Jan. 22, 2010

* Courtesy of Mercyhurst Athletics

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Mercyhurst College women's hockey team let the offense run wild as the top-ranked Lakers rolled past Syracuse, 8-1, in a College Hockey America contest Friday evening at the Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Lakers, unbeaten in their last 14 games, improve to 18-1-3 on the season and 5-0-1 in the CHA while Syracuse falls to 13-11-1 overall and 4-3-0 in league play.

Sophomore Bailey Bram and junior Jesse Scanzano combined for four goals and seven points in Mercyhurst's fourth eight-goal outing of the season and second in the month of January. Bram scored two goals and added two assists to extend her team-leading point-streak to 11 games and mark points in 19 of the Lakers' 22 contests this season. Scanzano netted two goals as well, including the team's 17th short-handed goal of the year to move them closer to the NCAA Division I record of 19, set by the University of Minnesota during the 2005-06 season.

Junior Vicki Bendus, sophomore Kelley Steadman and freshman Lauren Jones added two points apiece, with Bendus and Jones netting a goal and an assist and Steadman contributing two helpers.

Mercyhurst opened the door to its largest margin of victory this season thanks to a dominant first period that saw the Lakers outshoot the Orange 16-3 and take a 4-0 advantage. Jones started a three-goal spurt that spanned four minutes and 38 seconds of the period at the 6:00 mark. Bram doubled the lead shortly after with her 20th of the season at 8:38, while junior Ashley Cockell made it a 3-0 game with just 10:38 elapsed off the clock. Bram added her second of the game and 21st of the year on an unassisted play at 18:36.

The Lakers reeled off three more before Syracuse broke up the shutout late in the third. Bendus found the back of the net with her 18th of the season on a power-play opportunity just 1:19 into the second. Scanzano then followed suit with an unassisted goal on the penalty kill at 14:21. After the intermission, freshman Jessica Christofferson put the Lakers up 7-0 with her first collegiate goal at 2:11.

SU's Steffany Marty broke up sophomore Hillary Pattenden's shutout bid when she lit the lamp on the power play with 3:24 remaining. Pattenden finished the game with 20 saves and helped hold the Orange to a 1-for-9 mark with the extra skater.

Mercyhurst, on the other hand, finished 3-for-6 on the power play when Scanzano closed out the game with a 5-on-4 goal at 19:49.

Syracuse closed the gap in shots by outshooting the Lakers, 18-17, through the second and third periods. Mercyhurst finished with a 33-21 advantage.

Both teams close out the series on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Tennity Ice Pavilion.