Women’s Hockey Receives Votes in USCHO Preseason Ranking; Return to the Ice for 27th Season

The Mercyhurst women’s ice hockey team is set to begin the 2025-26 season this Friday, Sept. 19 against #5/6 Minnesota Duluth in the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Head Coach Mike Sisti, the only head coach the program has ever known, leads the team into its 27th season. Sisti is only 10 wins away from reaching 600 on his career. 

Last season, the Lakers finished 20-16-2 overall and 13-6-1 in the AHA. This was their eighth consecutive season with a winning record and fourth consecutive season reaching the conference championship.

Sisti has helped coach the Lakers to 25 seasons above .500 as well 17 regular season conference titles, 15 conference championship titles, and 13 NCAA tournament appearances. 

A new challenge lies ahead, as the team welcomed a total of 14 new skaters to the ice during the offseason. A combination of four transfers and 10 freshmen, its the most newcomers the program has ever brought in at one time. 

The team is also made up of eight different countries this season, another new tally. The Mercyhurst Ice center will feature skaters from the U.S., Canada, Hungary, Austria, South Korea, Finland, Sweden, and Germany. 

“We are looking for great people no matter where they are from" Sist added. "Our players all bring unique characteristics and personalities that add to the fun and competitive team culture.” 

Recently, Sofia Nuutinen (Finland), Julia Schalin (Finland) and Tara Bach (Germany), all trained with their national teams ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics coming up in February. 

On the forefront of the attack, Nuutinen and Schalin both return to the ice after posting 25+ point seasons last year. Nuutinen, named an assistant captain, scored 11 goals and added 14 assists for 25 points. Schalin scored 14 goals and tallied 18 assists for 32 points and was named AHA Rookie of the Year. 

Sophie McKinley (Merrimack) and Jess Ciarrocchi (Penn State/Brown) bring in over 100 games of experience to the Lakers’ attack. McKinley has 14 career goals and 17 assists for 31 points. Ciarrocchi has scored 10 goals and posted 14 assists for 24 points. 

Jade Maisonneuve, Julia Perjus, Regina Metzler, Henlee Mahoney, and Avery Norman return to the Lakers attack for another season. 

On the blue line, Makayla Javier leads the defensemen as captain of the ship. Javier has skated in 111 games, scored 12 goals, and assisted 22 goals for 34 points. 

Payten Evans comes to Mercyhurst from Merrimack and brings over 100 games of defensive experience. Evans has five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in her career. 

Sofia Ljung returns to the backline having played in 76 games with the Lakers. Ljung has scored four goals and tallied 20 assists for 24 points in her first two seasons with the Green and Blue. 

Returners Emmi Mourujarvi and Ashley Mandeville will hold down the blue line as well.  

The Lakers have a competitive room of netminders to choose from this season. Magdelena Luggin has competed on the Austrian National Team and played in 16 games last season as a freshman. Luggin had a record of 9-7, allowed 1.97 goals per game, and recorded a save percentage .926 in 2024-25. 

Erika Lind and Tara Bach join Luggin to complete the Lakers lineup of goalies. Bach, a freshman, was one of two goalies selected for Germany at the U18 Four Nation’s tournament in Italy last month. 

The schedule for the upcoming season features some challenges, which the program is no stranger to. “We always try to play one of the toughest schedules out there” Sisti said. 

The schedule begins at home with a non-conference series against Minnesota Duluth, who was recently ranked #5 in USA Hockey's preseason poll and #6 in the USCHO poll. The first road series of the season will take place next week as the Lakers head to New Hampshire, then the Lakers play hosts to #9 St. Lawrence to start October before taking a week off. 

Oct. 17, the team travels to #8 Penn State in a rematch of last year's AHA Championship Game. 

They then host Connecticut and Delaware in a four-game homestand to close out October before hitting the road to face Robert Morris. This is followed by a series against Syracuse before their midseason tournament in Nashville. The Lakers will face Stonehill and defending national champions Wisconsin in the Smashville NCAA Women’s Hockey Showcase. 

The team hosts Lindenwood in their final series of 2025. 

The second half of the schedule begins Jan. 2 at Lindenwood. The Lakers then host Penn State, travel to RIT, host Robert Morris, and travel to Delaware all in January. 

The final series of the season will take place Feb. 13 and 14 at home against Syracuse. The team enters the matchup with high hopes of reaching the AHA playoffs in the weeks that follow.