Saints Dropped at Mercyhurst

Photo by Tara Freeman

0:00 - 3rd	1	2	3	Final
St. Lawrence (11-3-3, 6-1-1 ECAC)	0	1	1	2
Mercyhurst (11-4-0, 4-0-0 CHA)	1	2	2	5

Scoring Summary
1st - 03:27	Kelley Steadman (Mercyhurst)
2nd - 11:00	PP - Meghan Agosta (Mercyhurst)
2nd - 11:45	SH - Meghan Agosta (Mercyhurst)
2nd - 13:06	Courtney Sawchuk (St. Lawrence)
3rd - 16:52	SH - EN - Hayley McMeekin (Mercyhurst)
3rd - 18:25	PP - Alison Domenico (St. Lawrence)
3rd - 19:02	EN - Jesse Scanzano (Mercyhurst)

St. Lawrence	Mercyhurst
G: 2 Players (#17, #22 - 1) A: Marianna Locke - 2 Sh: 2 Players (#22, #76 - 4) Sv: Brittony Chartier - 41	G: Meghan Agosta - 2 A: Vicki Bendus - 2 Sh: Meghan Agosta - 10 Sv: Hillary Pattenden - 22

TEAM STATISTICS	St. Lawrence	Mercyhurst
Power Plays	1 for 11	1 for 6
Shorthanded Goals	0	2
Penalties (min)	7 (14)	11 (22)
Shots on Goal	24	46
Face Offs Won	25	41

full stats

Boxscore

ERIE, PA -- In a highly anticipated battle between two nationally-ranked foes, the hosting Lakers of No. 8 Mercyhurst College used a 46-24 advantage in shots on goal to knock off No. 4 St. Lawrence University 5-2 on Friday night. Junior goaltender Brittony Chartier made a season-high 41 saves including 17 in the second period, but Mercyhurst’s Meghan Agosta led the home team to their eighth straight victory.

St. Lawrence drops to 11-3-3 (6-1-1) on the season, while Mercyhurst improves to 11-4-0 (4-0-0).

“I thought Mercyhurst was able to keep us on our heels throughout the majority of the game with their speed,” said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. “Brittony (Chartier) turned in a great performance and we obviously had our chances on the power play, but in the end, they took it to us.”

The Lakers took a 1-0 lead only 3:27 into the game when Kelley Steadman beat Chartier, with assists going to Vicki Bendus and Bailey Bram. Despite outshooting the Saints by a wide 15-6 margin after 20 minutes, though, that would be the only score in the period for the home team.

Agosta, who is an annual favorite to win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award which recognizes the nation’s top women’s hockey player, showed her talents midway through the second period by tallying consecutive special teams goals only 45 seconds apart. She made it 2-0 at the 11:00 minute mark with a power play goal from Valerie Chouinar and Jesse Scanzano, then picked up a short-handed tally from Jess Jones at 11:45 for a 3-0 cushion.

Junior defenseman Courtney Sawchuk would get one back for the Saints at 13:06, when she scored her second goal of the season on Mercyhurst goalie Hillary Pattenden. Seniors Marianna Locke and Lisa Batchelor assisted on the goal, which made it 3-1 after two periods of hockey.

In a game that was riddled with 18 minor penalties, the third period proved to be a physical battle with very little scoring until the later stages. Trailing by two, Coach Wells opted to pull Chartier with nearly four minutes remaining in the contest to give St. Lawrence a 6-on-4 power play opportunity. The decision backfired, though, when Hayley McMeekin scored an empty-net goal at 16:52 for a 4-1 Mercyhurst lead.

After Bendus while whistled for a body checking penalty at 17:32, Wells again pulled Chartier, this time for a 6-on-3 power play try. St. Lawrence was able to convert on the chance, as senior Alison Domenico scored the extra-attacker goal at 18:25 with another assist going to Locke.

Despite picking up the late goal, the Saints needed two more to even the game, and kept their goalie on the bench for the extra skater. Scanzano would end the drama at 19:02 with another empty-net score from Agosta and Bendus to cap the game’s scoring at 5-2.

“I was out-coached tonight,” remarked Coach Wells, “but we were able to find some success later in the game that we'll try and carry over to tomorrow.”

Mercyhurst finished with an 18-shot advantage against the Saints, who finished 1-of-11 on the power play while the Lakers closed at 1-of-6. Chartier’s 41 saves were not enough to earn her a victory, as she fell to 11-3-3 on the year while Pattenden’s 22 stops moved her record to an impressive 10-1-0.

St. Lawrence will look to earn a weekend split tomorrow, Saturday, December 13 when they complete the two-game series at Mercyhurst. The game, which is the last for both teams in 2008, is set to begin at 2:00pm.