Big Third Period by Lakers Dooms Saints
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| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercyhurst (15-1-1, 4-0-1) | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| St. Lawrence (7-7-5, 4-3-2) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 08:56 | Britni Smith (St. Lawrence) |
| 2nd - 10:06 | Ashley Cockell (Mercyhurst) |
| 2nd - 14:38 | PP - Ashley Cockell (Mercyhurst) |
| 3rd - 04:06 | PP - Britni Smith (St. Lawrence) |
| 3rd - 05:51 | PP - Jesse Scanzano (Mercyhurst) |
| 3rd - 06:57 | Lauren Jones (Mercyhurst) |
| 3rd - 13:42 | Jesse Scanzano (Mercyhurst) |
| 3rd - 16:15 | Jesse Scanzano (Mercyhurst) |
| Mercyhurst | St. Lawrence |
|---|---|
|
G:
Jesse Scanzano - 3
A: Bailey Bram - 3 Sh: 4 Players (#11, #20, #21, #23 - 4) Sv: Hillary Pattenden - 27 |
G:
Britni Smith - 2
A: Vanessa Emond - 2 Sh: Vanessa Emond - 5 Sv: Brittony Chartier - 26 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Mercyhurst | St. Lawrence |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 2 for 3 | 1 for 5 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 5 (10) | 3 (6) |
| Shots on Goal | 33 | 29 |
| Face Offs Won | 36 | 29 |
The No. 10 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team found itself in a tie game with No. 1 Mercyhurst College on Saturday at Appleton Arena with 15:00 minutes left in regulation. However, the Lakers, led by Jesse Scanzano's natural hat trick, scored four unanswered goals to hand the Scarlet and Brown a 6-2 loss in the final game of 2009.
Mercyhurst, which finished with a 33-29 advantage in shots on goal, improves to 15-1-1 (4-0-1) on the season. Meanwhile, despite two goals from senior assistant captain Britni Smith, St. Lawrence suffered the defeat to fall to 7-7-5 (4-3-2).
"I certainly liked the effort we gave all game," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "We tied it early in the third to swing some momentum our way, but with a team as skilled and deep as (Mercyhurst), they were able to come right back and take control."
Smith scored the only goal of a very evenly-played first period that saw each team take 10 shots on net. The Port Perry, ON native picked up her 4th of the season at 8:56 on a highlight-reel give-and-go play with sophomore Vanessa Emond. After the two crossed the blue line to Pattenden's left, Emond dropped a pass back to Smith in the circle who sniped a wrist shot over the goalie's left shoulder for a 1-0 St. Lawrence lead.
On the opposite end of the ice, St. Lawrence senior goalie Brittony Chartier came away with big save after big save to keep the nation's most potent offense off the scoreboard through 20:00 minutes.
The Lakers would continue to keep the heat on Chartier and scored a pair of goals only 4:32 apart midway through the second period to take a 2-1 advantage into the third. Ashley Cockell scored both goals, the first coming at 10:06 when she slapped a one-timer past Chartier on a centering pass from behind the net. Cockell then gave Mercyhurst its first lead of 2-1 on the power play when she tipped a perfect pass to the far post from Meghan Corbett across the goal line at 14:38.
Smith and the Saints would be rejuvenated early in the third period, when she tied the game on the power play only 4:06 into the final stanza. With a player advantage, the home team worked the puck around the perimeter until Smith floated a shot towards goal that Pattenden never saw and couldn't stop, sneaking past her left pad to knot the score at 2-2.
However, the Lakers would answer with a fortunate goal on the power play only 1:45 later to regain a lead they would not relinquish. Scanzano scored her first of the period when her long, soft wrist shot hit off the tip of Chartier's glove and meandered across the line at 5:51. Lauren Jones would then give the Lakers a 4-2 lead only 1:06 later when she pounced on a loose puck to Chartier's left and lifted it into the net for her 5th of the season.
Scanzano would then put the finishing touches on the weekend sweep for Mercyhurst by scoring two goals less than three minutes apart to bring the game to its final score of 6-2. The goals, which were both assisted by Cockell and Bailey Bram, were Scanzano's 11th and 12th of the season and came at 13:42 and 16:15, respectively.
The Lakers' power play, ranked third in Division I women's hockey, played a major role in Saturday's victory as the visitors finished 2-of-3 including the game-winner. St. Lawrence finished 1-of-5 with the extra skater. Pattenden secured the win behind 27 saves including a game-high 12 stops in the third period, while Chartier made 26 saves in a losing effort. Sophomore Nikki Bongaerts played the final 3:45 in net for St. Lawrence and made on stop.
Saturday's game was the final contest for each team before the new year. St. Lawrence will return to action on Friday, January 8th to take on Rensselaer in an ECAC Hockey contest.
