(RV) MERCYHURST (16-10-2, 12-5-1 AHA) vs Robert Morris (10-14-2, 6-8-2 AHA)
Friday, Jan. 23 - 3 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 24 - 1 p.m. 
Erie, Pa.   
TV: Flo Hockey 
 
The Mercyhurst women's hockey team hosts Robert Morris this weekend in what we will be a decisive series for both programs. The push for good playoff seeding is on the line. The Lakers need to keep winning with hopes of securing the No. 2 seed and getting a first-round bye in the AHA playoffs. Puck drop for game one is set for Friday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. Game two will take place the following day at 1 p.m. Viewers can find live coverage on Flo Hockey. 
 
Previous Results
The Lakers are 16-10-2 this season and 12-5-1 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. In the beginning of December, the Lakers split a series with Lindenwood. They took game one with a commanding, 10-1 victory before falling 5-2 in game two. 
 
The Lakers began 2026 with a series sweep over Lindenwood. They won 5-1 in game one and Abby Poitras scored with 1.6 seconds left on the clock in overtime to secure a 2-1 victory in game two. Mercyhurst then split their series with No. 4 Penn State. The Nittany Lions took game one 3-0. In game two, the Lakers scored three powerplay goals and took PSU to OT. Payten Evans scored the game-winning goal to secure the upset. Most recently, the Lakers swept RIT in an AHA series between No. 2 and No. 3 in the AHA. They won 5-3 in game one and Poitras scored her second OT winner of the month in the 2-1 win in game two. This was the third consecutive series where a Laker blueliner has scored an game-winner in OT of game two. 
 
Matchup History
Mercyhurst is ahead of the series by a large margin. The all-time record is 60-22-5. The first series took place in the 2005-06 season when the Lakers won game one 5-1 and game two 9-1. Mercyhurst won the first 29 games against RMU, the longest win streak they have had against one team. The Colonials first win came in Erie in the 2011-12 season where they beat the Lakers 3-2 in a series split. From 2019-2021, the two teams went to overtime five games in-a-row. The other two games in that span were decided by two or less goals. In January 2025, the Lakers swept the Colonials 7-0 and 6-0. Most recently, they swept RMU 5-1 and 7-2 in November.
 
Lakers to Look Out for
Julia Perjus leads the Laker's goals and points column with 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points. Perjus has two multi-goal games this season, a .543 faceoff win percentage, and has the third-highest net rating on the team with +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. Perjus had a three-point game against Stonehill, scoring one and assisting two others. She also had a five-point weekend against Lindenwood in December. She recorded a career-high four assists in game one and netted a powerplay goal in game two. She earned AHA Rookie of the Week and Month honors for this performance. Two weeks ago, Perjus scored a game-tying powerplay goal in the dying minute of play against No. 4 Penn State to force overtime. 
 
Julia Schalin is another forward who has been on an impressive run of form with 8 goals and a team-high 18 assists for 26 points. 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 in November. 
 
Schalin recorded a hat trick of assists in the team's 6-1 win over Stonehill. She then had a five-point weekend against Lindenwood at home. This featured a hat trick and an assist in game one and another assist in game two. This was her second career hat trick, and she was named AHA Forward of the Week for this performance. Schalin recorded a hat trick of assists in the team's 5-1 win on the road at Lindenwood in December. Her star performances with the Lakers have played a massive role in her selection on the Finland Olympic Team for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. 
 
Defensively, Poitras and Evans have been all over the ice. Poitras recorded four assists in the series against RMU, and her nine total assists are sixth on the team. The Whitby, Ontario native also has a team-high 51 blocks, which is 14th in the nation. Poitras netted the game-winning goal in the Laker's 2-1 overtime win at Lindenwood with 1.6 seconds on the clock. Last Saturday, she netted the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win at RIT to earn AHA Defenseman of the Week honors. 
 
Evans had a great series against Lindenwood when the two sides played in Erie in December. The Calgary, Alberta native scored a powerplay goal and registered a hat trick of assists in the 10-1 win in game one. She also scored and assisted in game two. For these efforts, Evans was named the AHA Defenseman of the Month for December. Evans also scored the game-winning goal in overtime to secure a 4-3 upset victory over No. 4 Penn State. This goal and her eight blocks on the weekend led to her being named AHA Defenseman of the Week. Her 42 blocks are second on the team. 
 
Maja Alenius and Holly VanNetten are two freshman defenders who have contributed to the Laker's success this season. VanNetten was named the AHA Defender of the Week in November 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 4 assists for six points this season. Alenius has two goals and is fifth on the team with ten assists. Two of those assists came in the 4-3 OT win over No. 4 Penn State. 
 
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. After Thanksgiving, she registered a career-high 56 saves against No. 1 Wisconsin. Most recently, Luggin was named AHA Goaltender of the Week after she made 41 saves in the series sweep over RIT. 
 
Tara Bach has proven to be another strong netminder for the Lakers. Bach started in both games against Lindenwood last weekend. She only allowed two total goals, recorded 41 saves, and was named the AHA Goaltender of the Week for her efforts. Bach is now 4-1-0 on the season and has won in her last three starts. She has 1.08 goals allowed average and a .946 save percentage. Off campus, she has been competing with the German U18 National Team. 
 
Bach was recently named the Goaltender of the Tournament at the U18 IIHF World Championship. Here, she posted a 5-1-0 record, 0.99 goals allowed average, .947 save percentage, and made 91 saves. This helped promote the Germany U18 team to the highest division of play alongside big teams such as the U.S. and Canada. 
 
Scouting RMU 

• The Colonials opened their season by sweeping Assumption 6-2 and 4-2 at home. 
• They then lost to Bemidji State 3-0 and 4-1 on the road. 
• On Oct. 10 and 11, they split their conference opener with RIT. They won 2-1 in OT in game won and fell 5-1 in game two. 
• They then fell to Yale, who at the time had received multiple votes in the national polls. 
• The Colonials swept Delaware before they fell to No. 6 Penn State. 
• They were swept 5-1 and 7-2 to Mercyhurst and then RPI swept them 1-0 and 3-2. 
• RMU beat Lindenwood in a shootout after tying 2-2 and then secured the series in game two 3-0. 
• They beat RIT 5-1 before falling 6-3 in game two. 
• They went 3-0-1 in December, sweeping LIU and drawing/beating Syracuse. 
• Most recently, RMU was swept by Syracuse. 
• Jessica MacKinnon (13G, 15A, 28 PTS) and Shayne Desjardins (2G, 4A, 6 PTS, 65 BLKS) lead the team in goals, assists, points and blocks.