No. 1 Lakers Knock Off No. 10 Saints in NCAA Tourney Rematch
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In a rematch of the 2009 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, Mercyhurst College, skated to a 4-2 victory over the No. 10 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team at Appleton Arena on Friday evening.
The Lakers improved to 14-1-1 on the season with the victory, while St. Lawrence falls to 7-6-5. The Scarlet and Brown, which was forced to play with senior assistant captain Courtney Sawchuk due to injury, was unable to dig out of a 3-0 second period deficit.
"They're certainly the most skilled team we've seen this season, and to top it off, they're the hardest working team by far," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "Every time we had a bid that would've swung the momentum our way, (Hillary) Pattenden was there to make several big saves."
Senior assistant captain Brittony Chartier was impressive in goal for St. Lawrence as well, including an 11-save first period. The only shot the Saskatoon, SK native couldn't keep in front of her actually came from behind her, as Lauren Jones banked a shot off of Chartier's back from along the goal line and into the net. The goal was Jones' third of the season and came at 7:13 of the first.
Mercyhurst would strike quickly in the second period with a pair of goals only 2:33 apart to seize control of the game. After the Saints failed to clear the puck out of their own defensive zone, Meghan Corbett re-directed a Cassea Schols' slap shot from the blue line past Chartier's glove for a 2-0 lead for the visitors only 2:09 into the frame. Bailey Bram then followed at 4:42 with her 15th goal of the season on the power play for a 3-0 cushion. Bram lifted a rebound under the cross bar to give her team a solid lead, with assists going to Schols and Vicki Bendus.
St. Lawrence would pull to within two goals at 3-1 when sophomore Alley Bero got the home team on the scoreboard with a power play goal of her own at 13:28 to cap the second period scoring. The Akwesasne, NY native tucked a loose puck in the crease under Pattenden for her fourth goal of the season. Senior captain Tara Akstull assisted on the goal.
The Scarlet and Brown had a chance to pull to within a goal only moments later when rookie Michelle Ng had a wrap-around try on the power play, but Pattenden was there to stuff the bid and keep her team ahead by two heading to the final stanza.
St. Lawrence appeared to have gained some momentum early in the period, as they successfully killed off the remaining time in rookie Brooke Fernandez's minor penalty. Only seconds after the teams skated 5-on-5, however, Jones sent a soft backhanded shot that beat Chartier inside the left post to give the Lakers a comfortable 4-1 lead at 2:01 of the third. Samantha Watt and Melissa Lacroix were credited with helpers on Jones' second tally of the game.
Despite having several outstanding tries from point-blank range, the Saints were unable to solve Pattenden, who held her ground and anchored the nation's top team to victory. Senior assistant captain Britni Smith was able to score a 6-on-4 extra attacker goal with 10.5 seconds left in the game on a scrum in front of the Mercyhurst net to cap the game's scoring at 4-2 in favor of the visitors. Ng and classmate Kayla Sullivan earned assists on the game's final goal.
Mercyhurst closed with a 44-25 advantage in shots on goal, with Chartier finishing with 40 saves to Pattenden's 23. St. Lawrence was 2-of-5 on the power play, while the Lakers finished 1-of-3 with the extra skater.
The Saints will look to earn a weekend split when they face Mercyhurst again tomorrow, Saturday, December 12 at 3:00pm at Appleton Arena. The game is the final contest of the 2009 calendar year for the Scarlet and Brown.
