth and recorded a then 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. A few weeks ago, she made 24 saves and recorded her second shutout of the season in the Laker's 1-0 win against RIT. Most recently, Luggin registered a career-high 56 saves against No. 1 Wisconsin. 
 
Scouting Lindenwood 

• The Lions opened their campaign on the road at No. 13 St. Cloud State, where they fell 5-0 in each game. 
• They then hosted St. Thomas, where they were narrowly beaten 4-3 and 2-1. 
• They began their October schedule at Minnesota State and lost 4-0 and 3-2. 
• The following weekend, they picked up their first win at home against Merrimack, 6-3. 
• After beating swept by a then undefeated No. 6 Penn State, they split with RIT by beating them 3-0 on Halloween and falling 7-1 on Nov. 1.
• The Lions split with Syracuse and Delaware before winning a shootout against RMU a couple of weeks ago. 
• Most recently, Lindenwood beat Bemidji State 7-4 and tied 2-2 before winning their second consecutive shootout. 
• Zsofia Pazmandi (7G, 7A, 14PTS) and Josey Dunne-Weeks (2G, 4A, 6PTS, 43 BLKS) lead the team in goals, assists, points, and blocks.