NEWARK, Del.  – The Mercyhurst women's hockey team is now 13th in NPI as well as the No. 15 team in the nation. Last night, the Lakers blanked the Blue Hens, 4-0. Today, the Lakers scored in each period, including three special-teams goals, to take a 6-1 win. This is their seventh-straight win, third-straight sweep, and Michael Sisti's 21st 20-win season in his 27 seasons behind the bench. The last time Mercyhurst finished below 20 wins, the season was cut short due to COVID-19. This is also the seventh time the Lakers had five different goalscorers in a game this season. 
 
Mercyhurst (20-10-2, 16-5-1 AHA) initiated the first period with strong control, winning consecutive faceoffs and maintaining pressure. Holly VanNetten opened the scoring at 16:06, assisted by Sofia Nuutinen and Abby Poitras, giving the Lakers team an early 1-0 lead. The momentum continued as the Lakers capitalized on a power play opportunity. Payten Evans extended the lead to 2-0 at 4:39, with contributions from Julia Perjus and VanNetten. Delaware (2-28-0, 1-21-0 AHA) could not get anything going. Just before the period ended, with a second remaining, Berlin Lolacher netted a goal assisted by Maja Alenius and Nayeon Kim, increasing the advantage to three. The Lakers concluded the first period with a commanding lead, 3-0.
 
The Lakers capitalized on a power-play opportunity in the second period with Evans scoring at 5:01, assisted by Perjus. Throughout the period, the Lakers maintained offensive pressure with shots from players like Regina Metzler and Nayeon Kim, keeping the Blue Hen's defense engaged. Defensively, the Lakers effectively killed a penalty early in the period, with Tara Bach making key saves to keep Delaware scoreless. The period concluded with Mercyhurst up 4-0, maintaining a strong position heading into the final frame.
 
Mercyhurst began the third period by continuing their offensive pressure, culminating in a short-handed goal from Perjus at 10:55, assisted by Nuutinen. This extended their lead to five. Despite Delaware responding with a goal 7:46, Mercyhurst quickly regained momentum. Sophie McKinley further solidified Mercyhurst's win with an even-strength goal at 5:09, assisted by Sofia Ljung and Perjus. The Lakers continued to control the pace through the closing minutes, effectively maintaining their five-goal margin as the period concluded.
 
The Lakers will take a week off before hosting Syracuse on Feb. 13 and 14.